That other narrow gauge

[gbrewer]

That other narrow gauge

Three-foot gauge steam in Eastern Oregon

Story and photos by Glen Brewer

In North America, the first narrow gauge railways that normally come to mind are the Denver & Rio Grande in Colorado and New Mexico, the East Broad Top in Pennsylvania and the White Pass & Yukon in Alaska and Canada. No doubt, this is because they were the longest lasting and, in the case of the D&RGW, the biggest of them all.

Narrow gauge was indeed big starting in 1871. In 1878, 35% of common carrier railroad miles constructed that year were narrow gauge, most commonly three-foot gauge. At the peak in 1885, there were 18,529 miles of narrow gauge just in the United States. Despite a rapid decline, quite a few narrow gauge lines were still operating well into the 20th century.

Outside the McEwen enginhouse, 19 was hot and ready to go.

One of these was the Sumpter Valley Railway of eastern Oregon, closely associated with the Oregon Lumber Company. David S. Eccles of Ogden, Utah created both companies. The line is probably best remembered for operating the two largest locomotives ever to run on a three-foot gauge railway in North America. Two 2-6-6-2T engines, Numbers 50 and 51, acquired from the Uintah Railway in Colorado and Utah following its abandonment in 1939, were acquired and converted to tender locomotives 250 and 251. These engines eventually went on to serve out their last years in Guatemala before finally being scrapped.

The SV began at Baker City, a town along the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. Like the White Pass & Yukon, the Sumpter Valley decided to build a three-foot gauge railway well after the fashion had passed. Undoubtedly, the old arguments for the economic construction and operation of a narrow gauge line were still appealing, but also there was a surfeit of good used equipment on the market as other lines converted to standard gauge. Construction began in 1890 using an engine from the recently converted Utah Northern.

Alligators and Walschaerts.

Although the Sumpter Valley was primarily a lumber railroad, there was gold in the valley as well. Early success at mining at Sumpter gave way to trace recovery from the river bottom by dredging. One dredge is still at Sumpter and is open for visits; the remains of another can be seen (if you look very carefully) at McEwen.

Engineer, Paul van Ness, with his hand on the independent brake. That is dredged up river rock outside the window.

At one time, the SV main line extended 80 miles, not including temporary branches operated for the removal of timber. There was even a grand plan to connect the SV with the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway narrow gauge line. However, Depression and World War II took a heavy toll on the SV. Daily passenger trains continued to operate until 1937. By 1947, the last freight train ran, and the rails were pulled up.

Fireman, Steve Christy, ringing the bell as 19 moves away from the enginehouse.

In January 1971, twenty-four years after the original SV stopped operations, the new Sumpter Valley was incorporated, and in 1976, the first rails were relayed. Heisler Number 3, built in 1915, was the first engine to run on the restored line. Tracks have since been relayed from McEwen as far as Sumpter, a little over six miles.

Taking water. The original SV tank was relocated from Bates, Oregon.

Mikados 19 and 20 were built by Alco for the SV in 1920. They originally burned wood and were fitted with Rushton stacks. In 1940, they were sold to the White Pass and Yukon Route where they saw heavy wartime use, but in 1977, the locomotives were repurchased from the White Pass for $1 each. Of course, the SV had to raise money for shipping them from Skagway, and for extensive restoration. Today, the 19 and Heisler Number 3 are both operational, and Number 20 is slated to be restored as well.

Backing down past long ago burnt remains of a gold dredge at McEwen.

Steam and cold damp air.

Brakeman, Cynthia Christy, throws the main line switch near the current eastern end-of-track.

On the morning of the second day of a two day drive from Denver to Seattle, I had a brief opportunity to stop by McEwen and check things out. I had already arranged with Jerry Huck, Manager of Operations, for a cab ride on the first train of the day. I found Jerry over by the engine house where he introduced me to the crew and gave me the grand tour of the facilities and the equipment, unlocking doors as we made our rounds. Engine 19 was just outside the engine house and was hot and ready when I arrived. Before the tour was over, the safety valve opened spewing a cloud of steam into the clear but cool and damp Oregon sky. All that remained to do before train time was to bring the engine around, fill the tender with water and make up the train.

The crew talking over the day's operations.

Soon we were on our way to Sumpter with five of us in the sizable cab of the 19: Jerry and Scott Hutton, the Chief Mechanical Officer, joined us. The trip was an easy one for the big Mikado. We traveled along the Powder River with piles of dredged up river rock along the banks. Pine trees lined the tracks and grew thicker approaching Sumpter. All too soon, we passed by the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge, an Oregon State Heritage Area. Soon after, we arrived at the Sumpter depot where my wife met me in the family car, and hurried me on our way.

Among the pines at Sumpter station, the end of the line for now.

