Re: NNG: Rayonier 2-6-6-2T 111 in 1968

As nearly as I can reconstruct the events of May/June 1968, I think that I have the Rayonier 111 operations narrowed down to Friday, May 31. That month I took a few of my scarce 10 vacation days for rail travel and steam adventures (in 1968 I rode as many of the rapidly vanishing passenger trains as I could, accumulating 22,403 passenger train miles as well as 538 freight miles and 5 steam cab miles for a total of 22,946 rail miles, the total including 300 miles behind steam - I never came close to equaling 1968 again). On the morning of Thursday, May 30, I arrived in Hinkle, Oregon, on the Union Pacific "City of Portland" and met my brother and Terry later that day for a car trip to the Olympic Peninsula and catching steam at the Puget Sound RR museum on the way back on Sunday, June 2. So if the wheel grinding operations were completed on Wednesday, June 5, there were three more working days available. I am guessing that we were there on the first day, as on the day before they were running 2-6-6-2 38. So a best guess for the abrasive brake shoe wheel grinding operation would be four days.

One of the great things about the NGDF is that it leads to reconstructing and remembering nearly forgotten events such as these from 52 years ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2020 10:05AM by Olaf Rasmussen.