Re: NP 2626 Timken at Portland 1933
Author: butler
Date: 03-18-2011 - 02:45
I moved to Seattle in the fall of 1958 and one of my first priorities was to find out the status of 2626. I went to the South Tacoma area where they did the cutting and found the pieces scattered all over; the cab was on the ground, etc. Made me SICK!
My personal theory, totally unsubstantiated by anything factual, is that the NP had a corporate inferiority complex because they were the last of the 3 roads (GN, NP, MILW) to achieve dieselization. They ignored the fact that they had the best fleet of modern steam power of the 3 and the cheapest coal available.
I think that scrapping the 2626 was a statement that "we too are now a modern, progressive RR".
I did get to see 2626 in service, only one time, in Portland OR on Thanksgiving day, 1954. For that I am grateful.