Steam & Excursion > Even When The Factory Shine Is Long Gone, The Work Must Go On!

Some steam locomotives were blessed with a life of loving care and attention that included regular washing and polishing to the point that often the lettering on their builder plates would nearly be polished down to nothing.  However, such was not the case with all steam locomotives as we see depicted here.

The date is May, 1939 and Doug Richter has stopped by Canby, California to see if he can capture on film the elusive Big Lakes Box Lumber Co. Willamette #104.  As we can see, Doug got lucky on this fine sunny day in Northern California.  There in the yards, he heard the gentle panting noise that can only come from the air pump on a working steam locomotive.  After a few minutes he was able to find his prey as #104 and her crew came into view as they were switching the yards getting ready for the next log train to head back to the woods for more logs.

Built in May 1926 as C/N 23 by the Willamette Iron & Steel Works of Portland, Oregon, #104 shows none of the care ant attention given to other steam power on other railroads.  Here is the face of a working logging lokie.  Any attention given #104 has been reserved to mechanical maintenance rather than aesthetic appearances.  Long gone is the factory shine that #104 sported when she left the Willamette factory on Front Street in down town Portland some 13 years earlier.  Replacing that shine is a deep coating of soot and grime that comes from hard work in the woods and only enough mechanical attention to keep her running.

If there is any bright spot to have come from this obvious lack of claening and polishing of #104 throughout her life, at least her builders plate was still in good shape at the end of her career when she went off to scrap.

Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/19 00:53 by LoggerHogger.

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Martin --

Kind sir, where on Front Street was the Willamette factory located, pray tell?

Bob Willer

Bob,

It was located at approximately the 2700 block of NW Front Ave on the river side of the street.  The location is between Nicolai St. and Terminal 2.  On google maps the location is labeled as "Sulzer Pumps US".  In google maps street view the building marked "2700 H" and the structures to the left of that building are the old Willamette Iron and Steel buildings, greatly modified over the years.

Joe 

Any relation to Bingham Willamette, the pump manufacturer?

William Jeffers, P.E.
San Dimas, CA

engrbill47 Wrote:
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> Any relation to Bingham Willamette, the pump
> manufacturer?

Yes, Bingham Willamette was the successor to Willamette Iron & Steel.

Martin