McCloud Railway 18
MCRR No. 18 pulling a Excursion train toward Warnerville, California in 2007
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number41709
Build dateOctober 1914
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-2
 • UIC1'D1'
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.48 in (1.219 m)
Loco weight178,400 lb (80.9 t)
Fuel typeOil
Boiler pressure180 psi (1.24 MPa)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size20 in × 28 in (508 mm × 711 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort39,667 lbf (176.4 kN)
Career
OperatorsMcCloud River Railroad (1915–1956)
Yreka Western Railroad (1956–1998)
McCloud Railway (1998–2005)
Virginia and Truckee Railroad (2005–present)
Numbers
  • MCR 18
  • YW 18
  • VT 18
LocaleCalifornia
Retired1964 (revenue service)
Restored1998
Current ownerVirginia and Truckee Railroad
DispositionOperational, based in Virginia City, Nevada

McCloud Railway No. 18 is a 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The locomotive was purchased new by the McCloud River Railway Company in 1914 as a standalone purchase. No. 18 was bought by the Yreka Western Railroad in 1956 and bought back by the McCloud in 1998. It was restored to operation in McCloud during 1998 and operated there until it was sold in 2005 to Virginia and Truckee Railroad.

History

Revenue service

McCloud Railway No. 18 was built in October 1915[1] by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The unit was sent to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco during 1915. The display was jointly sponsored by McCloud Railway, Weed Lumber Company and Red River Lumber Company. The unit was then returned to McCloud, where it lived out most of its life. [2] It has since been used in the film Water for Elephants.

First retirement

In 1956, as McCloud Railway was acquiring newer diesels from Baldwin, they retired their elderly steam locomotive fleet (including 18). The unit was sold (like many McCloud steam locomotives at the time) to Yreka Western Railroad, a small, power-starved railroad also in Northern California. The unit was operated with 19 at Yreka until 1964, when the unit suffered a cylinder failure on a special trip and was sidelined. The unit languished in Yreka until 1998, when the McCloud Railway bought the unit to assist 25 in railfan trips. [3]

Excursion service

The locomotive was restored to operation at McCloud in 1998, and quickly became the favorite unit as it was bigger and stronger than No. 25 and handled the large grades on the road better. In 2005, with the imminent demise of the McCloud Railway as a financial entity, the unit was sold to Virginia and Truckee Railroad as an excursion unit. They acquired the No. 18 in 2007, and it has been in use since 2010. It is slated to be renumbered to No. 31.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://digitalcollections.smu.edu/digital/collection/rwy/id/1820/rec/4
  2. ↑ Steam Locomotive Dot Com: McCloud River 2-8-2 "Mikes" in the USA
  3. ↑ McCloud Rails - Engine #18
  4. ↑ McCloud Rails - Passenger Operations - Locomotive #18

Media related to McCloud River Railroad 18 at Wikimedia Commons

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