Steam & Excursion > Catching One Of These 2 Steam Giants In Actions Was Special!

Had it not been for WW-2, the 2 former Uintah Ry articulateds may have been some of the most photographed steam locomotives in the West.  However, as they both came from such an remote area as the Uintah Ry ran through, there were few that caught either of these in action before that line shut down in the late 1930's.

While they were sold to the much more accessible Sumpter Valley Ry, they did not enter service with them until late 1940, just before the outbreak of WW-2.  With the war came gas rationing, and stern rules against photographing this country's railroad system.  That all but eliminated any chance to capture either of these articulateds in action on the SVRy.

By the time the War ended in September, 1945, there was not much time before the "Stump Dodger" would shut down for good.  Of course, none of the railfans of the day could have known that the SVRy would run it's last train to Bates, Oregon in April, 1947.  As it turned out, that left just a year and a half for any railfans to be able to record these wonderful machines in action.

Here, in 1946, one lucky fan caught SVRY #250 with her narrow gauge freight a few miles out of South Baker, Oregon on her daily run.  Sadly, by the next year both #250 and her sister engine #251 would be dismantled and shipped off to their new home in Guatemala.  Once again, a very remote location for railfans to capture them on film.

That seemed to be their destiny.

Martin



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/21 02:56 by LoggerHogger.

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You have to wonder why the Rio Grande never picked these locomotives up. Would have been great for the oil pipe trains.

Fascinating beast!

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