Last train to Portola? - Vintage locomotive takes final trip along Amador Central Railroad Tuesday, June 10, 2008 By Jerry Budrick The Baldwin S12 locomotive crosses Highway 49 for the last time Thursday. From left, Keith Lynch, Bryce Ward, Josh Cazadd, Alicia Brenner, Jason Cazadd (rear) and flagman Bill Stewart ride along.Photo by: Jerry Budrick Impromptu track crossings had to be built at some locations to facillitate moving the train across highway intersections.Photo by: Jerry Budrick The steel behemoth rumbled cautiously along the tracks for what may have been the last time Friday afternoon, glistening in the bright June sun like an aged ship mounting one last expedition. Only this ship was the last locomotive engine in Amador County, and the expedition it was taking was to its potential new home in Portola, turning Friday's tricky journey into a bittersweet parade of endings and new beginnings. The logistical challenge was moving the locomotive down the 3 miles of track from the Martell depot to the Ridge Road crossing of Highway 88. That section of track is likely to be removed as part of the transformation of the former sawmill property into retail, light industrial, manufacturing or other commercial uses. The movement of the locomotive down the other 10 miles from Ridge Road to Ione may also have been the final trip for an engine of its size, although that stretch of track has been leased to a recreational railroad club and is scheduled for continued use. Warned of the imminent arrival of the salvager's torch, a pair of locomotive lovers came to the rescue of the last engine in Amador County, 125 tons of history worth more in recyclable pieces than in its entirety. Doug Morgan and Hank Stiles are volunteers at the railroad museum in Portola. Morgan, who operates a business rebuilding vintage railroad cars and locomotives, has a deep sense of history and affection for such vanishing treasures. "The goal," said Morgan, "is to preserve the engine. I'd like to see it used." The locomotive is one of only two Baldwin S12s still running in the state of California. Manufactured at the Baldwin plant in Eddystone, Penn. in January 1952, it is a rare, old dinosaur rendered obsolete by technology, no longer allowed to run on the same rails as Amtrak or modern freight trains. The shed from which the locomotive was removed is on a 20-acre parcel owned by Sierra Pacific Industries. SPI has applied for division of the parcel into four smaller lots, one of which is home to Morgan Ready Mix, another to Hunt Drilling, a third across Jackson Gate Road, with the fourth filled with railroad tracks and what's left of the buildings that once served as depot and maintenance sheds for the Amador Central Railroad. Morgan is the owner of a specially-adapted pickup truck, with axles shortened to railroad width and drop-down rollers front and back that look like trainer wheels. With this vehicle, Morgan can zip along the rails, which he did in front of the Baldwin all the way to Ione. Stiles, who spent 30 years as a conductor for Union Pacific, largely on the San Francisco-Salt Lake City run, manned the controls as engineer for this historic journey. But it would be a journey that was also fraught with some logistical challenges. On two separate occasions between April 10, 2004 and June 6, 2008, SPI was driven to remove sections of rail to achieve other purposes. The April date was still on the wall in the locomotive, on the bill of lading for the last known delivery of particleboard from Ampine to the switching yard in the Central Valley. The task of replacing those missing sections fell to the pair of intrepid railroad buffs, Warner and Stiles, rust eaters and track-layers. With railroad ties and gauging bars, gravel and greenstone, fragments of hardwood and old rail spikes, nuts and bolts and fishplates, the two pieced the tracks back together. It wasn't all pretty when they declared it done, but they decided to entrust their 250,000-pound treasure to it. Still, the rescuers needed some rescuing themselves. When they tried to fire up the engine Thursday afternoon, with its 1,200 horsepower diesel motor, they discovered that the huge batteries were stone-cold dead. Jump-starting a Baldwin can't be done by stretching cables from the old pickup truck, but a hero magically appeared with a solution. Right across Jackson Gate Road from the locomotive shed is a very large sign reading Lynch's Automotive. Enter Keith Lynch. Lynch strung together a half-dozen batteries that produced 75 volts of direct current, loaded them on his Case 440 track shovel-loader and drove over to the railroad shed. The diesel started up and the railroaders thanked Lynch, let him leave and let the motor run for an hour, mistakenly thinking that would charge the batteries. Friday morning, the batteries were dead again, so Lynch came back, jump-started the Baldwin again and asked the fateful question, "Can I come along for the ride?" Morgan and Stiles gratefully agreed. Following a couple of hours for last-minute track inspection by Morgan and SPI project manager Alicia Brenner, the final run was ready to begin. Lynch was called and arrived with three other young men, all four in mechanic's overalls. This was a good thing. The first third of a mile passed uneventfully, including the final crossing of busy Highway 49, if not for the incredibly powerful sound of the locomotive's air horn, enthusiastically sounded by Stiles. Stiles was quick to explain that it is a state law that the horn be sounded for 15 seconds at all road crossings, and there must be a flagman on the road. Bill Stewart got the flagman job, riding with Morgan in the pilot pickup. The sound of the horn caught the attention of one of Amador County's preeminent photographers, Carolyn Fox, who happened to be shopping at Meek's. Fox had at least one camera with her, in addition to her cell phone, which she used to call fellow photographer Larry Angier, who came running. Fox and Angier then followed along for the entire voyage, from Meek's to Ione, documenting every step along the way. All went well, though slowly, until the mighty Baldwin came to the first repaired section of track, which was crossed with great care, eliciting sighs of relief at its end. Next came the only truly dangerous section, about 150 feet of track laid on ties in a makeshift bridge over a recently-paved asphalt road in the Amador Central Business Park. As the S12 approached the squiggly stretch of rail, Stiles brought it to a full stop. Through the power of cell phones, the adventure had drawn a small crowd that joined the engine at the rickety bridge. Morgan and Stiles instructed the passengers to assign themselves to each of the eight wheels to spot potential derailments before they happened. As Stiles inched the engine forward, one wheel began to slip off the rail, at which point the four mechanics took center stage. Lynch, Bryce Ward, Jason and Josh Cazadd set to work and got the rails lined up, tightened and wrenched into passable shape. Everyone hopped back onto the locomotive, including Ashley Lynch and Isabella Cazadd, who joined their fathers. It was smooth sailing from there on down to Ione, with five ear-splitting road crossings, views of idyllic hidden valleys with spring water troughs for the cattle and wildlife, and old ranch houses nestled at the bottom. It's all downhill from Martell to Ione, with some grades as steep as 3 percent, which make for super-heated brakes that have to be cooled from time to time. The end of the line, so far, for the Amador Foothills Baldwin S12 is at the old Ione depot, just beyond Ione Junior High School. Its future depends upon how it can be moved. Morgan said the possibility still exists that this massive symbol of Amador County history could stay in the county, if someone steps up with the right plan. All in all, it was a bittersweet trip that saved the symbol but signaled the end of an era.
Just checked up on AF #10 sitting in Ione yesterday. She still looks great! No graffiti and no vandalism yet. I'm surprised. She has been there over a month now and anyone has access.
Argh. Is anyone watching over this engine? Will she be saved? What is her future? I thought there were plans to preserve? Boxcab E50
Supposedly we're just waiting for the V & T Commission to pick her up. I seriously have my doubts this will happen. Hopefully somebody saves her soon as she looks pristine.
