Western Lumber Co. Logging Railroad Photos

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The Railroad

Edward Hines #2 sits east of the SP mainline while an AC cab-forward pulls a freight toward Oakridge in late 1948. The following year the deuce was sold to MEDCO. Among the steam power used was a Willamette Locomotive Class-C (3 cylinder, three truck) locomotive. The locomotive was built February 20, 1926 for the Anderson-Middleton Lumber Company of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Built as #2, it served for 7 years and was then sold to Western Lumber Company in Westfir. In May of 1949 it was again sold and rebuilt at the West Salem Machine Company serving 15 more years with The Medford Corporation, (MEDCO). The small Willamette now calls Railroad Park in Dunsmuir, CA home, numbered 7.

Western Lumber Company #2
Delivery Date.... Class............ Lt. Weight....... Working Weight... Full Weight...... Tractive Effort.. Adhesion Factor.. Gear Ratio....... Boiler Pressure.. Cylinders........ Driver Diameter.. Fuel Type........ Water Capacity...	2/20/1926 70-3 148,140 lbs. 174,000 lbs. 190,000 lsb. 31,968 lbs. 5.4 2.368:1 200 lbs. (superheated) 3 12" diameter cylinders, 15" stroke 36 inch Oil-1200 gallon capacity 3000 gallons

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The Incline

The most interesting feature of the logging railroad was the incline used to gain access to Huckleberry Flat. From Westfir, the railroad followed the North Fork of The Willamette River to a point 12 miles east to a location called Camp 5, where Christy Creek joins the North Fork. However, at Eighth creek, WLC built a siding, spur track, and the incline. This incline had a grade of 72%. At the mid-point of the incline, a passing track was built to the top allowing the loaded car, being lowered, to pass the empty car coming up. It wasn't uncommon for the cable to break sending both load and empty crashing down the incline and ending up in a pile in the river.

Eighth Creek Trestle

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© Joel Ashcroft

Westfir Oregon, Edward hines Lumber Company, Southern Pacific Railroad