I've never heard about this old motorcar before. Anybody have any more information than the website already supplies? Was it simply abandoned on the MCRR, Or does it have an owner?

McCloud #63 (ex-#52)

> I've never heard about this old motorcar
> before. Anybody have any more information
> than the website already supplies? Was it
> simply abandoned on the MCRR, Or does it
> have an owner?

The car was built in the McCloud shops and was actually owned by the McCloud River Lumber Company, quasi-parent to the McCloud River Railroad. It started out life as McCloud River Lumber Co. #52, then at some later point was re-numbered to #63.

The McCRLCo was an early believer in the permanent log camp concept (vs. the more typical logging camp that was always on the move). The first permanent log camp established by the lumber company was at Pondosa, still a dot on the map off Highway 89 southeast of McCloud. Pondosa was established about 1924. The need to transport loggers long distances from the camp to wherever cutting was taking place may have triggered the construction of this car. By the 1930's the lumber company had a new permanent base camp at Whitehorse, located close to 50 miles east of McCloud (now on the Lookout-Hambone trackage owned by BNSF and operated by McCloud). There is photographic evidence of the car at Whitehorse. The last permanent camp operated by the lumber company was Camp Kinyon, located about 12 miles east of McCloud. Camp Kinyon is where this car is located today.

Camp Kinyon operated from about 1947 up until 1963, when US Plywood purchased the McCloud River Lumber Company (and the railroad in a separate deal). US Plywood ended all logging by rail that was occuring on the McCloud in addition to shutting down Camp Kinyon and consolidating all company functions and work reporting locations into McCloud. As near as I can tell the car was simply abandoned at Camp Kinyon in 1963. Whoever owns the land that Camp Kinyon sat on (I think it is probably the US Forest Service) most likely now owns the car.

The UC Davis library has in their web page a digitalized collection of photographs by a man named Eastman, who ran a studio in Susanville and travelled all over eastern Oregon and northeastern California taking photographs. To get to the collection go to the UC Davis library homepage, root around until you find the Special Collections index, then find Eastman. The database is huge and contains pictures from just about every little burg in Eastern Oregon and Northeastern California, including a series of photographs taken around Whitehorse (identified as a McCloud River Lumber Company camp). Mixed in with these pictures are two of this car, one of the exterior and one of the interior of the car, along with some pictures of some other bizarre railcars that the lumber company used to shuttle loggers.

Hope this helps, and feel free to contact me via e-mail with any questions.

jamoore@elko.net