Re: Another day on the Madera Sugar Pine Grades

Dave;
Betsy was scrapped at Sugar Pine, but if you look at the photographic record you will notice it wore several stacks over its lifetime. Here's two pictures of Betsy's stack:

From the late 1800's

From the end of MSP operations:


If you look carefully, you can see that the mounting flange of Betsy's stack in the lower picture and the stack diameter of the lower part of her stack matches the mounting flange on the artifact I found:


I'm pretty sure this is Betsy's stack. I'd guess that Betsy was involved in an accident at the location where I found the artifact and her stack was knocked off. The mounting flange is visibly cracked on the left in the lower picture. This is probably the only extant piece of Betsy. One of the most incredible finds I've ever had on a railroad grade. Next time I'm up in the woods, I'll measure it. I've also notified the Forest Service of its existence. we'll see if they want it left in situ, or donated to a museum...