Steam & Excursion > This Photo Shows How Steam Preservation Has Changed!

When I came across this photo I could not help but pause and stare at what story it told beyond the image itself. While the photographer my have thought he was simply capturing a single train movement on film, he was actually preserving an image of an era that would never come again.

The year is 1970 and Kyle Railways is operating the Oregon Pacific & Eastern in Cottage Grove, Oregon. They have decided to start weekend steam excursions on the OP&E. At the same time Kyle Railways also operated the Yreka Western in Northern California. The YW had 2 ex-McCloud River RR Baldwin 90-ton Mikes on the roster. It was decided that YW #19 was the best candidate for restoration to operation on the OP&E so she was cleaned up for the trip north.

What the photo shows is the relative ease with which steam operators in the 1960's and 1970's could move their steam motive power from location to location. In this case all Kyle had to do was place a call to the "Friendly Southern Pacific" and they picked up #19 dead-in-tow at Montague, California and headed north over the Siskiyous up to Cottage Grove. In the photo #19 is passing the SP depot in Glendale, Oregon.

In this day in age movement of dormant steam engines can no longer be on their own wheels. We either have to load them on flat cars or load them on trucks. This adds considerable expense to steam restoration which is already an expensive venture.

As this single photo shows, my how times have changed!

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/14 04:31 by LoggerHogger.

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Martin, how did #19 get back down to McCloud for that Chris Skow trip, decades ago? And the #18 too.

Both of those moves were some of the rare movements on wheels. SP was still in charge of the railroad. #19 was towed under steam down the short distance to the interchange in Mt. Shasta.

The #18 move to McCloud was VERY unusual as she was dead in train just like the #19 in the above shot. Only because McCloud Ry owner Jeff Forbis had such a good relationship with the UP was he able to get the special movement approved.

When we sold the #18 to the V&T Commission, she was trucked out of McCloud, just like we trucked out McCloud #25 years later.

Martin

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Thanks Martin. I managed to get all 3 engines operating at McCloud. 3 separate trips from New Jersey. Sure glad I did. Especially #25 with you. Great trip! All gone now.

It was fun having the #19 down at McCloud.

Martin

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Just curious... how the heck do the truckers, with the extremely low flat beds, go over the tops of hills in the roadway, or even a railroad crossing, without bottoming out?

It is also nice that the Glendale depot is also restored and looking great.

Keystone1 Wrote:
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> Just curious... how the heck do the truckers, with
> the extremely low flat beds, go over the tops of
> hills in the roadway, or even a railroad crossing,
> without bottoming out?


Pre-trip planning if you're not familiar with the route is "Key" (no pun intended) to not having a high-center incident. It's kind of surprising where you can go with a couple inches ground clearance, but the longer the deck of the trailer or in some cases the "well" where the load rides, the more difficult clearance issues become. Most trailers, but not all have a hydraulic system that allows you to lift the trailer up from it's transport position to get you out of trouble, but some like the Cozad-type are a mechanical lift utilizing flanged rollers on the gooseneck, or hitch area of the trailer, and ramps on the frame of the tractor up to the fifth wheel, kinda like a battering ram to lift the loaded trailer into its transport position. Not my favorite, and if you hang one of those up, it's nothing but jacks, blocks, wedges, swearing , chains, yelling...you get the picture.

Cheers, Dave

Brings back a great memory. In November or December of 1965 Gyralite and I took a trip in my new TR-4A to the SP's Old Colton Roundhouse to see what was what.

As we drove by we noticed what appeared to be the tender of a steam locomotive. Knowing that steam had been long gone we parked the car and took a stroll. What we found was ex-Great Western Ry. 2-8-0 #75. There was a fellow, whose name I don't remember on the engine as messenger. He had traveled with the engine dead in train from Utah and told us it was on its way to the Eagle Mountain Ry. for use in a film called "The Professionals." He had been on the road for several days and we asked if there was anything he needed. He said he could sure use some hot food. G and I made a food run and when we got back we learned that the engine would be taken in a special move to Indio. It was a rainy day, but we chased the move all the way to Indio.

Pic 1, The tender, SP 4614, my TR and a rainbow.

Pic 2, The engineer's side of the cab. The funnel is part of an oil line to lubricate a main driver bearing.

Pic 3, Switching #75 for departure.

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Pic 4, The special is ready to depart Old Colton.

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Fortunately we can still ride behind, photograph, and enjoy McCloud 18 and 25. The future of 19 is cloudy at best. Visit the Virginia and Truckee for 18, and the Oregon Coast Scenic for 25.

Being a bit new to rail fanning, I'm curious -- was there a specific incident or accident that led to the policy of not wanting dead steam in tow? Or did somebody just decide that it wasn't worth the risk?

Too many instances of hot bearings where engines had to be set out, or even tying up a busy mainline when they couldn't easily be moved further.

LoggerHogger Wrote:
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>
>
> The year is 1976 and Kyle Railways is operating
> the Oregon Pacific & Eastern in Cottage Grove,
> Oregon. They have decided to start weekend steam
> excursions on the OP&E. At the same time Kyle
> Railways also operated the Yreka Western in
> Northern California. The YW had 2 ex-McCloud
> River RR Baldwin 90-ton Mikes on the roster. It
> was decided that YW #19 was the best candidate for
> restoration to operation on the OP&E so she was
> cleaned up for the trip

The date should be around 1970 or 71 not 1976. Especially since the 19 was on the OP&E for the filming of Emperor of the North which was released in 1973. When the 19 left Yreka she was operable and was steamed under her own power to the interchange at Montague. And according to some of the older guys who used to work on the YW and on the 19, Fox studios payed for an overhaul of the 19 after the filming of the movie, not sure of the validity of Fox doing that, but Steve Beraneck (sp) would probably know about it.

Tim Stricker
Gillette, WY

Posted from Android

Agreed on the date...Kent Stephen's YW Centennial History book gives the move date as early 1970, and Fred Stindt's book on the OP&E says 1971. One was or another, the OP&E excursion trains with the #19 started May 1971.

#18 had been sidelined since 1964 with a blown cylinder head...hence its unavailability.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV