Steam & Excursion > Sierra #18, 36

Two questions about Sierra Railroad Steam engines. Whatever happened to #18, last I heard it was a display at a mobile home or auto dealership? Sierra #36 still stored with all those other steam locomotives in northern california?

Hi there -
Sierra 18 is now in southern Oregon in the hands of a locomotive collector that has a number of locomotives stored in southern Orgegon and northern California. Most of the locomotives are stored outside and are taken apart. Sierra 18 was for a long time displayed in Sacramento, and was then moved to the Roseville yard area (I think there were some posts on TO about it earlier). It now resides in Southern Oregon. Sierra 36 operated on a few tourist pikes in AZ and Utah up to the mid 1980s, and then was sold to him when the Heber Creeper shut down, I believe it is also in Southern Oregon at this time. Sierra 38 is stored on a siding (or isolated track - cant tell it was under show when I saw it) at McCloud CA in a sad state. I also believe the same collector owns the 34, which has been stored inside at the Jamestown roundhouse and retired from about 1979. The Niles Canyon Railway (PLA) also stables two ex Sierra locomotives - #12 the 3T SHAY is there and last operated in the mid 1980s. They also have the #30.
A final unique trivia point, is Sierra #5 (0-6-0 CN5177) was sold to the Hilo Railroad and coverted to a 2-6-2 and operated in Hawaii until scrapped.
FYI

Collectors name is Fred Kepner, although the technical owner is Fred's Great Western Railroad Museum. Fred owns the 18, 34, 36, and 38, along with a number of other locomotives, mostly from the timber industry.

The #18 and #36 are currenly stored in Merrill, OR, on the CA-OR border. The #18 was stored inside the old Champion International truck shop building in McCloud until two or three years ago, when it moved north.

Only the frame/running gear and boiler/cab of the #38 remain in McCloud, and they are on some isolated trackage that is not tied into anything else. The boiler rests on the ground. The #38 and the equipment stored with it there- an ex-McCloud Burro crane, and ex-McCloud Brownhoist crane, an ex-McCloud flatcar, an ex-BN/NP wooden bunk car, and an ex-Pickering tank car. The tender used to be there, but Fred moved it to Merrill sometime between December 2002 and May 2003. This equipment used to sit a half mile or so east of that spot in the McCloud's equipment storage yard, but it was moved to the current location after some litigation between the McCloud Railway and the museum. The museum still has a dozen or so passenger cars sitting in the equipment storage yard.

JDLX
Elko, NV

Heres Sierra #36 as of a few months ago at Merrill, Oregon. Its really a sad sight to see these locomotives wasting away.

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