Seven-thirty, AM - McEwen, at the Sumpter Valley Railway

Looking the part. Looking every bit like the hogger you'd expect to see in the cab of a wood-burning Heisler in the wilderness of Eastern Oregon, Sumpter Valley Engineer Sam McCloskey alway... (more)

Looking right at home in the tall timber of the Powder River Valley, Eccles Lumber Heisler #3 plods slowly eastward on the Sumpter Valley Railway, with a short work extra. Although #3 was... (more)

A machine with "character". That's how Fireman Jennifer Jenks described "her" engine to me. With her oversize, one-of-a-kind spark arrestor stack and a pair of antlers... (more)

Heisler #3 loves the cold. Being a wood-burner, Sumpter Valley's Heisler #3 doesn't normally produce a lot of smoke and steam effects in warm weather. Because of that, she's not always a ... (more)

Sumpter Valley's Crew. The crews of the two Sumpter Valley Fall Photo Trains pose with their locomotives just prior to a lunch stop in Sumpter, Oregon. From left to right: Lon Wall - Work ... (more)

Sumpter Work Extra. Eccles Lumber Heisler #3 hauls a short work train eastbound toward McEwen on a changeable fall day. In the consist this day are West Side Lumber "Coffin Tank"... (more)

Built for power more than speed. Eccles Lumber Company #3 hauls a short work extra eastbound out of Sumpter, toward Baker City on a sparkling winter morning in February.

Although she c... (more)

"The Great Locomotive Chase." Engineer J.B. "Bret" Bane and Fireman Taylor Rush extract every bit of horsepower they can out of their 99 year-old Heisler, in an effort to keep their spacing... (more)

Running Mates. A short Eccles Lumber Freight holds Hawley Spur as a Sumpter Valley Mixed Train charges past en route to McEwen and Baker City to the east.

Although the two locomotives p... (more)

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 Valle... (more)

Morning Mixed. The wood-burning Eccles Lumber Heisler #3 hauls an early morning mixed train westbound, in the shadow of the Oregon's snow-covered Elkhorn Mountain Range.

Sunrise over McEwen. Although the clouds are breaking off to the east, a mountain snow shower is still depositing light snow over the yard at McEwen, as a pair of freights get ready to head... (more)