Beginning Saturday, April 2, at 11:00 am we will be fueling up as many of our motorcars and other equipment as we can and performing operating tests. We will be performing these tests on the first Saturday of each month through Labor Day. This activity coordinates nicely with Toledo’s arts community’s First Weekend event. Saturday will also be a general clean-up day for YPRHS members to prepare the museum for summer visitors. Come join us for some fun as you watch these motorcars come to life.
For those of you who were unable to attend the dedication ceremony of the 45 tonner donated by Georgia-Pacific to the YPRHS museum here is the link to YouTube. Many Thanks to those who attended and the video production team from Toledo High School.
Member Bob Topham recorded the big move Monday. First the Number 6 logger and a set of MOW equipment (speeder, idler/flat and crane) needed to be pulled and reset on the YPRHS siding. Once the track switches were re-aligned, WATCO Switching pushed the 45 Tonner into place for its new home. The remaining photos show members assembling for a group photo. Thanks for the photos, Bob.
L-R (ground) – Lane, Glen, Allan, Bill; (loco) Lloyd, Mark, James (in cab) Alan and Ralph. About 570 years of experience depicted. — with Lane Plotner, Mark Seibert, James Mckinley, Allan Preece and Ralph Grutzmacher.
Lloyd and Ralph push the speeder across street after it failed to move under its own power. Flangeways full of debris got in the way of good traction.
James is at the controls of the #6 car to push the MOW consist to the end of the active display track
James has the # 6 car backed on to the active main track so the MOW equipment can clear the siding and be positioned at teh far end of the display siding.
TOLEDO, Oregon – The Yaquina Pacific Railroad Historical Society (YPRHS) will dedicate the latest addition to its rolling stock collection at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the museum in Toledo, Oregon.
The retired 45-ton, center-cab locomotive , aptly if not imaginatively nicknamed the “45-Tonner,” is a gift from the Georgia-Pacific (GP) mill in Toledo. It was used there in support of lumber and containerboard operations for most of its 60-year working …life. It originally was purchased by the C.D. Johnson Lumber Co. in 1951, prior to selling its Toledo operations to GP the following year.
“Adding the 45-Tonner to our collection is a major step, since it means we will have the Alpha and Omega of historic railroad locomotives that worked in this area,” said YPRHS President Ralph Grutzmacher.
Officers for 2016, Pres= Ralph Grutzmacher,
“We are deeply grateful to Georgia-Pacific for deciding to make our museum the permanent final home for the engine; we’re hoping to turn it into an interactive and interpretive display for thousands of visitors each year.”
The locomotive was retired due to age and has since been replaced. GP agreed last year to donate it to YPRHS with an estimated in-kind value of $40,000.
“We are honored to support the preservation of our region’s vibrant history and industrial heritage,” said James McClure, vice president and general manager of GP-Toledo. “This locomotive literally is a piece of the past and we’re pleased it will remain in Toledo. We are grateful to YPRHS for making it available to the public.”
The YPRHS Toledo museum already houses “One-Spot,” a large steam locomotive built for the C.D. Johnson Lumber Co. in 1922 and the company’s first. The 45-Tonner was the last and only diesel engine purchased by C.D. Johnson, and except for a short period in the 1960s, was used exclusively by GP-Toledo to move railroad chip cars into position for dumping their loads onto a large conveyor. Wood chips and recycled cardboard are used by GP-Toledo to make containerboard, the layers of cardboard boxes.
The YPRHS collection also includes one of very few restored railroad post office and baggage cars, the oldest wooden caboose in the Pacific Northwest and vintage boxcars, along with speeder cars, smaller historic railroad implements and a research library.
The public is invited to the dedication ceremony and light refreshments will be offered. YPRHS is located at 100 NW A Street, Toledo (next to the post office).
Scott Gavin’s definitive book on the Oregon Pacific Railroad, Empire of Dreams, Oregon’s Most Controversial Railroad, was first published by the Society in January 2016. The first edition sold out in 60 days. The 2nd. Edition is now ready for sale. Each person who makes a donation to the Historical Society of $100 will receive a copy of Empire of Dreams and membership in the Society for 2016 and 2017. To get your copy or obtain additional details, call YPRHS at (541) 336-5256 or email at yprhs@peak.org
Scott M. Gavin has spent the past 30 years in the research and compilation of the definitive history of the Oregon Pacific Railroad. The 8.5×11 inch, softbound Empire of Dreams is 366 pages and contains 237 historical photographs and illustrations The price of this improved 2nd. Edition is $54.95 plus $6.00 S/H. It can be purchased by using PayPal. or sending check.
You can also buy now a small handle charge of $1 is added to off set paypal cost $62.00
