Western Railroad Discussion > Chasing Willamette & Pacific's Toledo Hauler

Touring a historic Southern Pacific timber branch through the Oregon Coast Range had always been a dream of mine. I was fortunate to realize that dream by following Willamette & Pacific's "Toledo Hauler" from Corvallis to Toledo, Oregon on the sunny afternoon and evening of July 13, 2004.

I offer you 10 images to enjoy of my journey that day...an experience I won't soon forget! The good old days of catching SIX Southern Pacific SD9E's barking up the hill to Summit from Philomath are long gone, but seeing firsthand the types of terrain and the rugged operation the Espee had to deal with are still there, despite G&W orange and the Santa Fe paint. If you ever have a free afternoon to witness this operation...do it!

In the first image, taken around 2:30 in the afternoon, W&P 2312 heads south down city streets in the middle of the historic district in the city of Corvallis, Oregon. By the way, this is home to Oregon State University, and the Toledo Hauler cuts right though the campus on it's journey west out of town...

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A few miles west of Corvallis, the line runs through the small lumber milling town of Philomath...

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A few miles up the line the branch passes through the tiny community of Wren, Oregon...

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The apex at Summit, Oregon is found via a secondary highway between Wren and Eddyville. Here the hauler is just west of Summit, meandering downgrade through a brief gap in the tall trees...

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The train briefly heads through an open pasture area at Norton's. Check out W&P's interesting slug units...are these modified from former GP7's or GP9's?

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Probably my favorite shot of the day was this classic view where the Toledo Branch crosses the main highway to the coast found at Eddyville...

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Between Eddyville and Chitwood, the tracks are parallel to the main highway and shadowed by tall trees. Here the W&P 2312's old Santa Fe colors momentarily glow bright yellow, just east of the town of Chitwood...

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At about 8:00 p.m. the Toledo Hauler arrived at it's namesake destination. Here the train has stopped just to the north of the giant Georgia Pacific paper mill...

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The train is coming to a stop at the tiny Toledo depot for a crew change. A little league baseball game was going on just to the left of the station...

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Apparently the Genesee & Wyoming's Willamette & Pacific Railway has been hauling trains to and from Albany and Toledo since it aquired the line from the SP in 1993.

May it continue to do so for many years to come!

James

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Great shots James! Thanks for sharing your trip.
Reb

Looks like you had the same [luck] or lack of, depending on exactly what you were after. Except that you followed all the way up and back. My last [and first] visit also had every unit, except the LEAD in W&P paint. I, personally wanted to photograph W&P paint. Great shots as usual.
JB

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> Looks like you had the same or lack of, depending
> on exactly what you were after. Except that you
> followed all the way up and back. My last visit
> also had every unit, except the LEAD in W&P
> paint. I, personally wanted to photograph W&P
> paint. Great shots as usual.
> JB

Hey Joe...true story regarding the Santa Fe scab on the point. Oh well, I figure that G&W's corporate colors are becoming so ubiquitous, that perhaps one day the old GP39-2 in ATSF paint will one day be interesting...not unlike all of the great old photos that you post for all of us to enjoy. Keep it up, we love it!

Another great set of photos, James.

I drove along the line from Albany to Toledo 2 years ago, in a car borrowed from my friend whom I was visiting in Salem. Unfortunately, I didn't do my homework and figured that the job must leave Albany sometime in the morning. I headed west and got some neat shots of trestles near Eddystone and Nashville, but never did see the Toledo Hauler. I know now that the job doesn't get to Corvalis until the afternoon. I did however photograph the Toledo Switcher (an SW1500, I believe) in Toledo that day.

The next year I caught W&P's Mac Hauler, and in the same turn of luck as you and 3rdswitch, it had a GP39-2 in ATSF colors leading several orange units.

Thanks for posting,

Rich

GrandeGold Wrote:
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> The train is coming to a stop at the tiny Toledo
> depot for a crew change.



Odds are the crew went for beans rather than a change. Normally, they run Albany-Toledo-Albany in just under 12 hours, and if they were through Corvallis at 2:30, they were right on time.

BobE, veteran of 4 Toledo Hauler chases.

Good report James. I chased the train on June 1st of this year. The train left late so I couldn't get the shot of the Corvallis street running. But it provided perfect light for the newly opened up shot at the summit. I was happy with it.

Ted Curphey
funnelfan@icehouse.net

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funnelfan Wrote:
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> Good report James. I chased the train on June 1st
> of this year. The train left late so I couldn't
> get the shot of the Corvallis street running. But
> it provided perfect light for the newly opened up
> shot at the summit. I was happy with it.
>

Ted, for those of us that haven't chased the Toledo in a while, where would the newly-open spot be?

- gb -

The hillside west of the tracks between the summit and the old highway underpass was recently logged. The late day sun was shining directly on the side of the train that was heading geographiclly north.

Ted Curphey
funnelfan@icehouse.net

Nice shot of Rose, the job's conductor.

They usually just grab a cup of coffee at the depot and head right back, depending on where the patch crew is going to catch them. Yeah, I said patch crew. With a 15 mph slow order all the way west from Flynn, the original crew usually only makes it part way back, the goat fram west of the tunnel often being the change point if not Eddyville or Chitwood. and on duty times have varied a lot. Last week, it was 3 or 4 pm because their trains weren't ready.

Roustabout out

BobE Wrote:
>
> Odds are the crew went for beans rather than a
> change. Normally, they run Albany-Toledo-Albany
> in just under 12 hours, and if they were through
> Corvallis at 2:30, they were right on time.
>
> BobE, veteran of 4 Toledo Hauler chases.

Is the Corvallis street running part of the line that was electrified from about 1912 to 1929? If so, are there any relics (passenger stops, substation buildings, etc.? Back in 1991, my wife and I visited Newburg and Dundee, and one of the locals mentioned that the Dundee sub (now an empty concrete shell) was still in place. As an old-time traction fan, who remembers the ex-Portland Red Electric cars on the Pacific Electric, I naturally made the pilgrimage to this relic of the SP electric days. (My wife is quite used to my going ga-ga over some seemingly non-descript building or a rusty rail relic. She will often take pictures of me touching or holding onto the object, as if to meld with the spirit that dwells within)