Typical Lumber Train On The Sumpter Valley

This photo is dated 1940 and the location is between Tipton and Whitney on the Sumpter Valley Ry. This train mainly with lumber loads is headed from the Oregon Lumber Co. mill at Bates MP60 to South Baker MP2. Our train climbed a long grade from Austin which is a mile timetable east of Bates to the first summit at Tipton. Then in this scene the train is heading down grade to Whitney, where it will begin another long climb to Larch at the summit on Huckleberry Mtn. , then down to the Sumpter Valley. From the Sumpter Valley, the line follows a gentle water grade to its destination. As we look back in the consist past the lumber cars, we see a couple of gondolas with saw dust which is bound to the East Oregon Light & Power steam plant at South Baker. There are several cars that appear to have slab wood stacked cross ways. Wood was moved over the line in this way to stock piles for locomotive fuel. Mid year 1940, the oil burning engines #250 and #251 debuted, so the fact that they are still handling slab wood suggests this was during the first half of 1940. The box car likely carried LCL and company supplies out to Bates for the Oregon Lumber Co. Bringing up the rear we appear to have caboose #6 which survives today at SVRR. The scan is from the SVRR Archive.