Rich Blake
35 members and guests of the SV&W Group attended the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad’s annual “Rails to Ales” trip on 28 September 2013. This trip was planned and coordinated by the SV&W’s enthusiastic program coordinator Susan Gonzales who is also friends with the MRSR’s Chief Mechanical Officer, Stathi Pappas.
SV&W enjoying beer and brats
We rode by charter bus from Mt.Vernon to the MRSR shops in Mineral, Washington where we were greeted by Stathi and his crew. We were treated to a private shop tour with Stathi, where he explained many of the workings of the shop and the various projects that the MRSR is working on or completed. The MRSR shop is arguably the most qualified and best-equipped facility on the West Coast specializing in logging and short line steam engine repair and restoration. Under Stathi’s guidance, the shops and museum grounds have been extensively reconditioned to provide a professional presentation to visitors, while maintaining a top quality repair and restoration facility.
Hammond Lumber Co #17 undergoing restoration
We saw MRSR’s own Hammond Lumber Co. #17 2-8-2T locomotive undergoing its full 15 year rebuild and observed some peculiar narrow gauge wheels being turned on one of the biggest lathes on the West Coast. The wheels are for the Southern Pacific #18 narrow gauge locomotive being restored by the Carson and Colorado shops in Independence, California. MRSR has been contracted by the C&C shops to provide this unique service.
Stathi then showed us his “personal” loco, a small 45-ton Porter 0-4-0 tank loco that will be restored to operating condition. Stathi’s goal with this project is to take advantage of the Porter’s relatively small size which allows it to be trucked or hauled by rail to many steam-up events around the country, where it can operate for special occasions. We can call him a 1:1 scale model railroad enthusiast, for sure.
Polson Logging Co #70 current active excursion loco
Our last portion of the shop tour took us into what I call the “Geared Loco Hall of Fame.” This building houses the only collection of the four major North American built geared locomotives in the world. Shay, Heisler, Climax and Willamette are all represented and in different stages of restoration, repair or operating condition. There was a lot of learning and questions answered for those not as familiar with these great logging beasts. It is truly a privilege to have a world treasure like this in our own state and maintained by the dedicated shop staff and volunteers at the MRSR. Detailed information on these locos can be found here. http://www.mrsr.com/historicalcollection.html
Hillcrest Lumber Climax #10 in the Geared Loco Hall of Fame
After our interesting shop tour, we headed to Elbe and the MRSR Depot, where we boarded a train headed by the beautifully restored Baldwin 2-8-2 #70, formerly of the Polson Logging Co. We were then served beers and other less interesting beverages as part of the Rails to Ales event. The weather tried to make itself known a couple of times, blowing trees down across the tracks. The MRSR train crew is more than familiar with this nuisance and quickly applied some chainsaw action to the downed trees and opened up the line in a matter of minutes. It was exciting to ride the train in such formidable weather with the wind howling, the river swelling and the loco barking out its protest to the conditions. A very Northwest railroading experience, to say the least.
Heisler #91 is scheduled next for restoration
The loco brought us back through the torrential downpour across the mighty NisquallyRiver to the MRSR shops, where we then had a nice sit-down picnic under cover with, of course, more beers. After our fill of food and music, we headed back to Elbe onboard the train through more heavy rain and impending darkness. Not a photo run-by type-of-day, but one that made us appreciate the dedication of the MRSR volunteers in these trying conditions.
MRSR CMO Stathi Pappas describes his 0-4-0T Porter loco project
We boarded our bus and headed back home. A long day, but one well worth the journey. Everyone had a great time. Thanks again to Susan Gonzales for setting the trip up and the MRSR staff for their continued excellence in the railroad museum and excursion operations.
Videos
Poulson Logging 70 Hauling the Rails to Ales train
MRSR Shop Tour Gallery
