Steam & Excursion > When A Full Steam Train Is Not Needed, These Come In Handy!

The Walker family who founded the Red River Lumber Company, first in Minnesota and then moved out West to found the town of Westwood, California knew how to be efficient in their operations.  As an example of their innovative nature, they purchased one of the first 4 diesel electric locomotives and a pair of electric locomotives for the Westwood operations.

Part of their efficiency led them to build a small fleet of rail cars like the one we see here parked in Westwood in 1939.  These stout rail cars could carry both men and equipment where needed without the need to fire up one of their fleet of steam locomotives.  It should be noted, that even though they bought the diesel and electric locomotives new, they saved money buy buyer each one of their steam locomotives used from other prior owners.

What M-20 shown here lacked in grace and streamlining, she more than made up for in cost savings.

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/20 03:49 by LoggerHogger.

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I'll bet that car rode like a Brick!

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

JimBaker Wrote:
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> I'll bet that car rode like a Brick!

That was my first thought too!

Lee Hower - Sacramento

You would think that they would have placed the open-air restroom in back!

Wow it has the a proper train # light box.

I think we can safely assume No. 20 here was not one of the first four diesel-electrics built. David Myrick in his
Railroads of Nevada, Vol II identifies Red River Lumber No. 502 a 1926 B-B locomotive built by G.E.-Alco-Ingersoll Rand,
one of two diesels rostered on the property; the other being a 300hp Plymouth of uncertain vintage.

As to No. 20, I'm assuming we're looking at its front end and if so it's obvious this 'beauty' could not be used
for switching if the crewman giving hand signals was not directly visible to the engineer out his front window.
I agree, carrying men and equipment was about all it could be expected to do.

An item of interest on No. 20  is the number board mounted just below the headlight. I wonder if this was a requirement of SP if/when Red River
locomotives ventured beyond their home rails? Question: did they use SP rails to gain access to their home turf beyond Westwood? 
There are photos that show similar number boards on Red River's electric locos. I would expect to find them on their steam locos, also.
If so, we can add this railroad to the list of those railroads requiring their use when that question next arises on this site.

Wonderful photo on several levels, Martin.

Charlie

Probably rode like an early Talgo...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

cewherry Wrote:
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> I think we can safely assume No. 20 here was not
> one of the first four diesel-electrics built.
>
> Charlie

Charlie,

I was not referring to #20 as the RRL diesel.  I was just mentioning that RRL had one of the very first diesels built in this country as well as this gas rail car #20 on the roster.

Here is a photo of the RRL diesel.

Martin

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LoggerHogger Wrote:

> they purchased one of the first 4 diesel electric locomotives

There's an article in the December 1970 issue of Trains that lists the Alco-GE-IR production.  RRL 502 was built in August 1926, and if you're going by GE serial number or build date, it was the eleventh diesel electric built by the consortium.  If you go by Alco serial, RRL 502 was fifth, but that discounts the actual production sequence.  That ranking also doesn't take into account GE-IR demonstrator 8835 from 1923, which was itself a rebuild of an even earlier GE diesel-electric venture, "Motor Car No.4" of 1916.  It also doesn't include the three diesel electric locomotives GE built on its own in 1918, or Baldwin's diesel-electric demonstrator 58501 from 1925. 

cewherry Wrote:
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> I think we can safely assume No. 20 here was not
> one of the first four diesel-electrics built.
> David Myrick in his
> Railroads of Nevada, Vol II identifies Red River
> Lumber No. 502 a 1926 B-B locomotive built by
> G.E.-Alco-Ingersoll Rand,
> one of two diesels rostered on the property; the
> other being a 300hp Plymouth of uncertain
> vintage.
>
> As to No. 20, I'm assuming we're looking at its
> front end and if so it's obvious this 'beauty'
> could not be used
> for switching if the crewman giving hand signals
> was not directly visible to the engineer out his
> front window.
> I agree, carrying men and equipment was about all
> it could be expected to do.
>
> An item of interest on No. 20  is the number
> board mounted just below the headlight. I wonder
> if this was a requirement of SP if/when Red River
> locomotives ventured beyond their home rails?
> Question: did they use SP rails to gain access to
> their home turf beyond Westwood? 
> There are photos that show similar number boards
> on Red River's electric locos. I would expect to
> find them on their steam locos, also.
> If so, we can add this railroad to the list of
> those railroads requiring their use when that
> question next arises on this site.
>
> Wonderful photo on several levels, Martin.
>
> Charlie
While one generally thinks of Westwood being on WP's line from Keddie to Bieber, the SP actually got to Westward first (at the end of a branch). Looking at photos in Robert Hanft's book Red River, it appears that the mill was near the end of SP trackage so the number boards may well have been a necessity.