McCloud River Railroad Company
Locomotive #26

Alco 2-8-2
Built- 1915
c/n- 55492
Drivers- 48"
Cylinders- 20x28
Weight- 195,000 lbs.
Boiler pressure- 180 lbs.
Tractive effort- 35,700 lbs.
The McCloud River Railroad decided it needed more power after the winter of 1937/1938. The company first looked at the new market, and the general office issued an Authorization for Expenditure allowing up to $100,000 to be spent on two new Mikado type locomotives. The company also held preliminary discussions with Vulcan about a potential 2-6-6-2T Duplex locomotive. However, the railroad found a much more practical and cheaper solution with a pair of Alco-built Mikados on the then-abandoning Copper River & Northwestern. The pair had been part of a small fleet of similar Mikados that hauled copper ore for the Kennecott Copper Corporation over a 196-mile long line. The pair proved ideal for McCloud's needs. Their biggest service modification came in May 1947 when McCloud sold their large rectangular tenders to the affiliated Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company of Bend, Oregon, who needed the fuel and water capacity on their long mainline log haul over the Great Northern mainline south of that town. McCloud initially purchased one Vanderbuilt tender from the SP for the #27 and swapped the #15's tender to the #26, only to replace it with a second Vanderbuilt tender a few months later.

The front and back of the Alco builder's card for the future McCloud River #26. Stephen Low collection.
McCloud River #26 arriving on McCloud rails for the first time. T.E. Glover collection.
The #26 pausing in Bartle with another trainload of logs headed for the McCloud mill not long after arrival.
The #26 switching in the McCloud yards.
The #26 with a stock car in the McCloud yards.
The #26 parked next to the roundhouse on 31 May 1947 during the short period of time it was mated to the #15's tender. Jeff Moore collection.
The #26 in McCloud after it had been mated to a Vanderbuilt tender.
The #26 double heading with the #24 somewhere on the line. This was the usual method by which the railroad typically moved the Prairies to and from the log camps for shoppings.
The #26 and #19 powering a Lookout bound freight into Hambone, maybe around 1947.
The engineer's side of the #26 on 17 July 1950. Birney Collection image.
The #26 near the end of its McCloud career. Jeff Moore collection.
As noted above McCloud River sold the two large tenders from the #26 and #27 to the affiliated Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company, who needed the extra fuel and water capacity for the long mainline run they had over the Great Northern mainline south of Bend, Oregon. The Shevlin-Hixon #8 is seen here with the former McCloud tender. Harold K. Vollrath.