Steam & Excursion > 100 Years Ago Today- McCloud River bought #18

On 16 November 1914, 100 years ago today, McCloud River's general office issued the work order to purchase its locomotive #18 from Baldwin. The #18 emerged from erecting halls in time to get an October build date, but it appears the railroad likely took possession of it on this date.

Baldwin factory records show the Caddo River Lumber Company of Arkansas originally ordered the locomotive, it was to be their 2nd #3, but their financing package fell apart. In the meantime, San Francisco was busy preparing to host the Panama-Pacific Exposition to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. The organizers wanted all the major California industries represented at the fair, and the Weed, McCloud River, and Red River lumber companies banded together to jointly sponsor a display featuring the Golden State's pine lumbering sector. Centerpiece of this display was a house built entirely of the products from the three sawmills, plus a fireplace constructed of volcanic rocks from the region. The McCloud River companies decided to provide a display train for the event; on 25 May 1914, the general office issued a work order to the car shop to build one new caboose specifically for the Exposition; the car shop completed caboose #015 in November 1914 at a total cost of $2380.97. In May, the McCloud car shop completed building ten 40-foot, 40-ton wood frame flatcars, all built under a work order issued 15 January 1913. The railroad selected two of these new flatcars, MR #1237 and #1239, upon which the lumber company loaded some prime old growth pine logs. Finally, in October 1914 Pullman built a lot of fifteen 40-foot, outside braced, single sheathed boxcars new for the McCloud River, and upon their arrival in McCloud the sawmill loaded one of them with finished lumber, which the railroad then added to the display train. The four cars moved out of McCloud together, likely in late November or early December 1914.

That left only a locomotive to lead the train, and McCloud River assumed the order for what would become the #18 after Caddo backed out. The #18 cost McCloud $16,009, plus $2569.50 freight and $204.85 break-in. Indications seem to be Baldwin delivered the #18 directly to the exposition, where it joined the four cars sent down from McCloud. The completed train then spent the entire year of 1915 on display at the exposition before being sent back to McCloud in January 1916, at which time all five pieces of equipment entered regular service.

Of the five pieces of equipment displayed at the Exposition, only the #18 is still with us today, though the two halves of the locomotive are in separate places. It served McCloud faithfully for close to forty years, finally being set aside around 1953, though the railroad did keep it on hand as a backup to the new Baldwin diesels. McCloud River sold the #18 to the Yreka Western in the very early days of 1956. The YW used the locomotive until it blew a cylinder head on an excursion in 1964. Jeff Forbis and the McCloud Railway returned the locomotive to McCloud in 1998 and restored it to operation in 2001, only to sell it to the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway in 2005. The #18 operates today on the V&T. The #18's original tender remained with the locomotive until January 1940, when the railroad effected a tender swap with McCloud's newly arrived #16; the tender served with the #16 until 1953, when another tender swap saw the #18's original tender go to the #19 immediately prior to the sale of that locomotive to the Yreka Western. The tender the #18 carries today was originally built for the Pacific-Portland Cement Company #102, which became McCloud River #17 in November 1942; it has been with the #18 since the shops swapped the tenders assigned to the two locomotives in February 1943. As for the rest of the display train, log flats #1237 and #1239 served until the railroad retired both cars in September 1940; I've never seen a good enough picture to determine which of the fifteen boxcars went to the Exposition, though the railroad converted almost all to log flats or work cars between the middle 1930s and the early 1940s; and caboose #015 lasted until November 1946, when the railroad retired the car and converted the body to a bath and shower house for the section crews stationed at Hambone. The #015's body survived until burned in the 1970s.

Attached are three pictures of the #18, first a drawing of it and the display train at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, then on a McCloud excursion at Curtis in May 2002, and finally at Mound House, Nevada, this past September. A full century old now, and still going strong!

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

---

---

---

Thank you for the interesting history lesson.

Yes, thank you Jeff, for a very interesting history. One of the first photographers specials that I participated in took place at the McCloud, and featured No. 18, and the late Malen Johnson running her. It was a very memorable experience, especially after all that has taken place since, the demise of the McCloud, death of Malen, removal of the tracks. All very sad, except for the fact that 18 still marches on at the V&T.

Jeffrey, you are Mr. McCloud River. Well done, and very interesting.

Lee Hower - And you know where I live...

Excellent story and pics Jeff, thanks for posting!

For reference, here are the Balwin specs for #18 as originally built.

Martin

---

Did not know about the Panama Pacific display. Very nice.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..