Steam & Excursion > Inside And Out At A Great Old Steam Enginehouse!

Those of you that have followed my posts know that one of my all time favorite railroads is the Hobart Estate operation out of Hobart Mills, California.

Begun as the Sierra Nevada Wood & Lumber Co., the mill at Hobart was fed logs by a narrow gauge logging railroad while the connection to the outside world at Truckee was made with a standard gauge line. Both of these railroads came together at the large 9-stall enginehouse at Hobart Mills.

In the first photo we see 2-truck Shay #7 inside the large wooden enginehouse next to one of the two 3-truck Shays that also served the logging line.

In the next photo we see SNW&L #3 after she has been pulled outside the large structure. You can see she is on standard gauge track that feeds this end stall.

The Hobart Estate operation shut down in the fall of 1936 and was scrapped in 1937. Shay #7 would go to San Francisco along with the narrow gauge 3-truck Shays and 2 rod engines in hopes of finding a buyer. While the 3-truck Shays were bought by the West Side Lumber Co. and one of the Rod engines was bought by a Hollywood studio, the #7 and the other rod engine were soon scrapped. Hobart Southern #8 would leave in 1936 and head to Clover Valley Lumber out of Loyalton, CA.

SNW&L #3 (former Virginia & Truckee #21) was saved by the Pacific Coast Chapter of the NRHS and be came the nucleus for their collection that today is housed in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

The mill site at Hobart Mills is mostly vacant today. However, if you know where to look, you can still find the ruins of the 9-stall enginehouse that once housed a wonderful collection of both narrow gauge and standard gauge steam power.




Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/14 08:59 by LoggerHogger.

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Great photos. Engine number three gets my vote for "least lovely" locomotive. While all those pipes had reasons for existence, they certainly gave it a cluttered look. And as for the homemade snowplow, it can't be accused of being beautiful. Thankfully there are photos of the "beasts" as well as the "beauties".
Bob

Was it one of their 2-4-0's used in the film Union Pacific or Kansas Pacific?

refarkas Wrote:
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> Great photos. Engine number three gets my vote for
> "least lovely" locomotive.

But I bet it was a pretty handy loki to have with a big plow and a large water pump over the boiler. Great for putting up with Fire and Snow.

SNW&L #3 (shown in the 2nd photo) was used in the movie Union Pacific after it was acquired by the NRHS in 1937.

Martin

Awesome shots. My personal fave engine 2-6-2 8 was built for Hobart Estates. For a relatively obscure operation, I keep being surprised at how many Hobart / SNW&L engines survived.

I can think of 5: 2-4-0 #3, aka V&T #21; 4-4-0 #5, aka E&P #4; 2-6-2 #8, aka Clover Valley #8; and 3 truck shays #9 and #10, later of the West Side.

Z

The J W Bowker donated to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the R & L H S arrived in Oakland ,Ca. 1937...

Per 50 years a Gift of History....Pub. 1987 by R & L H S..............

Don---Napa

"The mill site at Hobart Mills is mostly vacant today. However, if you know where to look, you can still find the ruins of the 9-stall enginehouse that once housed a wonderful collection of both narrow gauge and standard gauge steam power"

And where do you look?

All that extra piping between the domes is for an external Water Pump.

-- Jim Baker