Steam & Excursion > McCloud No. 18 Moving?

A buddy of mine reported seeing former McCloud No. 18 (2-8-2) being hauled south by truck out of Carson City, NV tonight. Anybody know where it is going? I thought this locomotive was going to be used in the "New V&T" once the line was rebuilt to Carson City. Maybe the locomotive is getting worked on somewhere else?

I thought it was going to Oakdale so the Sierra can screw it up.

McCloud 18 is indeed moving today. They loaded it onto two trucks this morning and headed east up 89...their routing, according to one of the truck drivers, was to head east as far as Adin where they would turn south, eventually getting to Highway 395 to Carson City. They are then going west over Highway 88. I imagine the first stop is Oakdale. We shall see.

I will have pictures of the move on McCloud Rails shortly.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV
http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails

Okay...link to some pictures.

http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails/Miscellaneous/18Departs.html

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

JDLX Wrote:
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> headed east up
> 89...their routing, according to one of the truck
> drivers, was to head east as far as Adin where
> they would turn south, eventually getting to
> Highway 395 to Carson City. They are then going
> west over Highway 88. I imagine the first stop is
> Oakdale. We shall see.
>
>

Why not just west on 89 to I5, then down the valley to 108, then east on 108 to Oakdale? Why cross the Sierra twice with that ungainly load? Is there some issue with over size or over weight loads that makes them want to stay off Interstates?

Unless things have changed drastically, CalTrans and NDOT can determine the routing. At a least in California, a load like that requires a permit so when CalTrans issues the permit they can set a specific routing. If something goes wrong, CalTrans would be responsible. Another note, permit loads can usually only move during daylight hours and requires a 1000 yards of visibility.

Some years ago when PLA trucked the SP dining car from Sparks to Niles, Caltrans required it to go south on 395 to four corners near Mojave then up 99 from there. This is the only route they would allow.

I know that time marches on, but it is still sad that these kind of days are over for #18 on the McCloud. This beautiful engine has spent 93 years working entirely in Siskiyou County, CA for only 2 railroads.
We all have Jeff Forbis to thank for bringing her back to life for a few short years on the beautiful McCloud Ry.


Martin

---

Maybe I am missing something in this, but the V&T Commission (or whatever they call themselves)paid a bunch of taxpayer's money to Jeff Forbis and the McCloud for a locomotive that is in operable condition with a lot of remaining operating days on its boiler certificate, not to mention the work the McCloud had done to the locomotive in general. Now, the management of the Sierra Whatever gets to use the locomotive for two or three years. Every time that locomotive operates, there is some degree of wear and tear that can never be replaced, not mention work that will be required to, hopefully, bring the engine back up to the condition it was in when the commission bought it.

That locomotive was bought for the V&T revival and it should not be out helping the Sierra buttress its tourist business. I am not a Nevada resident (at least not yet) but if I was, there would some be hell raised with that commission.

As they say, "I don't have a dog in this fight." However, an old steam "head" for whom I have a great deal of respect told me once that, "The only thing harder on a steam locomotive than running it is NOT running it."

WW Wrote:
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> As they say, "I don't have a dog in this fight."
> However, an old steam "head" for whom I have a
> great deal of respect told me once that, "The only
> thing harder on a steam locomotive than running it
> is NOT running it."

I agree!!...run the engine so people can enjoy it !!

Ok fine run it. The "new" V&T already has somewhere around three miles of track in place--run it over there.

The were several thought behind this idea. First, we will be paying the Commission a fee for the use of the #18 during the next 3 years that helps off-set the purchase price. Further, we will take care of the maintenance & storage of the #18, which is another notable cost savings to the Commission. The money saved here will help make ends meet with the overall project.

The second reason is that the #18's special runs during the next several years will bring greater awareness with the general public about the new tourist train that is being built. We will now mention the #18 and the V&T in all of our ongoing marketing.

And as said by others, it is great to see the engines running and not sitting idle for the next several years.

Best regards,
Chris Hart
Sierra Railroad

ChrisHart Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The were several thought behind this idea. First,
> we will be paying the Commission a fee for the use
> of the #18 during the next 3 years that helps
> off-set the purchase price. Further, we will take
> care of the maintenance & storage of the #18,
> which is another notable cost savings to the
> Commission. The money saved here will help make
> ends meet with the overall project.
>
> The second reason is that the #18's special runs
> during the next several years will bring greater
> awareness with the general public about the new
> tourist train that is being built. We will now
> mention the #18 and the V&T in all of our ongoing
> marketing.
>
> And as said by others, it is great to see the
> engines running and not sitting idle for the next
> several years.
>
> Best regards,
> Chris Hart
> Sierra Railroad

Thanks for the update, Chris. It certainly sounds like you are thinking outside of the box to overcome obstacles and at the same time promote the future railroad. It's also nice to see that people in the upper management are paying attention to what's going on here on these message boards and take the time to respond. I have a few questions, but answer them only if you feel it proper to do so:

1. Drew1946 mentions that there are still operating days left on the boiler. What work is planned to be done on the locomotive? If the clock will continue to run as is, approximately how many operating days are left, and what kind of operation schedule could we expect to see out of No. 18 while it is waiting for the rest of the project?

2. Drew1946 also mentions that the existing V&T has 2 or 3 miles of track. Is this trackage from Gold Hill, or does this include the trackage to Virginia City? I had heard that the "New V&T" was separate from the "Existing V&T". If at this point it is indeed two separate operations, then I suppose that there is not yet any locomotive shop facilities established for the new operation (hence, if you can't service it, you can't run it). And even in a partnership, from what I remember, the V&T shop in Virginia City isn't exactly huge and already houses a variety of equipment. Somebody will eventually ask this, and I'm sure it's too early to get an answer, but have any arrangements been formalized between the two entities?

3. The V&T website (established by the commission, I believe) hasn't been updated in quite some time. I have heard that operations won't start until (at least) the majority of the line is built (not necessarily completed), which would be no sooner than 2009. Can you fill us in on a general time line and what Sierra RR and the commission are hoping to accomplish?

In case someone forgot this discussion....

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,1362402,page=1

SV

GraphixGuy,
1) There are two ways to measure the operating time. First, the number of days that it is used. Second, regardless of whether it is used it must be overhauled by 2015. The boiler has about 1500 days on it left. We estimated the number of trips the three years in California (30-50 annually for 3 years) and then the usage while up on the V&T (200+ annually for 6 years which should be very intensive use) and there was still extra days left over. There should be no issues regarding the boiler. I see the more important issue as proper maintenance which we're prepared to provide.

2) There is a lot of planning and discussion about how thing will function when the "new" V&T opens. It is too early in the process for me to comment on how it would work. As far as operating before 2010 there are two issues. First, we would certainly need to reach an agreement with the "old" V&T since the new one has no facilities. Second, since we're striving for this to be a major train attraction I'm reluctant to open in a small way. Far too often travelers will visit you once and then check you off their to do list unless you really impress them. I don't think a short run is on par with the experience we're striving for and I'd rather wait and do it right.

3) The Commission is trying to complete the track for the 2010 season but with such a massive track construction project involving fund-raising, assembling the land, engineering, bidding, construction, etc it is certainly possible that it might slip to 2011. We have some ideas how we might open sooner, but they are too raw to comment here.

Chris Hart
Sierra Railroad