County's railroad, timber history garners recognition by Wendy Butler, 9/27/2007 It’s about preserving Humboldt County railroad and timber history, but, Timber Heritage Association President Marcus Brown said, the group’s efforts have gained recognition beyond the county’s borders. Members of the nonprofit Southern Oregon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society visited the greater Eureka area Sept. 14-16. Brown said the visit itself impressed him. “I would say that just the fact that they went to the effort to come and see our project and then to tell me this is of significance to a broader area than just Humboldt County,” Brown said during a phone interview Monday. The Oregon organization, founded in 1976, is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Southern Oregon railroad history. The chapter was integral to the early development and is now partners in the four-acre Medford Railroad Park, where the group stores some of its collection in an operating free museum and at which it does restoration work. “We’re averaging right now, at the railroad park, 50,000 visitors in a season,” NRHS/Southern Oregon Chapter President Richard Walch said during a phone interview on Friday. “That seems to be increasing quite significantly as of late.” The season runs spring-summer. The NRHS/Oregon Chapter has in its collection a 1925 Willamette Geared Steam Locomotive (Medco locomotive No. 4), which was built originally for the Owen-Oregon Lumber Co. This is a rare piece of railroad equipment, Walch said. Willamette Iron and Steel built 33 locomotives, according to the society chapter’s Web site, www.soc-nrhs.org. Medco No. 4 is one of six Willamette locomotives that still exist. “When running, it will be the only Willamette steam engine operating in the world. To me, that is worth saving,” Walch said. The Oregon group’s long-term goal is to operate a tourist excursion railroad on a segment of what was once the Medford Corp. logging railroad track that went from Medford past Butte Falls. The original railroad was 80 miles long. His organization wants to operate an excursion that is five miles long, Walch said. One of the things THA’s Brown has said is that his group wants an excursion train. “Our mission statements are very similar,” Walch said. “We’re focused on railroading, where they are (also) timber heritage. They’ve got a much broader spectrum of interest in preservation.” Members and their families made the trip to Eureka. “The reason we came down is the opportunity they (THA) have in Samoa,” Walch said. “It’s very rare that you’ll find a 100-plus-year-old infrastructure intact, and that’s a real asset to Humboldt County and to the whole area and we want to support them however we can and make that happen.” What he was referring to was the Samoa Shops buildings, which are owned by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District and for which the THA has a one-year lease that will come up for renewal in December. The THA is occupying two buildings — the roundhouse and boiler shop. The annual lease is for $39,600, but in lieu of cash, THA offered to repair the two buildings’ roofs and work on other structural issues. Brown said the roundhouse’s roof is fixed. “It pays the rent. It also accomplishes the preservation of the roundhouse,” Brown said. THA’s collection of historic equipment, rail cars and locomotives are still spread among three sites. In Samoa, the roundhouse contains two rail cars, including a small steam locomotive. The boiler shop contains many of the group’s smaller artifacts. Woody Murphy’s Fields Landing-based Humboldt Bay Forest Products now contains tracks, miscellaneous equipment and flatbed and railroad cars. And Glendale, although now in the hands of a private owner, still contains four historic steam locomotives. Walch said his group is “open to just about anything” it might be able to do to help the THA with Samoa. He said his group has four or five members who are in THA, too. Brown said his group didn’t ask Walch for anything specific at this point, but whether possible help could come from NRHS grant opportunities or inclusion in its newsletter, he feels, “We’re really getting on the map is what it comes down to.”
I hope that opportunities arise from this visit. I can't recall- Does THA have a web site? Boxcab E50
I believe somebody involved has a blog goin somewhere. I'll see if I can find it. Don't know offhand of an "official" website.
Ok, my bad. I had a link to their official website already. http://www.timberheritage.org/ Here's the blogging I'd found: http://wordpress.com/tag/tha/ Includes other railroad related stuff from the Eureka/Arcata/Samoa area as well.
