Steam & Excursion > Sights Like This Very Seldom Occur In Modern Day Railroading!

Our current day railroading dominated with scores of seemingly disposable diesel locomotives is a vast change in how railroads once treated their precious motive power.  This photo demonstrates that change in thinking.

We are at Palisades Nevada in June 1938 in the yards of the 3-foot gauge Eureka-Nevada Railroad.  There in a line are the burned hulks of 3 ancient steam locomotives.  Too damaged by a roundhouse fire to be operable but still too valuable to be scrapped.

In the center of this line of once proud engines we see E-N #9. This 2-6-0 was built by Brooks in 1881 for the Utah Northern.  She later went to the Sumpter Valley Ry as their #5 before finally arriving at Palisades in 1912.

Even though it had been a number of years since the enginhouse fire that damaged these engines, the thinking of the railroad was that they still might need to rebuild them, or at least use them for a parts source.  Again, they were just too valuable to dispose of quickly.

Thus they sat in the blazing sun for years being visited occasionally by the master mechanic in need of a part or, more often, by a visiting railfan to capture their decaying bones on film.

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/17 04:09 by LoggerHogger.

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Another classic photo was the essential 'back story' included . . . thanks Martin . . . TO wouldn't be the same without your daily contributions!

Craig
http://www.mcmrailvideos.com

I wonder how many locomotives had drivers without flanges, like the main driver on this one ?   They must have had some pretty tight turns.   I thought they did that mostly on model trains.   Did big road engines like UPs 4-12-2s have any wheels without flanges ?

Craig Hanson
Vay, ID.

In a word, yes.