Haulin' heavy timber. In the fading afternoon light, Santa Maria Valley Locomotive #205 hauls a couple of flat-loads of heavy timber through the tiny hamlet of Crabtree, OR, on the Mill City Branch of the Albany & Eastern, heading for the lumber mills in the city for which the line is named.
This 1924 Baldwin Prairie-type was originally built for the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad of Fresno County, California, where she hauled lumber and agricultural products until that line went bankrupt in the early 1930s. She was sold to the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, where she finished her "working" career in 1950. After decades as an outdoor, static display, she spent 30+ years under restoration by a gentleman named George Lavacot, leaving her looking very much as she did when she was new. She now operates in excursion service on the Albany & Eastern Railroad, headquartered in Lebanon, OR.
A look at steam operations on Oregon's Albany & Eastern Railroad, headquartered in Lebanon, OR, and featuring Santa Maria Valley Railroad Locomotive #205.
