ANTONITO, Colo. — The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has received a $20,000 grant from the Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation to help restore Denver & Rio Grande No. 168, a T-12 class, 4-6-0 "ten-wheeler-type" locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1883.

The grant will be used to help restore the locomotive’s tender.

The grant funding helps lift fundraising to almost $350,000, closing in on the railroad’s goal of $500,000.

“This is another big step forward for No. 168. Work is well underway and our Antonito mechanical forces will complete assembly of the tender by mid-December,” says Cumbres & Toltec President John Bush.

Bush says that No. 168 could be under steam in 2019.

The project is made possible by the City of Colorado Springs, whose city leaders negotiated a long-term lease of No. 168 to the C&TS. The engine had been on display in the city park since 1938. Restoration began in Antonito earlier this year.

“The foundation made this grant to the engine 168 project because of the engine’s historical significance and because of the excellent record of restoration by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic and its dedicated crew,” says Charles Getz, executive director of the Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation.