Steam & Excursion > This Steam Powered Passenger Train Stops For A Few Minutes!

I don't have a lot of information on this photo to tell us what is going on here. 

Southern Pacific #3249 has stopped her short passenger train at Black Butte, California.  She is not taking water at the water column we see in the background, and no crew appear to be on the ground for servicing of the engine itself.  There appear to be a couple of photographers on the ground, but not enough to make this a railfan excursion.  They may simply be chasing the train as is the one who took this fine photo. 

She is SP train #327, The Shasta, which operated between Black Butte and Ashland, Oregon.  Schedules of the Klamath and Shasta were interlaced when they both ran, the former via the Cascade line and the latter the Siskiyou line. The Shasta was the last Siskiyou through train, pulled off in the late 1930s. For quite some time in the 1930s, and again from 1949 the Klamath was the third and bottom-ranked train on the Portland line, making all stops. Power was mostly 4300s. But GS-1s were used regularly in Oakland-Portland passenger service until a number went to Texas in the early 1940s. GS-6 class acquired in 1943 replaced them in the Portland pool. For some time in the 1930s, Portland Division P-8 and P-10 class Pacifics were used on trains 7-8 between Portland and Klamath Falls.

Martin



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 05:14 by LoggerHogger.

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That looks like an MK5 pulling this train...

Likely they're waiting for 328

http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/maps/perryETT/1950-08-13SP_Shasta57-SheldonPerry.pdf

After the Shasta Daylight started, 327-328 connected with it at Dunsmuir, both ways;
scheduled meet was Black Butte.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 09:38 by timz.

Is the station out of sight on the otherside of the train?

Hi LoggerHogger, I really enjoy looking at your post everyday.  It is a little history lesson.  You provide really nice descriptions to each photo!  My question is if you have ever made a book?  If so I might look into purchasing it!  Also, do you have any photos of a circus train?  Thanks!

1Train2Many Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi LoggerHogger, I really enjoy looking at your
> post everyday.  It is a little history lesson. 
> You provide really nice descriptions to each
> photo!  My question is if you have ever made a
> book?  If so I might look into purchasing it! 
> Also, do you have any photos of a circus train? 
> Thanks!

I am glad you like the posts.  I publish in many books and magazines.  I am currently working with 2 other authors on a book on Baldwin's Logging Mallets.  We should have it to the printer shortly.  I do not have many circus train photos as most of my shots are Western and there were not as many circus trains in the West than in other parts of the Country.

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/23 06:52 by LoggerHogger.

Hi Martin, Again, I think it would amazing if you made one book on all the various trains and postings that you have on Trainorders because they are all different themes and fantastic photography.  Again, we enjoy your postings daily.  

Martin- what year is the photo? Late in the steam era the “Scoot” was 327/328 and ran a round trip between Dunsmuir and I believe Grants Pass. The power at least towards the end was the MK-5 in your photo. There is video of it on the SP Shasta Route Vol. 2 by Catenary Video Productions. Maybe this is just the last run?

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 12:32 by McCloud25.

McCloud25 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Martin- what year is the photo? Late in the steam
> era the “Scoot” was 327/328 and ran a round
> trip between Dunsmuir and I believe Grants Pass.
> The power at least towards the end was the MK-5 in
> your photo. There is video of it on the SP Shasta
> Route Vol. 2 by Catenary Video Productions. Maybe
> this is just the last run?

A photo in Austin & Dill's The Southern Pacific in Oregon identifies the last run of 327 was on February 24, 1952
using engine 2407.

Charlie
 

cewherry Wrote:

> A photo in Austin & Dill's The Southern Pacific
> in Oregon identifies the last run of 327 was on
> February 24, 1952 using engine 2407.

The 2407 typically handled the northern end of the run in the train's final months, but the operation usually called for an engine change to a Mikado for the run over Siskiyou Summit.  The train was popular with railfans at the end, too - Fred Matthews' two volumes of Northern California Railroads have several pictures of 327/328 in December 1951, including a few with 3249.  I'm pretty sure they weren't taken the same day as the photo above - 3249 had snow on the pilot, the weathering pattern is a little different, and the diffuser behind the "2" in the train indicator is intact.  The photo above could be the last run, but chances are it isn't.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cewherry Wrote:
>
> > A photo in Austin & Dill's The Southern
> Pacific
> > in Oregon identifies the last run of 327 was
> on
> > February 24, 1952 using engine 2407.
>
> The 2407 typically handled the northern end of the
> run in the train's final months, but the operation
> usually called for an engine change to a Mikado
> for the run over Siskiyou Summit. 

So, presuming the engine change would have been at Ashland, and using the August 13, 1950 ETT,
No. 327 originated at Grants Pass, a mere 44.8 miles before requiring heftier power. Seems SP
could have powered-up from the get-go and avoided delay at Ashland, but then again it's 1950 and 
maybe Grants Pass didn't have the facilities that Ashland did. I do see that Fuel Oil was not available
at their initial station.

To clarify; the photo I referred to showed #327 at Medford on that last run with the 2407 so an engine change
was probably in store for them at Ashland.

Thanks, Evan for the additional background.

Charlie