Steam & Excursion > Sometimes The Necessary Steam Power Took This Certain Form!

The steam power utilized by railroads "back in the day" took all kinds of form and sizes.  When the power was needed to clear a wreck or do heavy work then the steam power was even more massive and took the form we see here.

Parked in Southern Pacific's Dunsmuir, California yards in the late 1940's we see SP MW #7015 and her tender car ready for the next call to duty.  This 120-ton  Bucyrus-Erie steam crane can handle most any track side calamity that SP may encounter.

The utility of these huge steam cranes was so valuable that they remained in steam power for many years after the rest of the SP steam motive power fleet had been dieselized.  Thus proving once again, there is no substitute for raw steam power at it's finest.

Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/16 03:31 by LoggerHogger.

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Very nice photo.  I remember these types of cranes all around the railroads years ago.

Are you sure about the 250 tons Martin? Looks like about half that capacity.

Posted from iPhone

Finderskeepers Wrote:
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> Are you sure about the 250 tons Martin? Looks like
> about half that capacity.
>
> Posted from iPhone

I would agree. It only has 4 wheel trucks and the boom is not as massive as the 250tonners were.
Steve

It looks like the one stored by Fred K in Merrel OR along with the support cars.

It is interesting to see the different booms on what appears to be the same size boiler, cab and frame of 'crane'. There are some real monsters which appear to be specific to a Roadmaster's past experience on the district's wrecks and whether they have a straight lift or perhaps what the largest steam locomotive they have on the district and what sort of mess they can get into. Dunsmuir certainly saw all the largest that SP had. btw I recognoze the hillside but not the buildings, the 'river' would be between these storage tracks and the hillside.

A couple of websites say SPMW 7005/7020 went to Antique Powerland  near Portland Ore., very interesting story about it as well:
http://espee.railfan.net/wreckers.html

Kepner collection at Merril has one about this size, listed as 7180. They say Niles Canyon has one as well.
Truckee has the 7050, similar size but it has the enclosed cab.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/16 13:05 by TCnR.

SP 7130 is at the Arizona Ry Museum, Chandler, AZ

7015 is a 120 Ton wrecker.

px320 Wrote:
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> SP 7130 is at the Arizona Ry Museum, Chandler, AZ

Less than a mile from where I sit right now!