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McCloud Rails : Equipment & Rolling Stock Details
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| MCR 1808 The McCloud River once had a fleet of at least five of these ex-Great Northern ore jennies. The Great Northern acquired 50 of these cars in 1899, with an additional 450 added in 1900. The cars were built by Pressed Steel Car Company as the first all-steel cars designed specifically for the iron ore trade in the upper Midwest. These cars came equipped with two "knock holes" cut into the sides that allowed long poles to be inserted into the cars to knock iron ore loose. In the winter steam lines were inserted through the holes to thaw frozen iron ore loads so that they could be emptied from the car. Great Northern cut three more such holes into their cars as an aftermarket modification. The GN used these cars into the early 1920's, when they were replaced by newer cars and retired. GN sold most of their fleet to Hyman-Michaels Company, a used equipment dealer in Chicago. All remaining GN cars were off the roster by 1930. Hyman-Michaels found a ready market for these cars, with many of them sold to shortlines around the nation for ballast service or on-line movements. It is known that Pacific Gas & Electric Company purchased some of these cars from Hyman-Michaels in the early 1920's for use on the Pit River hydroelectric projects, which were reached by the Pit River Railroad. PG&E initially contracted operations of this line out to the McCloud River, but took over direct operations of the line in 1924. PG&E did purchase new locomotives in that year; it is likely that their fleet of ore cars were acquired at the same time. There is a strong possibility that the McCloud purchased these cars from PG&E when the power project ended and the Pit River Railroad was abandoned in 1929; however, the possibility exists that the McCloud cars came from another source at another time. Anybody know the answer for sure? At least one of PG&E's cars is still in existence. PG&E car #19 is on the Yreka Western Railroad in Yreka, CA. This car likely came to the YW via the McCloud River, as was the case with a good portion of the YW's motive power and equipment. The McCloud's fleet of these cars lasted until the early 1980's, when four larger ballast hoppers were purchased from the Southern Pacific. The #1808 is the only car of this type still on the roster. Photographic evidence shows that the #1808 was used in ballast service as late as 1988, but it has not seen any use beyond special photo freights since that time. One more mystery about the #1808; the car has a 1902 builder's date stenciled on the side. The GN's cars were built in 1899 and 1900. However, many of the GN cars initially belonged to a subsidiary road, the Eastern Minnesota Railway (EMRY). The EMRY was fully merged into the GN in 1902. If this car was originally one of the EMRY cars, it is possible that the 1902 date on the #1808 came from the date that the car appeared on GN records. |
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Locomotive #38 and a caboose are spliced by three of the McCloud's ex-GN ore jennies in this photo by and courtesy of George Landrock. Note the vintage McCloud Dairy truck to the left of the #38. |
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McCloud, CA, 1984. Pat Holden photo, Jeff Moore collection. |
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17 Sept 1982. Photo by Jimmy Bryant, courtesy Nevada Historical Society. |
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McCloud, CA, 11/2002. |
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McCloud, CA, 6/2004. |
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