100-Year-Old Locomotive is Latest Find at Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad

Published 10/27/24 at 9:12 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Garibaldi, Oregon) – A major donation to Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Garibaldi will eventually result in a whole new vintage locomotive zipping along the rails of the Tillamook Coast. The company just had the Cabin Creek Lumber Company #1 engine shipped there from Easton, WA., after being donated by the family of the late Victor C. Monahan of Cabin Creek. (Photo Credit: Oregon Historical Society and John Labbe)

The 1907-built engine is a Class A Climax engine and a rarity: only one other is known to be still in existence, according to Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad (OCSR). Other classes of Climax locomotives survive, such as types B and C, but the only other type A is in Corry, Pennsylvania. In total, only 21 Climax engines are known to still be around.

“The locomotive made its historic journey from Cabin Creek, WA to Tillamook, OR on Wednesday October 16,” OCSR said. “It was the first time the engine had traveled outside of the Cascade Mountains since 1907.”

The railroad said it is currently consulting with the Corry Rail & Industrial Legacy Society & Museum on how to restore this engine. The intent is to bring it back online and have it travel around the region. It does not appear they have plans to lug around the railcars of the attraction with it, however, as the engine is rather small.

Photo Credit: Trevor Park

“The locomotive was built in 1907 by the Climax Locomotive Works of Corry, PA as shop number 804,” OCSR said. “Weighing in at only 20-tons, the Class A design utilized a wooden frame, 2-truck design, originally powered by a wood fired tee style boiler and two-cylinder vertical engine set.”

It was built for the Cascade Lumber Company of Easton and then later sold to Cabin Creek Lumber Company. It started out as and remained both company's #1.

The engine weighs only 20 tons, and the Class A designs had a wooden frame, 2-truck design, and were powered by wood fires in a tee-style boiler with a two-cylinder vertical engine set. These types of locomotives had the unique ability to switch between two gears, OCSR said.

Credit: Trevor Park

“In the early 1940’s the boiler and steam engine were removed, and a White truck engine installed in its place, which helped keep the locomotive in service until the early 1970s,” OCSR said. “After the mill shut down, a small portion of the railroad was saved and the locomotive spared the fate met by nearly every other Class A Climax. Some restoration work was performed on the engine including the rebuilding of the wood frame.”

OCSR is a non-profit that dedicates much of its work to preserving and restoring old logging railroad cars and engines, as well as educating the public on the heritage of the region's logging history – not just the coast but the entire Pacific Northwest. They said the engine tells a nearly forgotten story.

“OCSR already has a Shay and multiple Heisler locomotives, and this Climax fills the void of having the final of the three major geared steam locomotive manufacturers represented in the collection,” they said. “OCSR intends to restore the locomotive to operating condition in its original form as a steam locomotive. The railroad already possesses the key components to make this restoration possible, including a suitable boiler and importantly Class Climax A steam locomotive engine set that was originally returned to the United States from New Zealand.”

Climax A engine when it was originally rescued. Photo Credit: Scott Wickert

OCSR's Chief Mechanical Officer and Founder Scott Wickert said this was a day that was two decades in the making.

“When I acquired the Climax A engine set from Richard Dunn years ago, I knew I had to get this engine to unite the two together. I am very excited about this,” Wickert said.

Burden’s Towing of Tillamook moved the engine to Oregon from Washington. See https://oregoncoastscenic.org/ for all ticket prices and schedules, or call the office at 503-842-7972.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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