Steam & Excursion > Got A Worn Out Locomotive? No Problem For This Railroad!

Yes, this rotary plow started out live as a locomotive, simple as that.  She was just to good to throw away when she was worn out.

We see before us Swayne Lumber Co.'s Rotary Plow #1.  This plow began life in 1903 as a Class A Climax locomotive.  She was one of only 4 Class A Climaxes to make it to California.  She was used in logging service on the 3-foot gauge Swayne logging line out of Oroville, California until the early 1920's when she was deemed too old and light for further service.  This is when the company's master mechanic decided to re-use her for a new purpose.

Her boiler was removed and a new marine engine was installed to replace the original Climax 2-cylinder unit.  Swayne then bought a surplus rotary truck from the California Highway Department and scavenged the rotary plow unit from that old truck for the new Swayne Rotary. 

The improvised rotary was a sauces on the Swayne line and helped clear the line each spring so that logging could resume in the high country.  Finally when Swayne Lumber shut down it's logging line for good in the late 1930's the rotary was sold to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge RR who took her to their shops in Grass Valley, California where the rotary was repaired and ready for service once again.  Unfortunately, there was not enough snow on the NCNG in it's last few years for the rotary to ever work there.  Finally in 1942 when the NCNG was abandoned, the rotary was scrapped along with the other equipment on that line.

Quite the interesting life for a simple Class A Climax.

Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/15 04:24 by LoggerHogger.

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There's a prototype for everything.

So this plow was powered by the engine from the highway rotary as well?
The highway rotary source of parts brings to mind the scenes from George R. Stewart's book "Storm", written in the late 1930s, using trucks equipped like this to fight snow on US-40 on Donner Pass.  Especially the scene where a plow hit a rock in a small slide below Windy Point and had to be repaired beside the road under a tarp in the blowing snow.  A time when men were men and boys went fishing.

Kit Courter
Menefee, CA
LunarLight Photography

Has anyone ever done a map of the Swayne operation?  

Stan Praisewater

Not only is there a map but there is also a good book on the Swayne published by PFM a few years ago.  Out of print and can be spendy - but worth it.

Martin

LoggerHogger Wrote:
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> Not only is there a map but there is also a good
> book on the Swayne published by PFM a few years
> ago.  Out of print and can be spendy - but worth
> it.
>
> Martin

Thanks, Martin.

The book is not too pricy - I ordered it off of Amazon.  The Diamond and Caldor is worse. 

Stan

Stan,

Glad you got one for a price you liked.  I can not believe what the D&C books go for!

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/15 13:34 by LoggerHogger.