December 2000

(Volume 5, No. 10)

25th Anniversary

Tuesday, December 5, 2000 is the 25th anniversary of the Eagle Rock Model RR Club, now the Eagle Rock RR Historical Society, Inc. On that date in 1915, 1? people met in the second floor meeting room of the Idaho Falls City Recreation Center, with Doug Herrmann as the instigator, to form a model railroad club in Idaho Falls. At that time the club was strictly a round robin meeting in the homes. Two pictures and an article had appeared in the Post-Register on November 19, 1915 prior to an open house on November 20 at Doug's layout. As a result of this publicity, there were a large number of attendees. The first two names on the list are Richard Loop and Alan Udy. There were others there that were one-time members of the club, including Cal Rassmusen, Bob Southon, and Richard Chryn. Another well known model railroader in the area who attended was A. B. Eckersell. 

From these small beginnings, the club has ~-own and moved over the years until it is what you see today. We should be proud of our history and accomplishments. 

To celebrate the anniversary we are hosting an open house for the members, families, and general public on Saturday, December 9 from noon to 4:00 PM at the club meeting room. Come and show your friends what we have. 

President's Soapbox

We again find ourselves near the end of another calendar year. As we prepare our organization for a new year, it is always an excellent idea to review the past years activities and identify areas where improvements can be made. In my observation, it seemed that very little was accomplished early in the year, that is, after the 1999 Railshow until about 6 months before the 2000 Show. In fact it seems to me that the club still suffers from a lack of consensus on many fronts. While others may not agree, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, there are some points which I put forth supporting my position:

  1. I think that some members are reluctant to voice their opinion because they feel they have limited experience.
  2. Some of our members may be unintentionally intimidating to others.
  3. Some may feel that they do not attend frequently enough to be a contributor to club policy.
  4. It appears that most decisions are made by the board and the membership accepts them without much comment.

In view of these points, let us resolve to improve the atmosphere in our circle so that new members will feel welcome and that their opinions will be considered.

In addition, it is incumbent on the officers of the club, whomever they may be, to resolve to meet more often and be more productive in addressing the challenges facing our organization. I recognize that scheduling more meetings is greater demand on our already limited free time, however when we accept the role of officer, we commit ourselves to honoring that need. Another observation heard, has been that "Why bother, we cover the same things again in a regular business meeting". This may have been true in the past in part, but the role of the officers is to screen the business to be considered and develop the positions to be presented to the general membership. Furthermore, in any meeting, everyone should avoid detouring the discussion off subject making it more difficult to conduct any business.

Through counseling officers on an individual basis, I have attempted to offer guidance on ways for them to be more effective in their respective positions. No one should perceive these one-on-one meetings as a criticism of their dedication. The fact is, as we gain more members and expand our involvement deeper into the public sector, we must constantly improve our methodologies to make our organization more accountable and at the same time become more effective in answering the needs of the members and insure growth and continuity.

In view of the progress made last year in developing the layout to its present state of completion, we ask ourselves what is next. It appears that, for now, we will continue to operate the railroad in its present state, while keeping in mind the long term plan of completing the line to a terminus such as Silver Bow, and, in the meantime, perfecting a plan intended to increase the mutual enjoyment and depiction of prototypical railroad operation.

We are about to celebrate the club’s 25th anniversary; we should all be greateful for the perseverance shown by those who have sacrificed so much of their time keeping the group together through these 25 years. This organization has come a long way from the first time I attended in the Groth warehouse on South Yellowstone. All of us should accept the challenge and ask ourselves, what can I do to contribute to the improvement of our organization? We have many projects which need finishing and others proposed but not yet begun. The continued improvement and healthy growth of our organization calls for the assistance and cooperation of each and every member. May we all unite in this effort.

                                                               Leo Harker

Timetable

Bob Kennelly Open House

Many club members were unable to get away from the fall meet in order to see the layouts on the layout tours. One (or maybe I should say several) of the layouts were at Bob Kennelly's house. This is the first year his layouts have been on the tour, and they were very well received. In order to allow those who missed a chance to see them in October another chance, Bob will be having an open house on Saturday, December 16 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Club members and families are invited to come see his basement.

At the present time there is a large HO layout, which uses DCC for control. This layout has a lot of scenery, and the run is through Idaho scenery, including a section for Idaho Falls. There is also an 0n30 Christmas layout, with an operating train and a streetcar. There will also be a couple of G scale trains running. The N scale is not yet done, but there will be some of that eventually, too. No wonder he refers to his house as The Train Depot. Bob's house is at 4020 Woodhaven Lane, just behind Taylorview Junior High. I have maps if you are prone to getting lost. Please enter via the front door.

                                                          Doug Hemnann

Sumpter Valley Railway Restoration

Nearly all of today's excursion and museum railroads operate on abandoned rights-of-way. The Sumpter Valley Railway, located 26 miles southwest of Baker City Oregon, on U.S. Highway 7, has a unique characteristic over all of these railroads. We have built the railroad ourselves. Although the road bed and track is mostly on original Sumpter Valley Railway right-of-way, the original track was scrapped in 1941, and nearly all of the original road bed had eroded away. With an all volunteer work force, the SVRy has rebuilt over 7 miles of track, and is still growing.

