Nostalgia & History > A McCloud memory

While maintaining my self-imposed quarantine today, I went back over some slides that needed some loving attention
that I took over 50 years ago. I took this photo late on an April afternoon in 1966 after a starting from my barracks
home at Hamilton AFB on the north shore of California's San Pablo bay where I was helping our Uncle Sam.

The day took me as far east as Portola and as far north as as Bieber before turning west and, as last light was closely
approaching, I turned into the McCloud River Railroad's yard at it's namesake city where I found No. 35, a 1949 built, 1500HP Baldwin.
I quickly fired off a few shots of the 3 units sitting there as well as some of the few cars close by and owing to the late hour, jumped
back into the Ford and pointed it homeward. When I got the slides back I discovered all were poorly exposed, (my Agfa didn't
have the ability to compensate for low light conditions), and that's the way they sat for the next 54 years.

Until today. When I opened the photo of No. 35 and began looking carefully at some of its details I couldn't help noticing those
number boards; there had to be a SP connection here. A quick Wikipedia search reveals this Baldwin started life as SP5207,
was traded to GE in 1962-3, sent back west as backup power for the Oro Constructors RR, then a-building the Oroville Dam;
picked-up by Chrome Crankshaft and then to the McCloud in 1964, which is where I found her.

When I saw the SP history of No. 35 I grabbed my dog-eared time books for late 1962-early-1963, hoping to find a 'connection' that
possibly I had worked on her in her prior life, but alas, no. Close, yes. I did fire on sister 5203, among others, but not the '07. Oh, well. 
The link in Wiki adds that No. 35, nee SP5207, was sold to US Steel in 1969, went to Utah and was scrapped in the early 1980's.

Enjoy her mid-life look. I know I have.

Charlie

 

 

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Nice!

Posted from iPhone

You covered a lot of ground in 1 day!

TJY

Nice shot.  It is interesting that she has the McCloud River RR paint scheme but no lettering for the railroad.

Martin

McCloud River painted but never lettered the #35.  Note that it also was not equipped with multiple unit. which severely limited the roles it could play on the railroad.  The only photos I've ever seen of it actually running on McCloud show it being used as a yard switcher in McCloud.

It's also interesting to note that U.S. Steel chopped the short hood after it arrived in Utah.   

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

JDLX Wrote:
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> McCloud River painted but never lettered the
> #35.  Note that it also was not equipped with
> multiple unit. which severely limited the roles it
> could play on the railroad.  The only photos I've
> ever seen of it actually running on McCloud show
> it being used as a yard switcher in McCloud.
>
> It's also interesting to note that U.S. Steel
> chopped the short hood after it arrived in Utah.

I haven't followed up on this but wonder if any photos of it with the chopped nose exist. Would be interesting.

Charlie
 

I've seen a few but don't have any myself.  One of the better views of the chopped short hood can be found on Page 94 of Jim Boyd's Baldwin Diesels in Color Volue 3 book. 

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV