The Train Sheet
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FEATHER RIVER RAIL SOCIETY PORTOLA CALIFORNIA
VOLUME No. 4 No. 6 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 1986 ISSUE No. 22


UPDATE on SHORTLINE #8
by Betty Boynton

Feather River Shortline #8 is now
officially 79 years old! Her bronze
and black builder's plates #32160
read "Baldwin Locomotive Works,
Philadelphia, Pa., Nov 1907."

Shortline #8 is a standard gauge
2-6-2 Prairie type that was built
for the Sierra Nevada Wood and
Lumber Co. at Hobart Mills, Ca.
With ample wood slabs to keep her
firebox full, #8 transported forest
products six and a half miles to
Truckee for interchange with the
SP. In 1917 #8 became Hobart
Estates although her name was
never printed on the equipment.
During this time #8 was converted
from wood to oil fuel. From 1932
to 1937 she carried the road name
Hobart Southern Railroad. In 1937,
the Overton Forest reserves at
Hobart Mills became exhausted.
The milling complex and allied
narrow gauge and standard gauge
railroads were abandoned and sold
for scrap. Shortline #8 was then
sold to the Clover Valley Lumber
Co. at Loyalton in Aug 1938 and
became a "woods switcher". She
gathered logs from landings and
spurs to make up trains in the
Squaw Queen and Clover Valley
area north of Beckwourth, assembling
cars for the mainline haul to the
mill at Loyalton. In 1956, her work
days over, #8 was switched onto
the scrap spur with a bleak future
ahead. A reprieve from the scrapper
came in 1958 when the little
engine, a World War I ammo car
and former WP caboose were sent
to Quincy. On Dec 24th, 1958, the
equipment officially became the
Feather River Shortline Railroad and
the engine acquired her present
name, FRSL #8

Over the years #8 put on added
weight from layers of paint, grease
and grime but never had a complete
"right to the metal" restoration.
Jim Boynton was the last person to
run #8 under steam on May 19,
1962. In Aug 1984 he founded project
Sequoia and took on this overwhelming task.

Wed and Sat are work days, though small in number,
the members are large in enthusiasm
and continue to work away the layers
of memories. Steve Jackson, Mel
Moore, Dean Hill, Jim Boynton, AI
Thomson, Bob Beattie, John Marvin,
Eugene Vicknair, Jim Ley and Mike
Attama have worked on the cab, piping,
brake system, tender connections,
and fuel has been hauled from Quincy
to Portola. The fuel has been made
available by the Clover Logging Co.,
Plumas County School Dept, Sierra
Pacific Industries, Detrick Tire Co.,
and hauled by Jim to Portola.
Guy Dunscomb, assisted by his son
Don is now producing a pictorial of
Western Steam and Shortline #8 will
have a spot in the book. Edward
Brown of the Plumas County Historical
Society is also compiling articles
about the Shortline for publication
soon.

NEWS FLASH...Engine #8's boiler
and firebox have at last been certified!
What a birthday gift...the
months of hard labor and delays are
now paying off. We thank Rose
Hersted for her excellent research
effort that has aided this project
greatly. Although much work remains,
we hope 1987 will find the
#8 back under steam power.........