Don't shoot the piano player Guys. When I began doing research on my two West Side books back in the late 1950s, there were very few historical documents relating to the early days.There also were virtually no published articles about the narrow gauge logger at that time, except for a RAILROAD Magazine article with no photos. (It rained the day the day the author was in Tuolumne.)
I was given access to a number of photographs, records and other paperwork that were in a safe at Standard, CA, belonging to the Pickering Lumber Corp.Pickering purchased WSL for the second time in the spring of 1958.I was given the photos and several Shay Catalogs but not the records.
Those old company records contained some interesting information on the equipment which I copied by hand as carefully as possible.The date of construction shown for short caboose #4 (later renumbered #6 in 1946) was clearly noted as October 1922. I believe the car was rebuilt in about 1940.Several early WSL railfan-photographers confused the caboose numbering by chalking their own (assumed) numbers on several of the cars. Caboose #2 (with the inverted "V" bracing) became #1 in some of the late 1930's photos. (Swayne log caboose was (2nd) #2.
First use of automatic couplers on WSL appears to have followed the purchase of the Swayne Lbr.skleleton Log cars (Type I) in May 1940.The WSL shops built a number of similar skeleton cars (Type III-A #113-130) in 1941-42, using automatic couplers. One of these (#113), owned by Early Failla, recently went to the NCNG Museum with caboose #6.
The book WEST SIDE...Narrow Gauge in the Sierra (PFM Books 1979) is now out of print. WEST SIDE PICTORAL (Heimburger House 2000) remains in print. If substantuated sources for corrected information come to light, I will keep a open mind, but for now have to rely on the written company records.
