Historic Hood River
Chamber of Commerce Tour
10-18-2012
Notes
If you look real closely you may recognize these gentlemen. This Oregon Lumber Company steam locomotive is taking them on a Chamber of Commerce excursion to see the logging operations near Dee circa 1925. We saw the same men in this great image of logging in the age of steam.
charlott
It is obvious they have made great strides in upgrading their style of engine.
They really stripped down that hill, didn’t they
spinsur
different kind of engine, this is a logging engine. looks like lost lake butte, and another grade in the background. most of the vehicle roads started out as railroad grades around jones creek, and lolo pass.
l.e.
Looks like a cold November day and that engine looks like a work horse. No frills.
You can tell a fire had previously gone through the area. The two snags by the railroad car look burned and up the hill you can see dead snags.
I don’t understand the stringers on the second trailer? Would you put logs on those stringers running lengthwise?
Arlen Sheldrake
While no expert, the loco appears to be a Heisler. Similar to the one operated by the Oregon Coast Scenic RR out of Garabaldi.
Arlen Sheldrake
Noted author and geared steam locomotive expert Steve Hauff indicates that this is probably Heisler s/n 1440, 1920, a 47-tonnner and may have been the only standard gauge Oregon Lumber Company Heisler.
Logging railroads used many geared locomotives as they could pull heavy loads at low speeds, climb steep grades and deal with poor track conditions. The most common geared locomotive was a Shay (one is on display at the World Forestry Center in Portland). The Willamette was a northwest version of the Shay built here in Portland by the Willamette Steel and Iron Works (still in business). A Willamette operates on the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad in Elbe WA and one is being restored in Medford OR.
Dale Peck
My grandfather, Wally Peck, was engineer on the MHRR for many years, 1925 being in those years. He mainly ran logs down to the Dee sawmill from up on the mountain. if you remember the old wooden tressles along the cliffs on the way to Lost Lake, those were part of his run. Up near Lolo Pass, somewhere across the canyon from the back way into Lost Lake, he came upon the tracks being seperated. Going slow but too fast to safely stop, all he could do is step off the engine and watch it roll down the mountain. i have a few pictures of the aftermath. One is shown in the second volume of the History of Hoor River County. Because of the location, salvage was futile and the only thing that was brought out was the whistle. I believe my uncle in Seattle has it in his posession and has been offered much money for it from collectors. I have always wanted to explore the area and try to find the remains of the engine but age has caught up to me and i no longer have the ability to traverse conditions like that.
Barbara Parsons Bernstein
Where do these dietary comments come from? Are historians usually constipated? I was married to one and didn’t notice. Or do we have a secret sponsor?