Steam & Excursion > When Your Steam Locomotive Gives Out It's A Long Tow Back Home!

Not all days in the era of steam railroading went as planned.  Here is just such a day.

In July 1958 the West Side Lumber Co. of Tuolumne, California was running a number of steam powered log trains each day starting just after midnight and continuing into the afternoon.  As the logs were coming in from Camp 45 some 60+ miles by rail from the mill there were meets by trains from town with those from camp to exchange empties for loads.

One morning July 19, 1858 as West Side 3-truck Shay #14 was heading back to the woods from town with her string of empties the engine experienced a failure that prevented her from preceding further.  It could have been the bricks in the firebox collapsing, one or more tubes failing or any number of other problems.  All we know is that the crew for #14 killed the fire and called for help.

Soon after the distress call came in, West Side Shay #10 was dropping down into Camp 8 with her mill bound train of loaded log cars.  Hearing the news of #14, #10 cut off her train of loads on a siding in Camp 8 and dropped light down to #14 and her stranded train.  #10 then pulled #14 and her train of empties back up into Camp 8 and left the cars and her caboose on a siding.  #14 was cut out of her train and then added behind #10 back on #10's train of loaded cars for the trip back to the mill and engine shops at Tuolumne.  We see the train with #10 towing the cold and crew-less #14 as she passes through Baker Siding just a couple miles out from the mill gate.

Perhaps tomorrow would be a better day for #14 and her crew.

Martin



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/16 05:44 by LoggerHogger.

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During logging season, wasn't No. 14 always up in the woods working with Nos. 7, 12, and 15?  I didn't know it hauled trains into Tuolumne City.  Was it able to handle the same 19 car trains that Nos. 8, 9, and 10 handled?

Stan Praisewater

It certainly appears that all of her lineshafts are engaged while being towed, would this not cause the cylinders to starve for lubrication?

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The crew called for help ?  I do see a couple of lineside poles by the tracks. Did they have a company telephone line all those miles into the woods?

There must have been times when a crew member faced a mighty long walk to go for help.

Let me answer the questions that have been posed.

First, as to the call for help.  That wire you see along the right of way was a telephone line that the crews could connect to to call in to the dispatcher.  In the last few years there were 2-way radios in some camps.  The crew of #14 likely used the telephone line to call in the problem.

Yes, #14's line shafts are still connected.  The crew may have killed the fire in the boiler as it appears but still be using the hydro-static lubricators to keep the cylinders oiled as she is towed into town.  She would have had plenty of boiler pressure left to run the lubricators.

In the last few years of West Side's operation #14 was often found based out of Camp 45 many miles out of town.  This would be the case during the summer of 1958.   However, She would be assigned to take a loaded log train all the way into Tuolumne occasionally so she could go through her monthly boiler wash and any other maintenance that was needed.  She could have been returning from such a service trip when she experienced the failure that caused her to be rescued as we see here.

Here repairs did not take long to complete.  I have same shots of #14 back in service pulling a work train through Baker Siding a few days later on July 22, 1958.

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/16 05:43 by LoggerHogger.

Martin, I was under the understanding that 12 and 14 had mechanical lubricators mounted directly in front of the engineer, in which case the engine would have to have steam supplied to the cylinders for it to be effective, am I wrong?

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