Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad is returning to operation. Western Forest Industries Museum Executive Director Bethan Maher shares her vision of reopening the railroad, how it can represent the history of the Pacific Northwest, why it’s important to so many people, and what you can do to help.

https://theroundhousepodcast.com/2022/0 ... operation/

Here is a link to WFIM's official announcement:

https://visitrainier.com/mt-rainier-sce ... k-to-life/


Brian Wise, Director
Western Forest Industries Museum, Inc.
Eatonville,WA

I heard about this not long ago and was ecstatic at the news.
With the Chehalis operation down for track and insurance issues, that left only Snoqualmie and Chelatchie Prairie in this part of the state. As late as 2018, you possibly could ride behind three steam railroads in one day if you timed it perfect and Chelatchie Prairie was running their steam locomotive. Right now, there is only Snoqualmie for steam.
What happened to Mt Rainier Scenic read like a Greek tragedy. I'm so happy to see the operation is finally getting out from underneath some incredibly poor handling.

To be fair, I'm reminding readers of the original press release back in 2020 that alluded to some rather serious organizational conflicts in tax status between AHR and Mt. Rainier. As you know, nonprofits that liquidate or are sold are not like regular businesses, and the original organization split the two leaving some buried landmines behind. This IRS tax status issue was as serious an ongoing issue as COVID, I suspect.
https://railfan.com/mt-rainier-railroad ... -operator/

But yeah, I'm glad for anything that keeps them going, I've been out there many times, including the epic TRAIN convention that had three geared steam locomotives - Shay, Climax and Heisler, doing photo runbys, with the 2-8-2 and the F-unit in Morton. I've been all over the track between Tacoma and Morton now, I sure want that chance again.

I post this "news" already on May 1st.
If you want to see some pics of their steamers look here
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46514

Here is the very good video announcement of WFIM with begging for volunteers and donations
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5PxviVI ... e=youtu.be

The Western Forest Industries Museum has a few interesting tidbits posted on their website.
- They are looking to establish a new base out of Eatonville.
- For 2023, they will be having a Railbike operation running over the line, Park Jct to Mineral.
- Also for 2023, a master plan with strategic implementation will be developed.
- They are looking seriously at how to get service records up to date in order to resume steam operations.
- The WFIM history presentation will expand from the machinery and the achievements to more broadly include the people and the lives of loggers.
- Volunteers were called back for a meeting onsite held January 28.
See here for details and more:
https://wfim.org/our-future

Do any of the steam locomotives in Mineral, WA still have a current FRA Form 4? Polson Logging #70, Hammond Lumber #17 and Rayonier #2 were the last ones to operate, that I am aware of. IIRC, they also have the Hillcrest 3-Truck Climax #10 and West Fork Heisler #91, but I don't recall either of those operating since I was last there in 2014. They have a great stable of locomotives.

/Kevin Madore

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Kevin, just to clear one thing up, that 90 ton West Coast Special Heisler is not actually
West Fork Logging. Although is is the same general model as the West Fork locomotive,
the West Fork one was an earlier type and had outside-admission piston valves.

The existing Heisler is actually c/n 1595 and built in 1930 for stock. She spent most of
her working life in Oregon for Kinzua Pine Mills. She has the modern inside-admission
piston valves.

I have spent a little time on her on visits to MRSR. She would have been a real puller
had that 3rd truck been available for actual traction. It was not connected and just
more to drag. Her boiler pressure was cut back on account of the loss of adhesion and
even that move didn't always prevent her from having a tough time starting a train
without slipping. Maybe someday.

This was not to nitpick, but to point out the difference between the two locomotives.

Tom,

Any idea why the 91 is lettered for West Fork? It is unusual for a place that billed itself as a museum to letter a locomotive for a legacy railroad that never owned it.



/Kevin Madore

Kevin, photos exist of the real 91 dumping logs into nearby Mineral Lake. Perhaps the late Tom Murray wished to recreate what he experienced as a youth.

Tom -

I must admit that I don't know a heck of a lot about geared locomotives (or about anything for that matter), but I really am curious as to why the 3rd truck on the Heisler in question was not used. If not used, why have that "section" coupled up to the locomotive? Why not just "lope it off" OR if that section was built with something integral to the locomotive's construction, couldn't the not needed "dragging truck", been replaced by a freight car truck, or something easier on the tractive effort?

I'm probably looking pretty stupid here, but at my age, that's not the worst thing in the world.


Les

You ask a good question Les. The Heisler at Mineral needs that 3rd truck as that is its entire water supply. Oil is right over the 2nd truck. There was some sort of mechanical problem with the shaft that goes to and powers the rear truck, so they disconnected that part, but left it still connected with a drawbar, I believe.

It has been this way for quite some time. Easy to spot as the side rods of the 3rd truck will line up with the other 2 for awhile and then slip out of unison. Back and forth all day.

The Heisler was lettered for West Fork because Tom Murray owned it, was paying all the bills and wanted it that way. For the first 20 years or so Mount Rainier Scenic was a tourist railroad not a museum as I was reminded by the owners. The third truck had a bad bearing in the line shaft so it was removed. The truck remained in place because it caried the water tank, it had the coupler to move trains and it looked right.

I find it interesting that the current plan is to build infrastructure in Eatonville and apparently move all the shops and the logging museum (which was moved down from Tacoma several years ago) to there. Not a small order, but clearly intended to boost tourism to a town well off the highway. Heck, I live in the area and only ever once drove through the town when there was a bad accident on the highway going into Elbe which required a detour. My total time in the town could be measured with a stopwatch.
It's for a sure a bigger town than Elbe, which is essentially a wide spot in the road at best.
Elbe had the benefit of being a place most people going to Mt Rainier would see on their way.
In the pre-internet days, people would slam on their brakes at the surprise of seeing a steam loco hooked up to a passenger train (I know as I saw it a couple of times with my own eyes in Elbe) but now it's easy to look up.