Weyerhaeuser Timber Company #110

-Photo contributed by Brian Williams

Specifications:

Wheel Arrangement: 2-6-6-2t

Tank or tender type: Split-saddle tank

Build date: June 1937

Serial number: 62064

Driver diameter: 44 in.

Boiler pressure: 200 psi

Cylinder dimensions: 18 & 28x24 in

Grate area: 26 sq ft

Tractive effort: 43,000 lbs

Weight: 247,000 lbs

Fuel: 1,200 gal oil

Water capacity: 2,500 gal

Service History:

1937 - 1954: Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. #110. Longview, WA.

1954 – 1968: Rayonier Inc. #111. Railroad Camp, WA

Disposition after logging service:

1968 - 1984: California Western Railroad #46. Fort Bragg, CA

1984 – present: Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association (San Diego Railroad Museum). Stored . Campo, CA.

Notes:

Slope-back tender from Rayonier Inc. 4-6-0 #18 added in late 50s.

Heavily modified by California Western in 1969. Saddle tanks removed, pilot sand box removed, fuel bunker removed, cab rebuilt, tender converted to rectangular configuration, and new sand dome added in front of the steam dome.

The California Western modifications reduced the weight over the drivers, resulting in a loss of adhesion. While lengths of rail were added to the running boards in an effort to get back some of the lost weight, the hauling capacity of the locomotive was still diminished.

Summary:

First of the final batch of three logging Mallets ordered by Weyerhaeuser in 1937, this locomotive spent 17 years working out of Longview, WA. Retired by Weyerhaeuser in 1954, #110 was reportedly placed on display in Longview for a while before being sold to Rayonier for use on their Grays Harbor branch. There, the locomotive was renumbered to 111 to avoid confusion with Weyerhaeuser's first #110 which Rayonier had also purchased. #111 also received a slope-back tender at Rayonier, which was taken from Rayonier #18, a 4-6-0. #111 lasted in service at Rayonier well into the 1960s, and when the locomotive made its final run on May 1st, 1968 #111 was one of the last active steam locomotives in logging service in North America.

After retirement, #111 was sold to the California Western Railroad of Fort Bragg, California. #111 was shipped to Fort Bragg in 1969 and California Western shop crews set about completely rebuilding the old logging locomotive. During the rebuild, several modifications were made, the most major being the removal of the saddle tanks and rebuilding the slope-back tender into a rectangular configuration. Repainted orange and red and carrying the number 46, the locomotive returned to service pulling passenger trains in the early 1970s. However, the removal of the water tanks caused a dramatic decrease in the Mallet's hauling capacity and sections of rail were strapped to the locomotive's running boards in an effort to offset the loss of the weight of the water tanks. This apparently worked, and #46 remained in service at the California Western until 1981.

After sitting at the Fort Bragg shops for a few years, #46 was sold to the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, operators of the San Diego Railroad Museum at Campo, CA. Shipped to the museum in 1986, #46 is presently displayed at the museum's Campo site. The museum intends to restore #46 in the future once funding becomes available.