Once there were nearly 350 separate narrow gauge railways in the US, not counting private companies doing no public business, mostly lumber lines and mining railroads. Most are long gone now, and many are forgotten. But the Sumpter Valley, like the Georgetown Loop, has been restored, at least in part, by a few dedicated people. As I drove away from Sumpter that morning, I couldn’t help reflecting on the most amazing part of the story: the Sumpter Valley is nearly an all-volunteer operation.

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More information

Today’s Sumpter Valley runs between McEwen and Sumpter, Oregon. From Baker City (304 miles east of Portland via Interstate 84), take Oregon Route 7 to McEwen (22.4 miles) or continue to Sumpter via Oregon Routes 7 and 220 (6.5 miles farther).

Sumpter Valley Railway
P.O. Box 389, Baker City, OR 97814-0389
(541) 894-2268 or Toll Free (866) 894-2268
Fax: (541) 894-2331
E-mail: svrydepotstaff@eoni.com
Web: http://www.svry.com

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Read other stories by Glen Brewer

Railroad Glory Days

[Martin Burwash]

Nice sharp photos and an informative text. I vaguely remember an article or two about the Sumpter Valley back when it was hauling logs so was surprised to hear it is still alive to a degree. Your first shot of 19 in the morning light is my favorite. It is a real eye grabber and pulled me right into the the rest of the essay. Also love hte fireman's coffee cup on the firing levers.

I vote to approve.

Martin Burwash

[Jon Bentz]

Ditto Martin + it's nice to see some coverage of this little gem. Eastern Oregon is a long way from most anyplace. Got to get over there one of these days. The 19 sure looks beautiful!

I vote to approve and post.

[Two23]

Easy vote for approve! You had some very solid information, and I liked that a lot. It helped to put it all into perspective. Photos were all at least pretty good, and some excellent. I especially liked the detail shots. I would take out the sentences complaining about the sun direction. It really didn't detract from the shot anyway. For you general information, the nose of trains can easily be lit with x2 Nikon SB type flash off camera, set to full power. That would provide enough fill flash. Still, not at all bad as is. There were a few misspelled words but not enough to get under my skin. Your writing was good, moved along nicely, and as I mentioned very informative. This looks like a nice little operation that has fallen through the cracks somehow. I will have to check it out.


Kent in SD

[Two23]

Went back and reread and there were no misspelled words, but I think "commonalty" is generally used when talking about people rather than objects.

BTW, there actually IS a 2-6-6-2 Mallet in regular steam service. It's the only articulated steamer in regular duty besides the UP 3985. This is the engine used the most at the 1880 Train in Hill City, SD. It's pretty cool! Converted to run on used motor oil as I recall.
http://www.1880train.com/restoration.html

Kent in SD

[Bryce]

Narrow gauge includes anything less than 7 foot gauge as per
IKBrunel!

However other narrow gauge operations not noted in the header were
Prince Edward Island which was originally three foot gauge as was
the colonial operations
of the Newfoundland Railway which was said
3 foot gauge up to its demise.

And Prince Edward Island was later made 4 foot 8.5
inches give or take.

Some personal thoughts. The engineer has a cell phone in the small holder
under the window on the right side, the track appears to be well-laid
and the operations are Steam! I see the small Plymouth? diesel
in the background as well as some of the rolling stock. I would've like to see
a photo of the preserved dredge, maybe with a steam locomotive alongside.

The location is a bit far off the beaten track but then wasn't there
a Kalmbach soft cover book published in the 1950's also
entitled Off The Beaten Track?

I vote for acceptance.

Oh and maybe have Glen reread his narrative as there are one or two
minor grammatical errors. otherwise, go for it!!

Bryce Lee

[SamReeves]

Wow, that's narrow gauge??? Hard to believe since there's no shays or outside driving weights.

Nice work Glen.

[gbrewer]

Thanks, Martin, Jon, Kent, Bryce and Sam.

I appreciate the comments and hope I have addressed all the issues mentioned. Please let me know if I missed something.

Bryce: You would be amazed at how many railfans south of the border have never heard of old Isambard. I'd love to see a good photo essay of his work. Yes, I have read a couple of books about him. And, perhaps I am a bit US oriented where thoughts of recent NG operations existed. Thanks for pointing out that the White Pass wasn't the only one up North.

Sam: Of the three NG essays I have posted here, not one of them shows a shay or an outside framed engine (not that there is anything wrong with either).

Glen

[Bryce]

I have a number of books on IKBrunel most of which are
long out of print.

In reviewing Glen's essay I must admit, this one narrow
gauge operation I would like to visit. That Mikado is
a stunningly beautiful locomotive. And the interior photographs of the
driving cab show the locomotive was restored for practical
purposes ie the drawers under the fireman's seat.

The East Broad top is restored to also a six mile length, however one
hopes the Sumpter Valley goes much further in distance!

[Bob]

Duplicate image for promo