Steam & Excursion > Steam May Be The Focal Point But Change Is In The Background!

There is no question that the sight of Western Pacific 2-6-6-2 #210 bearing down on you as seen in this photo captures ones attention completely for a moment.  Even the siding sign of Clear Creek Junction does not warrant notice as our focus is exclusively on the ALCO mallet coming our direction.

However, that siding sign does remind us that we are on WP's high-line between Keddie and Bieber, California.  That makes us recall, that there is yet another railroad that calls this spot home.  Sure enough, there she is, hiding behind the mallet on the right.  Ever so faintly we can make out the outline of another piece of motive power, but this is not steam.  We have managed to spot an early center cab diesel belonging to the Almanor Railroad that joins the WP at Clear Creek Junction.

From the railfans on the ground by the Almanor Rr #106, it is apparent that we have stumbled onto a railfan excursion.  WP #210 is stopped with her excrusion train to allow some of her passengers the chance to take a ride on the Almanor RR behind their new diesel.  Why the Almanor RR did not bring out their 2-truck Heisler #104 for the fans is anyone's guess.  Perhaps the Almanor RR officials were more proud of their new GE diesel than they were of the second-hand #104 they held as standby.

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/18 00:47 by LoggerHogger.

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This was the "Weekend in the Sierra Pines" excursion that came out of Oakland, CA on May 5, 1951 behind WP 4-8-2 #179.  The train made photo stops on Altamont Pass, Pulga, Rock Creek trestle, and the Keddie roundhouse (where the eastbound California Zephyr overtook it) before arriving at Quincy Jct., where passengers transferred to gondolas and Quincy RR 2-6-2T #2 took them down into town.  The next day (May 6, 1951, when the posted photo was taken), 179 led the train back west to Keddie and handed off to 210 for the run up to Clear Creek Jct. and the Almanor RR side trip.  WP 210 then brought the train back to Keddie and 179 took it home.  See these old threads for other photos of the trip:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,2039047,2039049#2039049
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,3115909,3115909#3115909
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,3695531,3695531#3695531
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2322274,2322274#2322274
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,2039679,2039679#2039679
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,3424086

Awesome set of locos.  Thanks for posting!

Z

Hey, they were proud of their new toy. Remember, back then being "modern" was everything!