Yreka Western #19

rock island lines · **Joined:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:20 pm **Posts:** 487

Sorry, no news. Just reading up on this locomotive. An interesting past. Built for an Arkansas lumber line, the Caddo and Choctaw Railroad, in 1915. Then employed for a while in Mexico on a mining line. Then used in the Northern California woods.

Recent articles about this locomotive in The Siskiyou Daily News reveal much tumult and drama. I gather two parties each have a claim of ownership (as of one year ago). An article from June, 2014, says the following:

Quote:

Railroad Services Supply Co., based in Portola, Calif. and Joan Reed-Nickerson, president of Chelatchie Boiler Works, Inc., of Camas, Wash., continued proceedings at the Siskiyou County Courthouse on Friday in an attempt to settle ownership for good.

Both companies own liens on the engine. Railroad Services Supply Co. previously filed legal action, claiming its lien has seniority over the debt owed to Reed-Nickerson.

The rebuttal Friday was Chelatchie Boiler Works attempting to prove this wrong.

Source: Siskiyou Daily News article: No.19's owner remains unclear (Warning: pop-up ads.)

Prior to that legal dispute, #19 was to be auctioned in October, 2013.
Siskiyou Daily News article (10/25/13): No. 19 sale derailed: Lawsuit throws auction off track
Siskiyou Daily News article (10/14/13): Ole No. 19 up for sale

Quote:

Yreka Western Railroad's Baldwin 2-8-2 No. 19 steam engine will be auctioned on Friday, Oct. 25, in a sheriff's sale, and John Nixon is spearheading a movement for local residents and organizations to purchase the locomotive and donate it to the people of Siskiyou County.

A writ of execution issued by the Siskiyou County Superior Court on March 17 ordered Yreka Western Railroad to make good on its debt to Chelatchie Boiler Works, Inc., Camas, Wash., for boiler work completed and two years of annual inspections.

Finally, an older article (04/2013) described the beginning of liquidation of YW RR assets:

Quote:

The YWR is considered by many Siskiyou County residents to be an invaluable piece of local history but over the past year, local residents have observed railroad track and cars being dismantled and sold for scrap while creditors fight over what remains.

Siskiyou Daily News article: Scrapping history