Steam & Excursion > A Logging Railroad Complex As Seen From The Air!

All too often when we think of what makes a logging railroad we simply see a lonely train of logs headed by a steam lokie crossing a remote dirt road deep in the woods. Well, any there is a lot more that makes up any logging railroad as we can see in this photograph.

The sizable investment needed for any logging railroad required the parent lumber company to construct shop complexes that were needed to service the logging railroad rolling stock that received such heavy and at time rough usage on the steep and quickly laid track that made up the mainline and spur lines of the average logging railroad.

My friend Gerald L. French took to the air in 1958 to capture this wonderful overview of the Pickering Lumber Corp shop complex at their mill at Standard, California. In giving us this fine view, we can see all the infrastructure needed for just a single logging railroad operator.

In the center-right we see the large enginehouse/machine shop complex that was used for any kind of repairs to the fleet of Shays and Heislers used by Pickering. Also parked outside are a couple of the new EMD diesels that Pickering had purchased to retire the Heislers and later the Shays. They too would be repaired in this shop complex.

To the left of the enginehouse we see the "garden tracks" filled with 3 Heislers whose call to duty may never come again.

In the very center of the photo we see the car shop complex where the wooden and steel log cars, cabooses and other work equipment would receive frequent repairs necessitated by the rigors of the mountain logging environment that faced the Pickering railroad men on a daily basis.

Finally, to the left of the car shops we see the log pond and the steam powered log car unloader parked as she waits for the next train full of loaded log cars to arrive so they can have their huge pine logs dumped one car at a time. Only through this process with the hungry mill in the background be kept busy turning out the piles of lumber that we see drying in the top of the photo.

Running through the middle of all this, between the Car shops and the enginehouse complex is the mainline of the Sierra Railroad along with their wooden water tower. It will be the Sierra RR that picks up the strings of box cars loaded with the lumber that was made from the log loads arriving daily on the Pickering Logging Railroad.

Now we can truly see what it actually took to operate a single steam logging railroad.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/15 03:41 by LoggerHogger.

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That's a cool photo, thanks for posting Martin. Don't think I've seen anything like it before for a lumber mill.

Nathan

Kudos to Gerald for having the foresight (and the ability) to shoot this scene . . . your collection Martin never ceases to amaze me!

Craig
http://mcmrailvideos.com/

Great view of everything.

Great for modelers...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Now I know what they mean when they say "It's good to have friends in high places"!

Its interesting too note...A few of the maintenance structures are still there....the engine house is still standing and being used as a shop...But sadly the car shop is gone,the water tank,as well as the Sierra main line..it was severed in 1985..looking at the top of the picture were the drying yards is were it was cut...Most of the log pond has been filled in,for more log storage..Strangely the rails are still present between Standard and Toulomne hidden under years of overgrown and brush

The people living up there are hoping that with enough overgrowth and collected dirt that no one
will bring back the idea of running a tourist operation between Standard and Tuolumne.

Out



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/15 09:44 by callum_out.

It doesn't matter...the Indians own the old R.O.W..And from what I hear..they have no thoughts of parting with it



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/15 22:58 by spicolli1864.

Wonderful historical shot ! Thanks Martin :)