Steam & Excursion > Some Of The Locations Steam Was Found Surprise You By Their Name!

When one comes across the name "Nashville" on a photo of steam railroading, one would generally assume this is a rail line in Tennessee.  However, that would not always be the case as we see here.

In September 1948 a railfan captured Southern Pacific 4-8-0 #2942 and her train moving through the siding at Nashville, but not the one in Tennessee.  Yes, #2942 was actually captured at Nashville, Oregon on the SP Toledo Branch.  This line still extends today from Albany, Oregon in the Willmette Valley over the Oregon Coast Range to the mill town of Toledo, Oregon.

While its good that Nashville, Oregon still sees train traffic today in the form of the Portland & Western, it just isn't the same with steam motive power like #2942.

Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/19 02:17 by LoggerHogger.

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That first car in the train is certainly interesting.  Anyone able to describe what it is?  And as usual, Martin, thanks for the daily dose of nostalgia.

Also, does any SP 4-8-0 still exist?

Gordon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/19 04:40 by gbmott.

SP 4-8-0 2914 is in Bakersfield CA. It is the only SP 4-8-0 in existence.

Posted from iPhone

All three doors seem to slide as they look like roller track hardware above each door. 
 

gbmott Wrote:
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> That first car in the train is certainly
> interesting.

Hard to tell, but is that a Missouri Pacific buzzsaw emblem between Doors 2 and 3?

Looks like a meet with train 705.

gbmott Wrote:
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> That first car in the train is certainly
> interesting.  Anyone able to describe what it is?

That first car appears to be a MOP 'watermelon car' although just what it's doing on a branch line in Oregon beats me.
Equally interesting are the two stock cars following the melon car as well as the PFE reefer on the opposing train. 

Did SP have a seasonal stock business on the Toledo Branch?

Charlie 

> SP 4-8-0 2914 is in Bakersfield CA.

At the Kern County Museum on Chester Ave.

The SP job that switched Toledo (not the Toledo Hauler) was officially called the "Nashville Roadswitcher," although I don't think anybody ever called it that.

Here's the 2914 in Bakersfield on June 2, 1980.
Bill Pyper
Salem, Oregon
 

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Might be a variation of this car ?
sorry it's "upside down"
 

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I’m pretty sure the logo on the boxcar is not a MoPac buzzsaw, but I can’t identify what it is.  The date is said to be 1947 and by that time most class 1 logos were in their final “modern” form.  I also don’t think it is a watermelon car as the doors don’t seem to provide ventilation when closed.  To me it remains a mystery.

Gordon

Here's an upright version of original's photo for comparison. 

Also, see:https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3492820,3492826#msg-3492826 for a better look at the doors on
a watermelon car. The doors of the Seaboard car appear to have vertical slats similar to the one in Martin's picture.
I suppose it's possible that by 1947 some of these cars had been 're-purposed' to haul other forms of freight however the Summer 2018 issue of Classic Trains has
an account of a "Watermelon Extra" run by the South Georgia Railway in 1955 although no photos accompany the story.

Charlie

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/19 20:51 by cewherry.

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