Thanks to a phone call yesterday afternoon by a couple of close friends, I was invited up to McCloud today and rode 2-6-2 25. The purpose of the operation was to check for any possible mechanical problems after last years boiler work.
We were given a written authorization by the railroad to operate between McCloud in the switchback @ Signal Butte. There were two trips made as a light engine and a number of stops to check temps.
The locomotive has been repainted and looks better than I have ever seen her...and that's going back to the mid-sixties.
The McCloud yd. shows the signs of the lines recent financial woes as there is a lot of partially scrapped cars around. The sanding facility no longer works and we could not locate the buried shutoff valve to take water from the standpipe. We used a fire hose instead.
Nonetheless, it was really great to see 25 under steam & out in the woods again. INHO, she is one of the better designed shortline locomotives in the country.
There are a couple of trips using her to take place soon.