I'm searching for information on some small locomotives from Juneau, Alaska. Specifically from the Treadwell Mining Co on Douglas Island.

Here are a few pictures of the locomotives in question. They appear to be very small 0-4-0 saddle-tank engines with open cabs. I haven't seen a lot of open-cab locomotives, they seem very impractical for Southeast Alaska (a rainforest climate).







The original images were found in the Alaska digital archives, which have some additional information:
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/ ... 1440/rec/1
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/ ... 9793/rec/1
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/ ... 7168/rec/2

The Treadwell mines operated from the 1880s to the 1920s. A consolidation of 4 mines beneath Gastineau channel, all but one flooded in 1917 after a major collapse formed in the channel bottom. The mines had a narrow gauge (I believe 36") surface railway between the mine buildings, docks, shafts, and sawmill, with about 3 miles of track. Here's a map from 1917 with the trackage highlighted:



I'm trying to find out when these locomotives were brought to Juneau, how many there were, who the maker(s) was/were, and what became of them. One thing I found interesting was the "Ca. 1893" note on one of the photos. This could mean that one or more of the Treadwell locomotives predates the "Seward" at Berner's Bay, which I've seen referred to as the first locomotive in Alaska (Rails North, local Juneau history, etc).

Another reference seeming to support the 1893 date is an 1890 census report (published in 1893), which mentions a "locomotive tramway" at Treadwell between the mine and sawmill and describes tramway construction starting in 1887. Link.

I also noticed that in Rails North, on pg. 49, there's a very similar looking locomotive listed as a switcher on the WP&YRR, with no year recorded.

Any help or suggestions where I could research further would be appreciated!

I looked at the on-line (PDF) index of the BLW specification books at the SMU-De Golyer library.

There is a listing for Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining #1 named "Mexican". This was ordered April 4, 1896.
Its class number is 4-11C-145.
Gauge is 2'-1"
cylinders 9x12
looks like a 0-4-0T with 26" driver tread diameter
height limit of 5' 7-1/2"

That is the only listing using the word "Treadwell" in the purchaser's name.

But the next alphabetical listing is for a similar locomotive:
Alaska United Gold Mining #1 ordered April 20, 1898
Its class number is 4-11C-167
a notation of the specification sheet is that this is " as spec 10046 otherwise dup 4/11c145"
gauge 2'-1"
cylinders 9x12
driver diameter 26"

Looking at the index by class number there are a large number of 0-4-0 locomotives of this 4-11C class. But they could be of many different configurations with the only similarity being the 9x12 cylinders.

Besides Baldwin such locomotives were made by other builders. So the search needs to go in other directions than BLW.

Thanks Brian, that's definitely something to go on! I've started poking through those records, I see mention of a compressed air locomotive at Treadwell in 1901, maybe that was one of the underground units (most were electric, all are now under a lot of sea water).

The Mexican mine was one of the Treadwell properties, originally it was owned by the Alaska United Gold Mining Co. Other associated mines included the "700-foot" and "Ready Bullion". Treadwell originally incorporated as the Alaska Mill and Mining Co in 1881 and absorbed the others in the late 1880s and 1890s. I have an book that lists the timeline of consolidations and name changes, but unfortunately not in front of me, I'll see if I can provide some more information when I find that.

I've also seen mention of Davenport locomotives at Treadwell, are there any records online for that company?

Well, I found out why they needed to order a duplicate of 4-11C #145!

"In conjunction with the Alaska United Gold Mining Company, there was bought a new Baldwin locomotive to replace the one blown to pieces in the dynamite explosion of last spring " (1897 Report of the Governor of Alaska to the Secretary of the Interior).

Some more details on that incident, which killed a watchman: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg ... d=65654402

As a follow-up to this thread, I've put together everything I could find (so far) on the locomotive in question: http://saveitforparts.wordpress.com/201 ... -railroad/

I also got a chance to go out and visit the locomotive last summer, due to some convenient travel plans and the generosity of the current owner.







The damage seen above is from a 1950s attempt to convert to gas power. The miners didn't have the proper tools to separate the boiler from the frame, but they had dynamite! After kludging a Plymouth engine onto the frame they realized it wasn't powerful enough to get up a hill, and pushed the whole thing into a ditch.

The owner believes this one is a Davenport, and it looks a lot like other small Davenports of the era. I've been poking around online and pestering a few railway museums and collectors, but haven't found much detail yet. I'm still trying to determine the year/model/CN, where this one originated, and any other info on it. Any suggestions for where to look next would be appreciated!

I've also dug up quite a bit of other Alaska railroading trivia which I'll link to in another post.

I just checked the unlisted photograph list of DeGolyer Library ( that list is about 15,000+ photos that are not catalogued nor listed anywhere else). I have a Alaska Treadwell photo of #56 which is an "electric mine loco." When I return to DeGolyer this next week, I shall check it out to look at it again.