Steam Logging
Ride deep into mountain country to watch steam logging operations. Witness tiny but might geared engines dwarfed by the giant loads they moved.
FEATURING THE RELEASE “GEARED STEAM LOCOS”:
With their ability to negotiate less than perfect tracks and climb steep grades, geared steam locomotives were generally used where tight curves restricted the use of conventional rigid frame steam locos and engine speed was not a factor.
The Complete Sierra
The Complete Sierra
The Sierra Railway, originally built after the Gold Rush in California, carried ore, logs and transport for the building of hydro-power dams. We include it here because it served as the critical connection between two of the lines in our new logging release The Pickering Lumber Co. and the West Side Flume & Lumber. Locomotives 34, 36, and articulated 48 haul freights that stretch to the horizon as well as double-headers and a glorious triple-heading finale.
The Sierra is portrayed mid-century at the height of steam operations. The railroad became a “go to” destination for makers of Hollywood Westerns and a mecca for railroad enthusiasts world-wide. Numbers 3 and 28 sport different colors and road names as they serve the movie industry.
79 minutes
The final steam run is shown and the film closes with the 104 year old Number 3 as it appeared in 1995 to celebrate Modesto's 125th Anniversary.
Photographed by John F Kirkland, Glenn Beier, Jim Vail and Mac Owen.