The upper level of my two-level layout is all narrow gauge, depicting a portion of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Fourth Division line in southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico.
Cab Rides on the Sumpter Valley RR
The Sumpter Valley Railroad today is a narrow gauge steam tourist line in eastern Oregon. The original Sumpter Valley line was a 3 foot gauge logging railroad extending from Baker City Oregon up the valley to Sumpter and over the summit to Prairie City. Today’s line, rebuilt by volunteers of the Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc., is a short 6 miles from McEwan to the town of Sumpter. The railroad’s shops, facilities, and departure point is at McEwan, about 15 miles southeast of Baker City. See the Sumpter Valley RR website.
My first introduction to the Sumpter Valley was in August 2002, thanks to my friend Larry’s dedication to the organization and his being qualified as both engineer and fireman on several of the road’s locomotives. The locomotive that weekend was Number 3, a rare wood-burning Heisler steam locomotive. In 2008, I returned with two St Louis area friends, to share a fantastic Engineer for a Day experience, firing and operating Number 19, an oil-burning Mikado 2-8-2. Most of these photos were taken on that day.
Engineer for a Day, 2008
Under the guidance of two qualified engineers and firemen, Dan and my friend Larry, my St. Louis friends Rich and John had a truly fun and memorable day in September 2008, actually running and firing a narrow gauge steam locomotive, Mikado #19. That day we made three round trips from McEwan to Sumpter and back, giving each of us an opportunity to both fire and drive the locomotive. Behind us was a short freight train: a tank car, a drop bottom gondola, three flat cars, and a caboose.
After refueling, John, Rich and I rotated positions between engineer, fireman, and photographer, so each of us made a round trip at the throttle to Sumpter and back.
Operationally, the Sumpter Valley Railroad has passing sidings at both ends, McEwan and Sumpter, and a wye, shops and a small yard at McEwan. Since there is no way to turn a train at Sumpter, the locomotive runs around the train at Sumpter and runs backward to McEwan, where it again runs around the train. The railroad hopes to build a turning loop at Sumpter in the future, so these moves can be avoided.
The photos below were taken on September 7, 2008, the day before our turn in the cab of No. 19, when someone else was Engineer for a Day. It gave us a great opportunity just to be railfans and chase the train.
Cab Ride in Heisler Number 3
These photos were taken in August 2002 on my first visit to the Sumpter Valley. My friend Larry was the engineer this weekend, so I spent a lot of time riding in the cab. I also unofficially got to fire the wood-burning Heisler #3 (built in 1915) on the downhill ride from Sumpter to McEwan. Tossing that cordwood in the firebox, and keeping them parallel so no holes formed in the fire, wasn’t as easy as it might seem.