Trains have been a part of Truckee since its early beginnings. Steam trains were the replacement of stagecoaches and were much more versatile. The railroad was the fastest and quickest way to get the incredible supply of lumber and other materials to distant places. Hank Schwartz, forester for Louisianna Pacific and worked at Hobert Mills, used to say “the logs from Truckee/Hobart Mills are what rebuilt San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake”.

Evolution of Truckee’s Steam Trains

The earliest trains were steam trains which were fueled initially by vast amounts of cord wood (which was plentiful) and later transitioned to using coal and then oil. The steam trains coming through Truckee continued to evolve as the demand for raw materials increased across the nation.

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To comprehend how a train is classified you first need to understand the Whyte Notation. The Whyte notation is used to classify various steam train designs based on their wheel arrangement. It came into use in the early 1900s and counts the number of leading wheels (direction), then driving wheels (power), and finally the number of trailing wheels (balance). Each designation is separated by a dash. For example, a locomotive with 2 leading axles (4 wheels) in front, then 3 driving axles (6 wheels) and then one trailing axle (2 wheels) is classified as a 4-6-2 locomotive.

Earliest Steam Trains

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The first steam trains to come through Truckee were 4-4-0 locomotives, also known as an American eight-wheeler. These steam locomotives had a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels. The next car attached to the engine carried its fuel which was called the “tender”. The 4-4-0 trains were first built in the 1830s. By the first half of the 19th century, almost every major railroad in North America owned and operated this type of locomotive.

In 1869, Leland Stanford was coming to Promontory, Utah in his Antelope 4-4-0 train for the “wedding of the rails” and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Loggers near Donner Summit did not notice a green flag at the end of the passenger train in front of the Antelope (the flag signaled that another train was coming). Loggers missed the signal, thought it was clear, and partially rolled a log onto the tracks which the Antelope hit. She wasn’t derailed but was so badly damaged that it limped into the Truckee train station and the passenger cars had to be coupled to the Jupiter locomotive (also a 4-4-0) which then took her place in history on May 10, 1869.

The next locomotive through Truckee was a 4-6-0 which added two more driving wheels thereby giving the train more traction on the rails which would help get the train over Donner Summit and could pull more weight (freight).

The next major steam locomotive invention was the 2-8-0 locomotive which was referred to as the Consolidation. Its wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels proved to be a notable advance in locomotive power. It was introduced in the U.S. in 1866 and used well into the early 20th century. It was considered to be the ultimate heavy-freight locomotive which was also known to move “impressive loads at unimpressive speeds”.

A logical evolution was the introduction of the 2-8-2 locomotive which was referred to as Mikado or Mike in the 19th century. Note that at this time the Emperor of Japan was often referred to as “The Mikado” (the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 had the locomotive name briefly changed to “MacArthur” after General Douglas MacArthur). The biggest advantage of Mike was that it allowed the locomotive’s firebox to be placed behind, instead of above, the driving wheels thereby allowing a larger firebox that could be both wide and deep. The change in the firebox supported a greater rate of combustion and a greater capacity for steam generation which allowed for more power at higher speeds. Mike remained the most common road freight locomotive, with most railroads using it, until the end of steam.

Articulated Locomotives: Early 1900’s

The next major invention for steam locomotion was the creation of articulated locomotives. These engines had one or more engine units where the forward set of drive wheels would pivot and could move independently (bend) from the main frame. Articulation allowed locomotives to operate in areas where they would otherwise be too long to negotiate a railroad’s curves and swivel to manage tighter curves. Articulated locomotives were especially useful on rail lines that had extreme curvature along the line such as logging, industrial or mountain railways.

Developed by Anatole Mallet, a Frenchman from France, these engines were almost immediately adopted in the U.S. The outstanding issue of the first articulated locomotives were that the standard cab (where the engineer sat) was still behind the steam and smoke. With so many snowsheds and tunnels in the mountains, smoke and heat was a huge issue.

Welcome to the Cab forward

The Cab Forward locomotive was introduced by Southern Pacific out of necessity. This engine was unique because it put the engine cab and its crew ahead of the tender away from the smoke and heat. The design was so simple. With articulated engines and the burning of oil, and not coal nor wood, the oil-based engines worked efficiently in either direction. They simply turned the entire locomotive, minus the tender, 180 degrees.

Shoveling was no longer required to feed the engine from the tender since the oil was piped from the firebox. Visibility was greatly improved when the cab was in this position, and the tunnels did not fill with fumes from the chimney.  The cab forward engines were used by Southern Pacific Railroad from the early 1900s until the late 1950s and were extremely popular after WWI and used during WWII.

Today’s Diesel Electric Locomotives

Mountain towns along the rail lines were dwindling so obtaining the oil and water for the steam-powered trains became more difficult. Diesel fuel was available 95% of the time and steam/water only 35%. It turns out that diesel internal combustion engines were also cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain, easier to get started (due to the time it took to make steam) and re-fuel plus several engines could be run from one front cab adding more power to the train. There were less stops, more power and the trains could run multiple engines with only one operator. Cab-forward engines were still used as ‘helper’ engines to get the new diesel engine trains over the Summit up until the late 1950’s.

Train Loads Running Through Truckee Today

Truckee still sees a plethora of trains coming through each day. Amtrak is the only train that stops in Truckee and runs two trains per day, one going east and one going west. The Z train, also known as the UPS express, carries truck freight, still on their wheels, on each car plus other general container freight. Then there are the GE/Grain Empty trains that are fondly called the ‘Chicken Food Express’. Truckee also has hazardous material trains which require special care that includes companion trains to ensure a clear path over the Summit. And lastly there are “Sweep” trains with ‘Auto Rack Specials’. These trains contain a bit of everything else that was left in the train yard.

Conclusion

Truckee has and always will be a train town. Its history can be seen through the types of trains that have come through and the need to haul more freight across the country.

To celebrate Truckee’s heritage, Union Pacific Railroad’s ‘Big Boy’ is doing a whistle stop here at Truckee’s train depot on July 14. Big Boy, the world’s largest operating steam train, is a 4-8-8-4s steam locomotive with a four-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck (with articulation). This simple expansion articulated had two sets of equally sized cylinders which made it better suited for high speeds and large loads. Although the Big Boys were designed for stability at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour, they typically operated at speeds well below that in heavy freight service.

Join us Sunday, July 14 from 3-4 p.m. to see this incredible steam train come to town! The Truckee Railroad Museum and Museum of Truckee History will both be open and there will be a new model railroad exhibit at the ‘Flying A’ office next to the train depot.

Judy DePuy is a volunteer with the Truckee Donner Railroad Society, Truckee-Donner Historical Society and a Board member for the Museum of Truckee History. This article could not have been done without the knowledge and experience of Nelson Van-Gundy. Thank you for everything.