Olaf Rasmussen Wrote:
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> Thanks for the additional beautiful photos. Martin
> Hansen's photos including the Rayonier shay
> brought back memories of my only encounter with
> live steam on Rayonier's railroad out of Hoquiam.
> In fact, it may have been on the last or nearly
> last day that Rayonier operated steam. In the
> spring of 1968 my brother Wolf, his Swiss
> girlfriend and I were on a trip to the Olympic
> Peninsula. I knew a little about Rayonier. We made
> a side trip to Railroad Camp, and found 2-6-6-2 38
> hot with a little pressure in the boiler. She had
> run for the last time the day before, and would
> not run again. But 2-6-6-2 111 was active and
> running on a section of Rayonier trackage. It
> turned out that the engine was to be taken to
> California, but that the driving wheel profiles
> were out of tolerance for the trip on the
> mainline railroads. So Rayonier had installed
> abrasive brake shoes and was running the engine
> back and forth over a mile or two of track to true
> up the wheel profiles. It was a gray day, and
> photos were no great shakes, but we had a
> wonderful time both line side and in the cab with
> the friendly crew.
>
> [attachment 65063 scan00203.jpg]
>
> [attachment 65064 scan00192.jpg]
>
> My brother is talking to the fireman as 111 is
> getting her tender refilled for more hard running
> with the brakes on for grinding down the drivers
>
> [attachment 65065 scan00172.jpg]
>
> [attachment 65066 scan00182.jpg]
>
> [attachment 65067 scan00163.jpg]
I wonder how many days that exercise lasted Olaf.
On June 6th 1968, I visited there on my way to Vancouver Island.. One of the employees told me
to feel the side sheets of 111. They were still warm to the touch. That's when I learned that she
was headed to Fort Bragg.
Got a ride 4 years later on 46 out of Fort Bragg thanks to my grandmother Julia. Despite all that
I had read about the lack of adhesion, she was a pulling stud with a heavy train of 7 cars.
