can anybody tell me about ht e blue goose? i was raised in the small town of yreka and that train sat un restored on a yard track we played on it as kids. one day im watching tv and lee marvin is playing on that same locomotive. i would know #19 anywheres brought back fond memeries.
Welcome aboard James! What would you like to know? The 19 came from the McCloud River RR in nearby McCloud,CA along with her sister 18. 18 has since moved on to other temperary homes before settling in on the V&T. 19 did do a brief time on the Oregon Pacific and Eastern. The photo below is from fellow TBer Cliff West: We also have a some other members here who have actually worked on the Blue Goose trains. Maybe they will chime in with some more info. I was just up your way a couple weeks ago and noticed a sign on the depot that said "closed for the season". Too bad, hopefully they'll be running trains again soon. And here's a roster for the Yreka Western so you can see some of the other locos they have or had: Yreka Western roster
The Blue Goose is still around. 19 is currently waiting for her Annual boiler test with the FRA. I am currenlty a volunteer on the YW and I help work on the 19 and the other equipment used for the Blue Goose. A friend and I are also currently working on a Yreka Western book through Arcadia Publishing that we hope to have out by April next year. And I think the engine you mention is the 18. It blew a cylinder head while doing an excursion with the 19 back in the 60's and it sat on a siding in Yreka until 1998 when it was sold back to the McCloud Railway and restored back to operation in 2002. The 18 is currently on the recently re-constructed Virginia and Truckee. The 19 left Yreka for the Oregon, Pacific, and Eastern out of Cottage Grove, OR under a lease agreement. The 19 returned to Yreka in 1988 when excursions on the OP&E ended.
The 19 is still in Yreka. unfortunately the railroad came into new ownership and was driven into the ground. Tracks torn up and the 19 is rotting in a shed after being repossessed and is waiting for auction. in short, the little railroad that just wont die has done just that :'-[
The YW is on 'life-support' ... but it is not dead yet. The problem is, there are many legal problems as to who owns what as everything had been used as collateral several times at once. The 19 was supposed to be auctioned off last fall, but was cancelled until the 'bird's nest' can be straightened out by the court. That action is supposed to be sometime this summer. The 19 needs work, but she's still a solid loco. Word has it there's a person who lives in Ohio who wants the 19 "at any cost". However, I get the awful feeling this person is somehow attached to the current owner of the YW! IF the person in Ohio is involved with the Sierra Northern And Pacific, (SNAP) as an investor and or Trustee, that would confirm my fears. Sorry I did not see this thread earlier. I don't know how I missed it!
Bigfoot, welcome to Trainboard. Bill knows of what he speaks re the YW and the 19. It's a very complicated situation.
Hmmm. A really good possibility. We have heard some mentions of this operation, but otherwise they seem to be quietly flying under the radar.
