Steam & Excursion > This Would Be the Last Morning This Crew Would Ready An Engine!

All good things come to and end, and such is the case for the crew of this steam locomotive captured in this photo.

It is long before down on the morning of June 7, 1961 and Shorty Maddox and his crew already have a fire lit and the boiler in this Shay up to working pressure as they ease the engine out of the enginehouse for the very last time in it's logging career.  This will be the very last run into the woods on the narrow gauge logging line of the West Side Lumber Company of Tuolumne, California.

The last log train had rolled through the mil yard gates in October of the year before.  Now, all that remains to be done is to move some stored cars down from the woods to new locations to make them easier to reach by the scrappers that are destined to come one day in the future.  Shay #14 has been chosen to make this last run and her crew is wasting no time in getting her ready for what they already know will be the last steam train into the woods above Tuolumne.

Fortunately, Jim Wren and a few other railfans had learned of the trip and they have come to record this historic run on film.  When #14 is done for the day, she will not return to the enginehouse, but will be parked with all the other Shays in yards to await their future.  Such is how the "good thing" we knew as the West Side came to an end.

Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/19 03:37 by LoggerHogger.

---

Thank you Martin! Is this one of the Shays that is stored at the Colorado Railroad Museum?

Yes, West SIde #14 and #12 are currently stored at Golden at the museum.

Martin

It is for photos and stories like this, that I renew my TO membership.  Thank you Martin.

The pick up truck with no rear fenders is almost as iconic now as the engine . .

Craig
mcmrailvideos.com