Steam & Excursion > Was This Locomotive Just Leased To Her 2nd Operator, & Not Sold?!

If you look at any number of sources, you will see reference to Simpson Logging's Baldwin 2-8-2T #2 being sold by Simpson to Weyerhaeuser Timber in the late 1930's.  These records say that she became WTC #102 and ran out of their Vail, Washington operations.  Now, there is some doubt in whether that sale actually took place.

I Have attached a photo of Simpson #2 at Shelton taken in 1935.  Next I have included the SP&S shipping record from 1941 of this "Simpson Logging No. 2" locomotive being shipped to her last operator, the City of Prineville Ry.  Notice that there is no mention of her as owned by Weyehaeuser and no mention of her as "#102".  So what gives here?

The 3rd photo was taken by Clark Kinsey at Vail and shows that Simpson #2 was hastily renumbered as "#102" by merely adding a "1" and a "0" in front of the #2 on the cab.  She still has her original Baldwin spot plate with the #2 on it.

During this same time period we know that Simpson Logging LEASED their 3-truck Climax #4 to Weyerhaeuser for use out of Vail.  This was not a sale of the Climax but merely a lease.  This shipping letter for the 2-8-2T now leads us to believe that Simpson also simply LEASED the 2-8-2T to WTC and did not actually sell the locomotive to them.  Since WTC already had a #2 at Vail in the form of a 3-truck Shay, they needed to re-number the Simpson #2 when it arrived.  That explains the hasty renumbering.  WTC did not have a #4 at Vail when the Simspon Climax arrived so there was no need to even renumber her.

When it comes to the rosters of the often wandering logging locomotives, one just never knows what to believe.

Martin



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/21 03:57 by LoggerHogger.

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Here we see Simpson 2-8-2T #2 just a few months after arriving at Prineville, Oregon.  The COPRY has added the tender off former Brooks-Scanlon 2-6-0 #2 to the now "#5" so she had more water capacity to make the 20 mile run from Prineville to the Junction on the Oregon Trunk.  Al Farrow took the fine photo of her.

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/21 03:06 by LoggerHogger.

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A copy of a letter I have from a Seattle equipment dealer also seems to indicate that she was leased to Weyerhaeuser.  As I told you before, that tender is from Peninsular Ry. 1st #3 which was scrapped in 1929.  The Peninsular Ry. last used the the #2, with that tender, double headed with their #5 while their #13 was in the shop for an overhaul!

Pete Replinger

Pete,

The tender behind her at Prineville is off former Brooks-Scanlon #2 that went to COPRy in 1925.  Here she is in 1940, just before the 2-8-2T arrived and she was put behind the 2-8-2T #5 seen in the Al Farrow photo.

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/21 05:49 by LoggerHogger.

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Not the same tender.  Look closely and you'll see that the oil bunker is higher on the 2-8-2 tender.

Pete,

The shop records at COPRy showed that they raised the oil bunker on the #2 tender when the 2-8-2T arrived to give her more capacity.

Martin

I'd like to see those records.  It's highly unlikely they would do such a thing.  It's still got the Simpson fire hose reel on it!