Re: NG 4-6-2 photos

There were two background events going on in late 1952, when the letter was written from Mr. Rogers to Mr. Brown. First, the sale of the White Pass & Yukon had just been completed, from Close Bros. to a group headed by Mr. D'Arcy, who is mentioned in the letter. D'Arcy was a financier who didn't want to run a railroad, so he elevated Rogers from president to chairman. Mr. Brown was brought in as president to replace Mr. Rogers. Close Bros. and the D'Arcy group had been negotiating since 1950 over the sale. So since 1950, there had only been any capital investments for immediate concerns, such as the purchase of tank cars. There had been no motion on the locomotive front from 1950 until the 1952 sale.

Second, as far as the locomotive market was concerned, by 1952, the standard gauge Diesel market had developed to the point where you could order established Diesel designs for delivery in the foreseeable future. The narrow gauge Diesel market was still a little "iffy" at the time. Hence, the desire by White Pass to buy an immediate steam locomotive and put off Diesels until a future date after more tests had been done. Eventually, two 90-class Diesels were delivered from GE in June 1954, three 90-class Diesels were delivered in December 1956, and no more steam was delivered.

Robert