Locomotive 223 was a coal-fired, steam locomotive built in a series of engines from 200-227 in 1881-1882. It was a Class 60-N locomotive, classed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company (D&RG) as C-16-60 N. Locomotive 223 was among the last of the narrow gauge engines to be built by the Grant Locomotive Works of New Jersey in 1881. The locomotive was part of a unique series. Baldwin Locomotive Works normally made engines for the D&RG, making this series of locomotives used by the railroad company unique because they were built by someone other than Baldwin. In addition, the locomotive provides a window on the short-lived world of narrow gauge track.

Narrow gauge track was 3 feet in width, as opposed to the conventional 4 feet, 8 ½-inch track. The narrower rails were constructed to serve several purposes. Narrow gauge rails and locomotives were light, accommodating steeper grades and sharper turns while carrying a heavy load. Construction of narrow grade was also cheaper. Narrow gauge cars also stand as a testament to 19th century social conventions. The cars could not accommodate more than one person in each berth, thereby maintaining the privacy of the elite traveler from the commoner. By 1877, D&RG was hauling people and cargo through Colorado's mountains, with 4% grades and 30° turns. The railroad company needed a light, more powerful locomotive. D&RG purchased a prototype of the narrow gauge locomotive from Baldwin, but the locomotive was unable to navigate the track. Therefore, D&RG purchased 223, similar to the class 60 locomotives, from Grant in 1881.

The last of the Class 60 locomotives was built in 1882, but most of them were probably overflow orders from the previous year. The 1882 engines were the last Grant locomotives built for D&RG. Handling freight to and from narrow to standard gauge connections was a major handicap, and from 1882-1890, narrow gauge rails were phased out in favor of standard gauge.

Locomotive 223 was moved to Colorado and used for freight service from 1890-1941. Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) leased the engine to Salt Lake City for five years, beginning with its display at the Pioneer Day celebration on 24 July 1941. D&RGW officially donated the locomotive to Salt Lake City in 1952, where it rested at Liberty Park until 1979. There it fell into serious disrepair, suffering from the elements and acts of vandalism. Salt Lake City donated the locomotive to the Utah State Historical Society in 1979. Various renovation projects fell through because of budgetary and bureaucratic concerns, until the USHS donated the locomotive to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 1992. The Golden Spike Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society has been restoring the locomotive, and hope to restore it to operating condition at its current location at Ogden Union Station.

Locomotive 223 occupies a unique place in western railroad history. It is the last of the narrow gauge locomotives existing in Utah. Its former owner, the Denver and Rio Grande, carried people and freight on 1,300 miles of narrow gauge track from Denver and Pueblo, Colorado to Salt Lake City and Ogden. The locomotive made an impact on Russel Lord Tracy, whose speedy ride between Montrose and Salida through Black Canyon proved an intense experience for him to publish in his memoirs (see , Salt Lake City: privately printed, 1941).