I motored up to Yacolt, WA, this weekend to ride and chase the Chelatchie Prairie 2-8-2T no. 10, Crossett Western locomotive. What a great place to visit! Any of you folks here in the Pacific Northwest should put this on your list. It is geared as a tourist ride, $15 for a one hour 45 minute round trip, with a visit to Moulton Falls, a great photo op by itself. And servicing the locomotive
Great photos, Jim....:thumbs_up: When I first saw the top photo, I wondered what the heck was that structure behind the stack.....mg: Then I looked at the second photo......:embarassed: Truth be known, I've never seen a tank loco, let alone head on like you shot. :shade:
Michael, the website is http://www.bycx.com They are northeast of Vancouver, WA. Exit I-5 at exit 9 and then follow the directions from the website. It is country I have never seen, and quite beautiful. I may have gotten directions from other than the site, and if you want to go up there, email me and I'll give you the details.
Great photos...every one I see makes me want to make the trip up there a little bit more. The railroad they run on has an interesting history...a Northern Pacific branchline that International Paper took over in the 1960's. It ran for quite a few years as a division of the Longview, Portland & Northern railroad, up until the time that the parent company shut down the sawmill in Yacolt that provided most of the railroad's traffic. The LP&N sold the line to the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, who ran it for a few years in the early 1980's, using an ex-LP&N Alco switcher for power. The Chelatchie Prairie ran both freight and passenger excursion trains until the company went belly up. The local county government stepped in and took things over at that point, and for many years the Lewis & Clark Railroad held the operating contract. The Lewis & Clark eventually gave up the passenger business, at which time the BYCX group set up shop in Yacolt. About two years ago the operating contract came up for bidding, and the Temple Family of Washington Central fame took over the operating contract under the Portland-Vancouver Junction Railroad name. The Temples and BYCX got off to a very rocky start, with BYCX essentially kicked off the entire property for a little while. I am glad to see they have apparently resolved their differences and that BYCX has made as many strides as they have. I rode that railroad on both Chelatchie Prairie and Lewis & Clark excursion trains- I suppose that it is time to do it again under BYCX. Jeff Moore Elko, NV
My notes show this loco to be ex Hammond Lmbr #16 Built by ALCo in 1929 b/n 67652. Hey Jim, don't suppose I could borrow your pic?
John, sure, you can use any of my pictures. The Hammond Lumber 17 at Mt. Rainier Scenic looks to be a twin to this one, so I'm not surprised to hear that she was once Hammond 16. Jeff, thanks for the history on the railroad. I had heard of the Lewis and Clark. With your knowledge of all of these roads, do you know where the Crossett Western Co. operated? Thanks. :teeth:
Here are a couple of shots of Hammond Lumber No. 17, taken at Mt. Rainier Scenic in 2003. Not of the same quality as the digital, I'm afraid.
My notes indicate that the Crosset Western operated out of Wauna, Oregon, which is on the Columbia River west of Clatskanie. Kramer Adan's Logging Railroads of the West lists the following: Columbia Valley Lumber Company, 1911-1912 Crossett Western Company, 1912-1941 Wauna Lumber Company, 1941-1943 The mileage for Crossett Western is listed as 32. with 7 geared and 1 rod locomotives. Obviously this last entry cannot be entirely correct, as we know of these two rod locomotives. Hammond purchased both of these from Crossett in 1942. They operated together in the redwoods for only three years, as a massive forest fire in 1945 wiped out much of the Hammond logging railroad. The #17 remained trapped on the wrong side of the burned out trestles- she stayed there for 20 years until rescued by the Klamath & Hoppow Valley, where she ran for a few years before going to Mt. Rainier. Hammond sold the #16 (Crossett Western 10) about 1964 to an individual in Garberville, who in turn passed the locomotive onto the Fortuna Kiwanis Club. It remained on display in a park in Fortuna before going north, eventually ending up in the hands of Peter Replinger. Jeff Moore Elko, NV
If my memory is correct, another part of the business on that line, earlier years, was traffic to a soldiers home facility. During the mid-1980's, they also briefly operated a gimpy Baldwin. Which then went on to California. Boxcab E50
