From the Pacific Locomotive Association
Official Bulletin  The Club Car

Click to Enlarge

December, 2000

‘Tis the Season for Dreaming
...of a Donated Diesel

The former Southern Pacific NW2, (was) donated to us by the Parr Terminal Railroad in Richmond. The groundwork for this donation began several years ago. Now, through the efforts of several dedicated people, I’m quite happy to report that this locomotive is destined for the Niles Canyon Railway.

This NW2 was built in 1949 and has 1000 horsepower. It will fit perfectly into our collection as an example of early Southern Pacific diesel switching loco­motives that operated in the steam era.

When the Parr Terminal Railroad notified us in October that the locomotive was available for donation, it was discussed at the Collections Committee. Although all agreed that the NW2 would be a great addition to our collection, it almost was turned down due to concerns as to how to move it.

As has been proved many times in the past, our members do well in overcoming challenges. In this case the effort was spearheaded by Ken Asmus, who was joined by our Motive Power Manager Errol Ohman. Then, Al McCracken, Jon Vlasak, Richard Anderson, and others quickly came together to help finance the locomotive’s move.

– Jim Evans, President

Along the Right of Way

Christmas is the time for presents, and this year should be no different on the NCRy. We all like new toys to play with, and it doesn’t matter how old you are. In this case this is a big toy.

I wish that all we had to do was send two box tops and 25 cents to Battle Creek, Michigan, and they would mail it to us! But like everything else, we have had to slug it out to get it here.

We? I should say him. Ken Asmus is a guy that just doesn’t give up. Just when it looked like we were going to let this one get away because of the moving it, Ken jumped in. (Sort of like the Lone Ranger, “Who was that masked man?”)

Anyway, for the past four weeks I have been getting weekly (if not daily) reports on various methods of moving the engine. This has ranged from barging it, putting it on a flat car, or various ways to truck it.

The problem is the weight - 123 tons - a little heavy for a truck. But wait, what if you pumped it dry? (and removed the trucks, batteries, etc.) That is a lot of weight when you are trying to get below the legal limit. And that is what he did.

Several members wanted this engine and they put out the effort to get it. Work will need to be done and some money spent to get it in good running condition, but that will be their new project. So if you see the old girl sitting there Christmas morning with a big bow on it, thank Ken for all the effort he put out to get it here.

Parr Terminal has kept the engine up and it was running not too long ago. Some parts have been swapped out for their engines and we will have to replace them with new EMD parts. The engine overall is a good engine and will do just fine for our needs. Thanks, Ken, for the time you spent on getting the engine moved.

– Dexter Day, General Manager

January, 2001

Santa Crane Brings (Diesel) Electric Train for Christmas

Brightside 12/19/2000 - Parr Terminal Railway No.1402 arrived at her new home on the Niles Canyon Railway just in time for Christmas. The GM EMD NW2 locomotive hopefully soon will provide some much needed relief for the increasingly fragile GE center-cab diesel fleet.

As with so many Christmas presents from our youth, the gift is not necessarily good news for Dad; it comes with a big delivery bill and the note: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.

The crane and trucking costs were nearly $10,000 to move the engine into the canyon, and an additional $5000 is needed for parts and repairs like the following:
    – Wiring harnesses & connectors
       (Switching, motor, & electrical cabinet)
    – Starting circuit parts
    – Cooling system parts
    – Roots Blowers rebuild

April, 2001

NW2 Takes to the Rails In Successful Test Run

With a cloud of dust, a puff of smoke, and a hearty Hi-Ho Silver, the NW2 switcher rides again! Ken Asmus and Errol Ohman brought the locomotive back to life at mid-day on April 4. The following Saturday, after some equip­ment shuttling to clear the tracks, the locomotive was test run around the Brightside Yard with no problems.

Ken has been busy replacing the missing cables to the back truck, installing new batteries, cleaning the oil pan and putting in fresh oil and filters. The engine barred over fine. Then came installation of the Roots blowers after their rebuild and the first try at starting it.

As the engine sprang to life, the fans blew accumulated dust from the grills and there was just one puff of smoke from the stack. Then everything settled down to run clean and smooth.

The cab is now being renovated to its original configuration and Howard Wise has provided the paint list. The plan is to repaint it in the SP Tiger Stripe scheme.

June, 2001

A New Sound in the Canyon

Those of you that are around Brightside on the weekends have probably heard it. It’s the distinctive sound of a Westinghouse E-2 single note air horn and it’s on our newest locomotive, former SP EMD NW-2 switcher No. 1423.

This locomotive is our first General Motors Electro Motive Division unit to operate on our railroad in Niles Canyon. We have two other larger EMD units, Western Pacific F-7 No 918 and WP GP7 No. 713. I would love to have them operating on the Niles Canyon Railway also, but for now the NW-2 is going to be a great enhancement to the reliability and efficiency of our railroad.

The locomotive was built in 1949 and was delivered to Southern Pacific in the popular tiger stripe paint scheme, which was common on early SP diesels at that time. As far as we can determine, the 1423 worked in the Los Angeles area for many years until the mid 1970’s. At that time in the Bay Area, SP used Alco and Fairbanks Morse switchers.

These locomotives had been on the Peninsula and in other Bay Area switching assignments since the elimination of steam power in the late 1950’s. They would have probably stayed in the Bay Area if new air quality standards were not adopted. Both the Alco’s and FM’s were notorious smokers and thus, when restrictive air pollution laws were passed, these units were banned from the Bay Area.

The Alco’s and FM’s were replaced by a small fleet of EMD switchers including No. 1335, which was originally our 1423. Apparently the locomotive remained in the Bay Area until the end of its operating life (on the Southern Pacific) in 1980.

It’s not clear what happened between 1980 and 1987 when the 1423 was sold to Levin Metals in Richmond. But we know, like all other SP switchers, somewhere in the mid 1960’s it got painted gray and red.

While operating in the Bay Area, we have a record of it being assigned to a variety of places, including Mission Bay, Bayshore, and San Jose.

We... have the 1423 painted back into its original scheme, ready to provide the power for our special Fourth of July (2001) picnic train on Niles Canyon Railway. That horn on our NW-2 was unique to the older SP units and should sound nice echoing through the canyon. A real vintage sound, not to be mistaken for a tugboat!

Thanks to Ken Asmus, Errol Ohman, Whitney Haist, and some other dedicated fellows, this locomotive has been restored in appearance and operation in record time. Thanks should also go to the members of the Association who put forth substantial financial contributions to get the locomotive moved. If you missed this opportunity, your contributions are still welcome.

– Jim Evans, President