Steam & Excursion > W.H. Eccles Lumber Company's two-truck "Hustler"

Yeah - I did mean "Huster", lol! 

A pan shot captured at Sumpter Valley Railway with a shutter speed of 1/10th.  The fireman of Sumpter Valley Railway's No. 3 leans out of the cab for a clear view as he "hustles" his Heisler west through Sumpter, OR. Fact: The Heisler was the fastest of the geared steam locomotive designs, and yet was still claimed by its manufacturer to have the same low-speed hauling ability.

A little history about Sumpter Valley and No. 3  - Martin, correct me if I'm mistaken on any facts:

Sumpter Valley's No. 3 was was built in Erie, PA, by Heisler Locomotive Works in 1915 for Eccles Lumber Co. located nearby at Austin, OR. The owner of Eccles Lumber Company was Williman H. Eccles, an immigrant from Scotland who settled in Ogden Valley, Utah in 1863. It was William's son, David, that, with the huge demand for wood for both housing and, of course, railroad ties, found work in the lumber industry. William's son, David was quite successful working in various enterprises in both Utah and Oregon. David Eccles was a hard worker - in fact, he reported himself to have traveled over 44,000 miles in 1904.. Perhaps he used the 2-truck Heisler seen above?? With his savings, he and his associates went on to build both the Sumpter Valley and Mount Hood railroads. David Eccles later went on to become Utah's first millionaire.  He also had 2 wives (concurrently!) and 10 children.  No doubt you can guess his religion, lol.

Incidentally - does anyone know what the "W.H." stood for? Have not been able to find any references to it on line, or really much else about the company and its railroad.  (William Hutchinson Eccles)

/Mitch

Updated. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/18 23:24 by Mgoldman.

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Absolutely "A+" pan shot!
Bob

That's beautiful!
 

Super pic! One of the best pan shots I've ever seen!!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

That really is good.  

JBWX

A couple minor corrections for which you asked....

The W.H. on the #3 were the first and middle initials of William H. Eccles, David Eccle's brother.  W.H. had a stake in the Oregon Lumber Company, and it was he who owned the W.H. Eccles Lumber Company, not David.  The W.H. Eccles Company had a mill at Austin and about 20 miles of logging railroad south of there, established by 1911.  After David died W.H. apparently clashed with David's son David Jr., which caused W.H. to gradually withdraw from the Oregon operations.  W.H. established a new operation at Cascade, Idaho, using equipment he brought from Oregon, including the #3.  That's how the #3 managed to survive so it could be brought back to Oregon by the Sumpter Valley Restoration group when they started up.  

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/18 21:23 by JDLX.

William Eccles was the lumberman who founded the company and brother of David Eccles who built the Sumpter Valley Railroad to serve the lumber interests. Here is the board of directors from 1892.

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I hope those couplers don't separate.
Time for a little shim work!

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

Thanks Jeff!  And Pax, too!

Re-reading links from two sites - are they incorrect?
Brother /father, owners, ect?

http://www.onlinebiographies.info/ut/eccles-d.htm
RE: David Eccles:
"He is the son of William Eccles, "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Eccles_(businessman)
RE: David Eccles:
"While he had been working he saved up a considerable amount
of money and put it to other uses. He started the Eccles Lumber
Company and several other enterprises."


/Mitch



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/18 23:06 by Mgoldman.

Thank you for sharing ...

A spectacular image ... nicely done!
and a truly class act 2-day photo excursion
by the Sumpter Valley Railway

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

I researched a lot of the Sumpter Valley history as a teenager.  I had to ask my mother what was Polygamy as mentioned in the book "Iron Lamps and Iron Ponies" by Shaw, Harlan, et. al!

David Eccles was born in Scotland parents of WIlliam Eccles. Die of "appolexy" in the newspaper reports, later reported as a heart attack at age 62. Brother was William Eccles the founder of the timber company.  Connection to present day is the Mt Hood Railway which they also built.  

What would have happend if the Prairie City extension had actually connected to the NCO at Alturas?
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/18 01:21 by Railpax71.

Railpax71 Wrote:
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> David Eccles was born in Scotland parents of
> WIlliam Eccles.  Brother was William Eccles...

Umm... I am getting really confused!

/Mitch

All great shots Mitch.  Glad you could make it out.

Martin

You got an A+ shot there. Excellent photography and an IOTD candidate for sure.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

That is truly a great shot. I love the way the steam from the dynamo lazily lays across the stack. 
And the lack of side rods.   Darn thing might as well be doing 80.
What shutter speed did you use?


Rick Z

That's the fastest Heisler I have ever seen, thanks to your pic, Mitch.

zoohogger Wrote:
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> What shutter speed did you use?
>
> Rick Z

Just for the fun of it - 1/10th!

nycman Wrote:
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> That's the fastest Heisler I have ever seen,
> thanks to your pic, Mitch.

Not Heisler... Hustler, lol.

/Mitch

That is the best pan shot I have ever seen of a 'Hustler' at speed. Excellent work as usual Mitch!

Keep'em coming!
SV

I usually don't comment too much on Image Of The Day, but I must say, your photo is outstanding! I love photography and seeing how your picture looks like it's in motion is great. Keep up the good work!

Mike

There were multiple generations of William Eccles and David Eccles which is where the confusion is coming from.  William Sr. was a Scottish convert to Mormonism.  He brought his family to the US via the Morman's "perpetual immigration fund".  The family were amoung those that walked across the plains to reach Utah. Among his sons were David Sr. and William Eccles Jr.   David Sr. is the most well known as he became a very successful business man in the intermountain west.  Amoung his holdingings and investments were several railroads including the Sumpter Valley and Mt. Hood.  He was invested in quite a number of lumber enterprises which included the Oregon Lbr. Co., Stoddard Lbr. Co., Grande Ronde Lbr., Nibley Mimnaugh Lbr.  and WH Eccles Lbr. all in Oregon, plus other lumber enterprises in Utah.  He was also one of the owners of Amalgamated Sugar Co. and banking interests in Utah, plus Utah Construction Co.  When he died unexpectedly in 1912, his heirs had a difficult time figuring out what all he had an ownership stake in as it was so diverse.  He often invested in companies started by his close coleagues taking some stock and allowing his name to be listed in conjunction with the company.  His name alone helped open doors.  David Sr.'s brother William H. Eccles was a close confidant who shared in the ownership and management of a number of David's primary interests.  For example William H. Eccles was the first president of the Mount Hood Railroad.  W.H. Eccles died in 1919 so it is more likely that his son Roland Eccles  began moving the W.H. Eccles Lbr. Co. to Idaho.  After David Sr.'s death David Jr. who was a son of the older of David Sr.'s two families took over managment of the affairs of the larger portion of the companies that were awarded to the first family.  David Sr.'s second wife's children received a much smaller inheritance.  The oldest child from that family was Marriner Eccles who took over managment of banking, sugar and some lumber interests held by the second family.  Marriner Eccles was one of the architects of "The New Deal", though a Republican, he worked closely with the Roosevelt administration as the chairman of the Federal Reserve.   As to the speed of WH Eccles #3, it will happily cruise at 12 to 15 miles an hour, though we normally only run it around 10.  It has sprinted up to just over 20 on one occasion that I am aware of. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/18 16:10 by jbbane.