The restoration railroad began on January 4, 1911, when the Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration was incorporated under the laws of Oregon as a non-profit operating tourist railroad. This was only 24 years after the original railway had stopped operations. The people in the county never could quite forgot the "Stump Dodger". Later the Sumpter Valley Railway district was nominated and accepted for the National Register of Historic Places and the little railroad came back.

The new organization made arrangements with the Edward Hines Lumber Company for leasing the old right-of-way westward from the county road above McEwen to Sumpter. The rigiht-of-way was acquired under a ten year lease. Another urgent order of business was to retrieve any part of the old rolling stock. Old locomotive boilers were pulled in from where they had been used as boilers or furnaces. Some cattle cars were found rotting in pastures. These were rescued for restoration.

An obvious conclusion was that in order to run a railroad it takes a locomotive of some kind. This being true, the group looked about for a vintage narrow gauge locomotive, hopefully from the Sumpter Valley Railroad. It was found

The Boise Cascade Corporation had an old W.H. Eccles Lumber Company locomotive located at its Cascade, Idaho, sawmill. This was the two truck Heisler number 3, purchased new by the Eccles Lumber Company in 1915, and operated on the Sumpter Valley Railroad as a logging engine. Boise Cascade sold the locomotive to the Restoration group. Years before, Boise Cascade had steamed it up from time to time for use as a stand-by boiler for the sawmill at Cascade. At the time of the sale, the dejected engine sat aging in a shed, waiting for its renewed glory. In faded lettering on the tender was its old boss, the “W. H. Eccles Lbr. Co.”

In the fall of 1911, Union Pacific Railroad transported the 40 ton Heisler from Cascade to Baker Oregon, free of charge. This was the first of many feats of generosity the Union Pacific Railroad would show to our small railroad. The Union Pacific Railroad and its employees of the Portland Division have always been there for us when help was needed.

After many years of disuse the old #3 was not in running condition. Ellingson Lumber Company of Baker donated property in town for a repair shed. Keep in mind that the volunteer work crew had very little work experience on a steam locomotive, specially one born in 1915. A Heisler technical manual was obtained from Floyd Carpenter, SVRy member and former general superintendent on the original Sumpter Valley Railway. After four years of sweat and tears, rehabilitating was completed.

In 1975, volunteer bulldozing leveled two thousand feet of road bed, ready for track laying. A location for the Dredge Depot (later renamed to McEwen Depot) and parking lot was scraped and leveled. Track laying soon began. The Union Pacific Railroad donated rail, ties, spikes, and plates. The first track was laid at the depot, then the wye and tail track to the future site of the locomotive shed was laid. In April 1916 the Oregon National Guard moved a weather battered SVRy water tank housing and base from Bates Oregon to the depot site.

In June 1976 the Heisler turned her wheels for the first time under steam -- onto a low-boy trailer for her ride from Baker to her new home on the Sumpter Valley Railway. After a six year struggle the Sumpter Valley Railway was back in business. The official ribbon cutting ceremony opening the railroad was July 4, 1976.

During the next several years, the railroad operated on a small stretch of rail of a few thousand feet. But great advances were being made by the all volunteer, poorly funded group. It was learned in 1976 that two original SVRy 2-8-2 locomotives were available from the White Pass & Yukon Railroad in Skagway, Alaska. Engine numbers 19 and 20 had been sold to the TYP&Y in 1940, and operated there until retirement in 1960. The SVRy was able to purchase the two engines for a dollar each. But the freight costs to haul these engines back home would exceed $25,000. Funds were raised all over the Baker and Sumpter Valleys, and the engines were home again. Another big donation from the Union Pacife Railroad came to us in 1977 when a 20 mile branch line from Vale to Brogan, Oregon, was donated to the SVRy. Only condition attached was the materials were "as is, where is". It took many months of volunteer work to haul the rail, ties, spikes and plates to the Sumpter Valley.

During the 1980's track laying continued, albeit slowly, toward Sumpter. More equipment was obtained through various means, including the only SVRy tank car and two cabooses, numbers 3 and 5. In 1985, a Union Pacific branch Line between Athena and Weston in northeast Oregon ceased operation. The UPRR offered the rails to our organization if we would dismantle and transport the two and one-half miles of 80 pound rails including spikes, bars, plates, nuts, bolts and ties.

In 1988 the railroad received a big boost from the only surviving family member of railroad, founder David Eccles. His daughter Emma Eccles Jones, 93, made a generous donation to fund expansion efforts. She wrote the railroad a letter reminiscing about taking a private train to the end of line with her mother to pick huckleberries.

Her grant enabled the purchase of a SVRy wooden clerestory coach, #20. Built in 1890, this coach had been owned by a private individual in western Oregon. After painstaking interior restoration work by SVRy member Eric Wunz, the car was placed back into service in 1991. The car was named "Em Eccles Jones" in honor of her.

In 1991, the railroad finally arrived in the town of Sumpter. Today the railroad is 5.1 miles long. A state park is under construction, in which the SVRy will be prominent. The SVRy is currently working on building a "balloon track" in and through Sumpter, which will include two bridges in order to cross the Powder River.

The SVRy has about 450 members across the USA, Canada, and Europe, with about 90 active volunteers working on track, rolling stock, buildings, and of course operating the steam trains.

 

Sumpter Valley No. 3 at Railfair, Sacramento