Hot shot coming through! A local Sumpter Valley mixed train holds the Hawley Spur to clear the line for a hot shot freight headed west out of McEwen. Although I had visited Sumpter Valley a couple of other times, this February, 2014 Lerro Productions Charter was my first time seeing Mikado #19 in action and of course, my first time seeing both of the line's steam engines together. The crews and the equipment put on a very nice show indeed.
Folks who see photos of these two engines together often wonder if the Eccles Lumber Company Heisler belongs on this line....and the answer is most definitely yes! Although she was not lettered as a Sumpter Valley engine, the Eccles Lumber Company and the Sumpter Valley Railway were under the same ownership and the Number 3 did indeed operate as a logging engine on this very line. There are also photos in existence that show her working in conjunction with other Sumpter Valley engines. Another question that often comes up is whether or not it is historically correct for her to be burning wood. Again, the answer is yes. In fact, until very late in the line's history (early 1940s), ALL of the engines on the Sumpter Valley Railway burned wood, including Mikado #19, which you see on the right in this photo. Only after the Mikados were sold to the White Pass, and replaced by articulated engines, did the SVRy convert to oil firing. Today, Heisler #3 still burns wood, and Mikado #19 burns waste oil.
