McCloud River Railroad- Equipment Roster

McCloud River Railroad
Equipment Roster
Cabooses

Caboose #05, from the George Landrock collection

Underlined numbers are clickable links to a photo page of that car.

2: 4-wheel, known from a circa 1901 photograph. Retired prior to 1906; may have become #05.

03: 8 wheel, converted 1/39 from Passenger car #03. Book value at time of conversion $3,208.35, written down to $1,000 in 1944. Retired 7/1945 and scrapped.

05: 4-wheel, built or bought before 1906 (1900 according to 1917 ICC Valuation). Original cost approx. $400. Air brake equipment installed 3/1912, cost $80.10. Rebuilt 5/1914 at a cost of $561.34, work order issued 3/2/1914. Retired 12/1942; body incorporated into rebuild of caboose #025.

07: 8-wheel, named Shasta. Built circa 1905 in the McCloud car shop. Featured rounded sliding side doors to accommodate freight loading and unloading. Book value of $500 on 1906 inventory. Retired 1/1917. Body converted to a wood shed at Bartle until burned 1937.

09: 4-wheel. Built in the McCloud car shop in either 8/1908 (as per company records) or 1901 (as per 1917 ICC valuation). Cost $474.45. Air brake equipment added 3/1912, cost $80.09. Retired 1/1939.

011: 4-wheel. Built 11/1909 in the McCloud car shop. Cost $427.53 ($100.46 labor, $327.07 materials). Air brake equipment added 3/1912, cost $80.09. Retired 1/1939.

015: 8-wheel, 35-foot. Built in McCloud car shop to early Southern Pacific standard caboose plans. Work order issued 5/25/1914, car completed 11/1914. Cost $2380.97 (Labor, $1,390.34; Body, $530.16; Trucks, $230.05; Brake equipment, $31.47; Air brake equipment, $62.56; Interior furnishings, $77.38; Travel expense, $1.45; Store expense, $47.85; Miscellaneous, $1.71). Featured side doors to allow for freight loading and unloading. Displayed at Pan-Pacific Exposition through 1915, then returned to railroad and entered service in early 1916. Retired 11/1946. Body converted to a bath house at Hambone and burned in the early 1970s.

017: 8 wheel, 35-foot long, capacity 33,200 lbs. Built 5/1919 in the McCloud car shop. Cost $1,664.82. Equipped with sliding doors on the sides and a cupola, but the roof did not extend out over the end platforms. Primarily used as a work caboose, usually by the track laying and removal crews in the woods, though the car also spent some time in the late 1930s assigned to the logging railroad based out of Pondosa. Wrecked approx. 11:15 A.M. on 7/14/1945 at Young Spur along with Southern Railroad boxcar #20005 while on Extra 26 East. Lumber carried in the boxcar survived, but the milk and laundry bound for the camp at White Horse carried in the #017 did not; the railroad subsequently paid $26.02 to the lumber company to settle their damage claim on the milk. Car immediately retired and burned on the spot.

019: Union Pacific CA- or NCS-class. Reportedly built circa 1910 by UP, but original UP number has not been recorded or determined. Acquired 1/31/1929 by McCloud River, probably from a dealer. Cost $1,139.79. McCloud car shop cut sliding side doors into the carbody after arrival in McCloud. Equipped with indicators on the cupola and rode on the standard UP equalized caboose trucks of the era, which gave a very comfortable ride. Primarily assigned to lumber company logging crews at White Horse. Retired 2/1949 and scrapped.

021: 8-wheel. Built 7/1937 in McCloud car shop. Cost $3,345.07. Similar to the #015, but did not have indicators on the cupola. Bad ordered 1955 at Milepost GN 21.5, at the foot of Lava Hill, and retired. Sold by March 1957 to Western Pine Supply Company, Emeryville, CA, who fixed it up as a social room, and also lettered it "Emeryville & Western- The Pine Cone Route". Conveyed by fall 1962 to A&K Railroad Ties, Emeryville, CA. Sold circa early to middle 1970s to the owner of Hawkey Trucking Company, Anderson, CA, who moved it to their yard for use as an office and recreational room. Donated circa 2004 to Shasta-Cascade Railroad Preservation Association and moved to the group's property just south of Redding in June 2016.

023: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X344. Built 10/31/1907 by GN's St. Cloud shops; originally GN #078:2, renumbered 4/28/1914 #90124, then #90816 3/1921, and finally to #X344 7/1926. Retired 10/1939 and sold to McCloud River 12/1939. Cost $1,084.70. Carbody as originally built, with steel center sill and arch bar trucks. Cupola sat 5-6 inches higher than the rest of the ex-GN cabooses that followed; cupola side windows enlarged at McCloud after arrival. Bad ordered in 1955 at Milepost 31.5 (just west of Hambone) after several logs broke through the cupola end of the carbody and retired. Sold by November 1962 to A&K Railroad Ties, who moved it to their yard in Emeryville, California. A&K subsequently donated the car to the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association, who moved it to their museum in Rio Vista Junction, California, repaired the damage, and restored the car to GN appearance.

