Sumpter Valley Ry. Trucks

Before anyone gets torqued about the lack of narrow gauge and logging content in the photo, let me explain a little of the back story. In the late 1930's, the owners of the Sumpter Valley Ry. invested a lot of money in upgrading the railroad. This included heavier second hand rail, new treated ties, new ballast, some new cars constructed, new stock pens, and of course purchase and overhaul of the two big articulated engines. So, unlike some other narrow gauge lines that went away because their infrastructure was so deteriorated, such was not the case with the Sumpter Valley. The single most important reason I have uncovered for the abandonment of the mainline was that new USFS policies were projected to reduce the amount of timber available to the Oregon Lumber Co. mill at Bates. This drop expected to drop the tonnage of lumber hauled by the Sumpter Valley Ry. below where it could operate in the black. We see here the answer to the owners dilemma which was for the railroad to purchase trucks with trailers. Eventually five Peterbuilt trucks would be purchased which operated almost continually to handle the lumber loads from Bates to South Baker that the railroad had hauled. As seen in the photo, they were lettered for Sumpter Valley Ry. Evidently, the timber shortage was not as predicted and hauling with the trucks was not particularly successful. One source I have heard quoted said that the operation was never profitable with the trucks where it had been with the railroad. The poor road conditions of the time probably played a part in this. Still, even for a rail fan, these were pretty cool old trucks. The scan is from the SVRR Archive.