Steam & Excursion > The Beautiful Lines Of A Very Unique Mallet Steam Locomotive!

The smallest standard gauged 2-6-6-2's ever built for service in the U.S. were the "Trojan" and the "Samson" for the Caspar South Fork & Eastern which ran on the Northern California Coast out of Caspar, California.  These engines (#5 and #7 respectfully) were smaller than even the narrow gauge Sumpter Valley articulated with the same wheel arrangements.

In this fine photo taken during the only railfan excursion ever to visit the CSF&E we see #7 spotted in the sun for her portrait by Doug Richter.  The date is April 10, 1938 and a group of railfans from the Bay Area has been driven down by local autos from Ft. Bragg after their special train arrived via the California & Western.  CSF&E #7 took the group on a short train ride out of town to view the famous Jug Handle Trestle be fore returning to town.

Unfortunately the CSF&E shut down in 1945.  The steam roster stayed for several more years intact with the locomotives stored in the several engine houses in Caspar.  #5 and #7 were the last to go, having lasted until 1958 in the hopes of finding buyers.  However, due to their small size (note her low link & pin coupler pocket) and other aspects of wear and tear, no buyers were found and these two little mallets were finally scrapped.

Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/17 04:30 by LoggerHogger.

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Such a shame that one of those couldn't be saved, perfect small tourist line engine, and love
the tender!

Out

They sure didn't skimp on the headlight.

If I recall correctly, one of the two 2-6-6-2s was donated to a Bay Area historical group, but they had to have the locomotive off of the property in only 30-days.  The group couldn't muster the logistics for the move in time, and the locomotive was scrapped in Caspar.  (The railroad had no physical connection with any other railroad.)

I was reading recently, probably in Wurm's Mallets on the Mendocino Coast (though it could have been elsewhere), that the California Western and some others looked at them, but that there were several issues (including repairs to the fire boxes and maybe boilers, plus ground clearance) that, while acceptable for logging use, would have caused them to fail ICC inspections and therefore would have generally prohibited their use on common carriers. I'll have to relocate that reference this evening.

Thanks as always for the photo.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

Posted from iPhone

Yes, the Calif-Western looked at her and yes there were boiler/firebox issues. Several of the CSF&E had their boilers replaced while in service at Caspar which makes you wonder about their water or the maintenance used on the boilers.

Also in 1953 the Arcata & Mad River RR looked seriously at #7 as well.  They passed however and bought McCloud River RR #23 instead.

Also her low drawbar was made for the disconnects at CSF&E which made her difficult to use with interchange cars.

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/17 04:06 by LoggerHogger.

Is it pronounced Malley  or Mallet?

dougd Wrote:
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> Is it pronounced Malley  or Mallet?

Spelled "Mallet" but pronounced "Malley"

Martin