025: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X378. Built by GN sometime between 1907-1911. Acquired 12/1939 by McCloud River. Cost $1,084.71. McCloud car shop cut sliding doors into the carbody shortly after entering service. Involved in a rear end collision at Car A circa 1943 that destroyed the carbody but spared the frame, after which McCloud car shop installed the body from retired caboose #05 onto the frame. Body salvaged from the #05 wore out circa 1948, at which time the car shop built a new body following GN plans but leaving half of the car open. Leased to the lumber company and used in Pondosa and Burney until 9/3/1958, when the lumber company returned the car to the railroad, though it remained assigned to Burney. Available service records: 10/8/1958, Install oil heater and drum, headlight, and interior lights; 3/12/1959, Repair draw gear and brass journals of #4 axle; 4/7/1960, Repair draw gear; 8/26/1960, Brass #1 and #3 axles; 7/14/1961, New #2 brake beam, hanger and pin, Safety chains on brake beam, and repair hot box; 2/8/1962, Apply second hand steps, repair truck springs, and apply second carburator on oil stove; and 1/28/1963, Install fueld tank and oil stove, new floor A end, new walk on top of caboose, painted inside and out. Retired circa 1964 and sold to the Yreka Western; eventually numbered YW #001. YW rebuilt and strengthened the open end of the car in 2008. Transferred June 2012 by Yreka Western parent organization to Sierra Nevada & Pacific Railroad, operator of the Wallowa Union Railroad, Elgin, Oregon. SN&P operating contract terminated at the end of 2012, but car remains in Elgin and is reportedly the subject of several liens.

027: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X579. Built 1925 by GN. Acquired 10/1940 by McCloud River. Cost $1,747.27. Scrapped at McCloud circa 1964.

029: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X433. Built by GN sometime between 1907-1911. Acquired 7/31/1944 by McCloud River. Cost $1,184.10. First of the ex-GN cabooses to be re-built by GN before coming to McCloud, but still rode on the old arch bar trucks with outside hung brake beams and a wooden peaked roof. One source indicates car purchased specifically for railroad president Phil Myers for his exclusive use as an inspection car, but surviving correspondence with GN suggests McCloud purchased this car so that a caboose could be provided to a lumber company crew that currently did not have one. Damaged circa 1957 in a wreck at Obie and retired from active service, at which time the railroad employees placed the car near the end of Chippy Spur for their use as a hunting lodge and vacation retreat. Access to the car primarily provided by a speeder kept at Bartle. When vandalism started to affect the car the railroad sold it to Bob Ferraris, an auditor and vice president with t he company who also owned a trailer park in McCloud. Mr. Ferraris hired some of the shop crew to grease the car and test the brake system. Once the car was ready to move the CAT 966 loader pulled it out to the mainline, where a regular Lookout job freight picked it up and brought it to the equipment storage yard east of McCloud. Mr. Ferraris then trucked the car to the entrance to his trailer park, where he performed a complete cosmetic restoration. Remains on display at the park entrance in 2020.

031: Great Northern 25-foot, ex- GN #X472. Built by GN sometime between 1920-1924. Acquired 7/1947 by McCloud River. Cost $1,000 f.o.b. Hambone, plus $565.94 to condition and paint. Arrived with a tarred canvas roof, cast steel trucks, and AB brakes. Available service records: 2/7/1957, Install 2B and 1A power brake bottom gears; 2/20/1957, Brass #1 and #2 axles; 6/21/1957, Painted red; 9/16/1957, Brass #3 and #4 axles, Install power brake; 10/2/1959, Install new headlight and new battery; 1/1959, Install stove pipe; 4/6/1959, Brass #1 and #2 axles; 2/15/1961, Re-roofed and nailed sides, check air and adjust brakes, new running board, repair roof jacks; 8/22/1961, Repaired steps, box lid, tested air, and adjusted travel; and 3/6/1962, replace steps on left side, repair bent and broken carbody, and weld braces on both ends. Retired 1964 and donated to a proposed railroad museum to be located near Dunsmuir, CA. Collection assembled for the museum eventually incorporated into the Railroad Park Resort. This car today houses the resort's restaurant bathroom facilities.

033: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X428. Built by GN sometime between 1907-1911. Acquired 1949 by McCloud River. Cost $1,000 f.o.b. Hambone, plus $726.74 paint and conditioning. Same description as the #031. Wrecked and retired 9/1958 when it and four lumber loads got away from a crew switching in the McCloud yard. The resulting runaway made it all the way through town and onto the spur running to the propane dealer on the south side of town before derailing.

