I don’t know if this has been posted before, but I found out recently that Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge #18 is being restored for operation!
OOOOh, screw that Big Boy! Finally something I would want to see !!!
It will be great to get the Slim Princess back in operation, where do they plan to run it? are there any plans to extend the existing trackage, there’s plenty of abandoned ROW grading still existing to reactivate.
Ohhhhh I wanna see em both!
I’m not sure where they plan to run it. The website implies that there is a plan in place for a permanent home and trackage but doesn’t say where or give any other details:
“Also, we have been diligently at work on finalizing the plans for an engine house and some trackage. We will be meeting with Inyo County officials in late August to put the finishing touches on the plans and once we have all the approvals – hopefully that’s not to far off – we will let everyone know what the plans are.”
Also, they did acquire the site of the old Kearsarge depot, and have put down 160 feet of track there along with a replica of the original cross buck , but the website says this was just a memorial and that there are no plans “at this time” to extend the trackage there.
They have plans for a short amount of track with a enginehouse. I seem to recall but cannot immediately confirm that they would be open to traveling to other railroads with it–I don’t think they’re doing a heavy operation caliber restoration, more something that will let them operate it minimally while leaving it as original as possible.
There’s been a ton of activity about it over on the Narrow Gauge Discussion forum–you can probably search for it and find more, but here’s a fairly recent update I quickly found:
http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,237005,237005#msg-237005
Posts by Jeff Taylor are probably the most important ones. He’s an engineer on the C-19s at Knott’s Berry Farm and posts most of the pictures of the 18 restoration.
EDIT: Found the quotes I was looking for.
"We have no set date of completion for the 18, that way if we don’t make that date nobody will be upset. She will be done when she’s done. The NSRR Museum has expressed interest in letting us operate the 18 on there NG track. We will have to wait till she’s done before we decide where and if she will visit other railroads and museums.
She will be a living museum exhibit at the Eastern California museum. The plan is build a one stall engine house and about 1000ft of track to run on. We have a two phase plan in the works for that. The track will be like half of a wye or half a switch back. And will be up hill part of that."
NSRR = Nevada State RR Museum in Carson City. They have a circular track around their restoration shed/turntable and have recently been laying a NG rail for their upcoming restoration of the 2-6-0 Glenbrook in addition to Dan Markoff’s Eureka 4-4-0.
And another quote:
“The plans for the engine house and trackage at the museum will be the locomotives home and display area. We are more concerned with completing the restoration than finding a place for her to run. After the restoration is complete who knows what may happen, if someone wants to pony up the cash to lay rails to the other side of the valley we would consider it.”
Sooooo they could potentially have more in the future.
Either way I’m thrilled to see the progress, and I think it’s good to know that they aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
Thanks for the info! Sounds like they have pretty realistic goals.
Ray Dunakin said:
Thanks for the info! Sounds like they have pretty realistic goals.
Yes we do. The 18 will be finished and will operate under her own steam, but will remain in the town of Independence. But could be toured.
Not mentioned before is that the 18 is also being rebuilt to full FRA form 4 specs. This means if we want we COULD take her to any(3’ gauge) FRA regulated railroad.
Fallow the link in the first post and look through our website. There is lots of information to read and look at. We are continually updating the site as progress is made.
Recently we met with officials fom Inyo County and they are excited about the project as well as our engine house plans. Remember the locomotive is owned By Inyo County so we have to keep them excited. The loco represents local pride and history but a future attraction.
Just to wet you appetite here is our concept artwork for the enginehouse. You can see why the County is excited.
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j220/jeffsparrow/engineHouseconcept.jpg)
Hey Jeff,
Why not sell copies of the painting to raise money, for say, the enginehouse. The Sandy River boys in Maine did that years ago for a project they were doing. Helped quite a bit.
Chester Louis SA #64 Hampshire County Narrow Gauge
I’d love to see her run. Been to the Nevada musuem a few years ago and there’s tons of stuff to see, including a 10-wheeler that looks a lot like the inspiration for Bachmann’s Annie–except that it may be standard gauge (didn’t measure the track width).
You mean #25?
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Thanks for the info, Jeff! That’s a beautiful painting, and I like the design of the engine house.
Hmmm…seams like a logical long term goal would be to eventually connect this location in Independence with the Laws RR museum in Bishop just a few miles north, all the ROWs are still in existence, could happen one day.
Chester Louis we are working on getting funding for the engine house and track work. I’m pretty sure though at some point folks will be able to buy a copy.
Currently you can buy some merchandise from the website including T shirts, videos, pins, and more. money from that goes toward the restoration. As does buying a membership.
Not to say never, but laws is over 40 miles away. Yes most of the old ROW is still usable it is also on the other side of the valley from Independence. We are not trying to build a tourist railroad only a living museum exhibit. Now as I have been quoted before if somebody wants to put forth the money to build more track then we plan to do, then we will consider that.
But for now we are spending our money and effort into finishing 18 and building a home for her to be viewed and operated on occasion.
Back to the engine house. It is designed to look like the Keeler engine house, But structurally built like our shop at knott’s.(Steel framing and corrugated siding insted of wood.)
Lastlt fallow the link in the first post again as the website was just updated.
Joe, that does look like the loco I saw in Nevada, although I seem to recall there was another 10-wheeler on the premises.
Joe,
I believe Bachmann used the Tweensie #12 as their inspiration, but I could be wrong.
Jake, you’re correct. She’s still running, along with ??? an ex-Alaska Railway mike. Went down there once, only to discover that the Tweetsie loco wasn’t running. BTW, it’s the railroad, not the loco, that’s called Tweetsie. Some say it’s because the name, East Tennessee & Western North Carolina, kinda sounds like “tweetsie,” when ya scramble it all together. Others say it’s because of the sound of the railroad’s whistle. Then there’s that derisive name: “Eat Taters and Wear No Clothes,” plus the prefered one, “Every Time With No Complaint.” Ya’d never guess I’m a member of the Tweetsie society. And the Cumbers & Toltec. And the California State Railroad Museum.
Interestingly, when I got my first Bachmann 10-wheeler and checked its Baldwin Locomotive Works builder’s plate number 34942 against an actual loco, I learned that it belongs to Number 40, the standard-gauge 10-wheeler in the Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, not to be confused with the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. I have no idea why Bachmann’s loco/equipment designer, Lee Riley, chose that number, when he could’ve used Tweetsie’s.
Maybe TOC knows.