Steam & Excursion > This Monster Is All Cleaned Up And Headed Out For The Experiment!

Back in the age of steam there were times that those in charge of motive power decided to try certain experiments to see if certain locomotives would work well in districts they had never been designed for.  Here was one such trial.

Noted California railfan Al Phelps got wind that the Southern Pacific would be running one of their big 4-10-2's over Donner to Sparks, Nevada so she could be sent up to Alturas and tried out on the Modoc Line.  He chose one of his favorite spots near Cape Horn and waited for the train to come by.

Sure enough, on February 19, 1950 he caught a freshly shopped SP #5024 was cut in as a mid-train helper bound for Sparks.

We can only be left to assume that the test did not prove to be successful as cab-forwards and later AC-9's continued to rule the Modoc until all were replaced by diesels.

Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/16 03:06 by LoggerHogger.

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Wow, great slice of life image, and accompanying story.  Thanks for posting.

If any of you ever get a chance to find a copy, James Boynton wrote a fantastic book on the 4-10-2s called "Three Barrels of Steam".  I received a signed copy from him as a gift for my 16th birthday and it is one of the treasures of my library.

Gets into all the details of these unique engines.  I think he even discussed the attempts to use them on Donner and the Modoc.

Great photo!

Z

What a classic SP photograph.  Beautifully captures the spectacle of Donner Pass in the steam days.

Looks like the shop even painted the rods black.

One bad ass engine.
And the book is one of my prizes as well:)

What's even more amazing is that this engineer had to make a water stop, all while communicating somehow, someway with the engineer up front, and do it just right.  No radios or DPU.  Whistles, air signals and "feel."  Imagine trying that today with a train like this, on a grade, all while not tearing hte train apart.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/16 19:56 by coach.