034: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X746. Built by GN circa late 1920s. Acquired 8/1956 by McCloud River. Cost $1,000. Same description as #031. First even numbered caboose on property since #2. Available service records: 1/25/1957, Brass #1 and #2 axles; 3/1957, Painted red; 11/22/1957, Repaired draw bar and roof; 1/15/1959, Install flush toilet, new roof, stove pipe, and stack; 8/4/1959, Install Miller lubricators; 1/18/1961, New roof, new stack, new attena, new radio box, adjust travel, nail siding; 5/24/1961, Put springs and three shoes in left #1 truck; 11/28/1961, Install three window lights, 2" stove pipe, repair broken pipe on release valve, and check air; and 2/9/1962, replaced broken right and left side springs Retired circa 1964 and sold to Jim Nile of Mt. Shasta City for $25, including transportation to any point on the railroad. Mr. Nile moved the car to a location about one mile from the tracks near Milepost 10 on the Mt. Shasta Line, where he used it as a cabin. Sold 1983 to Great Western Railway Museum, then to Shasta-Cascade Rail Preservation Society 2003, but not moved by either owner. To Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture in early 2007 and moved it to land they own near Weed in 6/2007. The group completed a comprehensive cosmetic restoration of the car by 2012, painting one side for McCloud River and the other side Great Northern.

035/553: Great Northern 25-foot, ex-GN #X548. Built by GN sometime between 1920-1924. Acquired 11/1958 by McCloud River. Available service records: 12/17/1958, Brass #3 axle, install toilet, install cupola seats, and complete general overhaul; 1/12/1961, New roof and running boards, install new radio antenna, radio box, new roof pipe, and two new brake shoes; 11/28/1961, Install new center plate bend, weld A end, change radio box, weld hand bracket on right steps; 6/25/1962, Fabricate new centerplate, adjust travel, and check air; and 8/27/1962, Changed right steps, test air, and adjust brakes. Retired from road service circa 1964 and rebuilt to VIP car #553, at which time it was set up as a VIP/"party car" with fancy wallpaper and other amenities. Used extensively in the excursion program and in other special events from the 1960s through the 1990s. Sold 1992 to McCloud Railway Company and again re-built, this time receiving modest kitchen facilities. Car received a new all-red with white trim paint job circa 2000. McCloud Railway used the car in special excursions and events until 9/2006, when the railroad conveyed the car to a private individual who moved it to their property in Mt. Shasta City.

101: Wide-vision steel, 8 wheel. Built 2/1962 by International new for railroad, cost $18,629. Car custom built to a 25-foot length rather than the 35-foot normal length for this car typle. Available service records: 11/12/1963, Install coat hooks and repair window eaves; 3/12/1964, Car dropped onto caboose track with frozen brakes, resulting in it hitting a snowplow with considerable force, derailing caboose and damaging draw bar on plow, 5 hours labor to repair. Sold 1992 to McCloud Railway Company. Wrecked 1997 in a switching accident in the McCloud yard. Stored in McCloud until sold 2007 to a private individual associated with the Shasta-Cascade Rail Preservation Society. Car moved to grounds of former McCloud hospital around late 2019, where it joined the old passenger car used as a depot and the old water tower.

102: Wide-vision steel, 8 wheel. Same origin, description, and purchase price as #101. Available service records: 12/1963, Dropped generator belts. Stored out of service and derelict in McCloud yard by the late 1980s. Sold 1992 to McCloud Railway Company, who rebuilt and repainted the car for excursion service in 1996. Replaced the #101 and work caboose after the #101's accident. Damaged by fire in fall/winter 2003 and repaired. In occassional use on the railroad today.

Leased Cabooses- In addition to the cabooses listed above, the railroad has also leased cabooses for short periods of time, including a couple Southern Pacific cabooses not otherwise identified and Western Pacific caboose #739.

Imposters- Information and pictures on two cabooses lettered for the railroad that have little to no connection with the railroad.

Stored Cabooses- The McCloud railroads have hosted a few privately owned cabooses, including a former BN caboose in 1978 that was converted to a cabin on private property not far from a point on the Mt. Shasta line; at least two ex-Burlington Northern (former Northern Pacific) cabooses owned by the Great Western Railway Museum; and two wide vision models formerly owned by the Denver & Rio Grande Western and Burlington Northern railroads in the mid-1990s that were subsequently moved onto the grounds of a bed and breakfast operation in McCloud. Other cabooses stored by the McCloud Railway included an ex-Union Pacific steel caboose owned by the Modoc Railroad Academy (stored 2004 through 2006) and at least two privately owned ex-Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe cabooses, one of which remained on the property into early 2009.

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