Steam & Excursion > A Contractor Helps Union Pacific In The Columbia Gorge!

Even the big mainline railroads would use contractors from time to time to keep their track in shape. One of the best known of these contractors on the West Coast was Willett & Burr.

In this rare old photo we see W&B #59 on the head end of a short train of Ballast cars working on a siding on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge. The 0-4-0T was turned out by the Rodgers Locomotive works near the turn of the century. She was built as #1 for the Western Meat Company and later sold to Willett & Burr who used her on various jobs around the West such as we see here.

From the looks of the crew gathering around the one car that has tipped for dumping. It appears they have a problem with the car that needs addressing. Maybe this was a Monday!

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/14 07:40 by LoggerHogger.

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Your postings add a great deal of visual history unseen by so many of us, and your captions provide an interesting insight into earlier railroading.
Thanks for posting these.
Bob

GREAT picture Martin. This sure looks like just west of Mosier and the twin highway tunnels up on the rock face. Always loved the transition between Hood River and Mosier.....wet to dry. This HR boy's heart still resides in the Columbia Gorge. Arlen

In Niles Canyon we have an ex-WP side dump that is a bigger version of those cars. The big problem with that car is it wants to jump off the rail when it dumps. We never had it derail but you definately saw daylight under the offside wheels (a lot of it a couple times). For safety we looped a chain through the truck frame and under the rail to keep it on track.

We now have two more modern Mangor side dumps that stay on the rail when they dump.

Side dumps are fun to see in action. It's a side of railroading most railfans are never exposed to.

As you say, side dump cars can be tricky.

Martin

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Martin, I am among many I'm sure that enjoy your images that you take the time to post for the rest of us to view. I hope that someday when that eventuality that happens to all of us (and I hope it's a good long time from now) that you have made provisions for your vast collection to be saved for posterity. You've got an amazing collection, and again, thanks for sharing parts of it with the rest of us!

Dan in Wichita

Those cars really look top-heavy. Nice pictures. Thanks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/14 14:25 by tomstp.

Didn't the McCloud River Railroad have a few of those cars like we see in the photo of the dump car mishap on the Tillamook Branch?