A friend just now forwarded me a news article stating that the Pacific Locomotive Assn. was this years winner of the $10,000 award for preservation by TRAINS Magazine. It will go towards the rebuild of former Clover Valley Lbr. Co. 2-6-6-2T #4, which spent her entire logging career out of Loyalton, CA.
With all of the possible other entrants, this choice speaks well for PLA & their Niles Canyon Ry.
I've always liked this engine and spent some time hiking a lot of the ROW and interviewing
former employees with the idea of doing a book someday. Rather than have the info sit forever and go to waste, I instead wrote an article in the Western Pacific Headlight (Issue 19) about the operation.
The 4 was a little unique from the other logging mallets constructed as she had an oversized fuel bunker and fatter tires to give her 45" drivers instead of the normal 44". This was
a concession towards wear due to the long length of her 5 day a week run from the mill at Loyalton to Camp 13 where she'd meet the loads brought down from Camp 14 by engine #8, the 2-6-2.