|
|
|
|
North Pacific Coast RR - 0-6-6T
Known Facts: Sold to the North Pacific Coast in 1877 by Mason (Abbott & Graves). Was used in picnic service, on the Mill Valley run, and as a work train at various points in her life. Was often used in situations where she needed to run in both directions because a turntable was not available. Damaged in an engine house fire in Tomales in 1905, the Bully Boy was not rebuilt, ending up on the scrap pile. Speculation: A Roy Graves drawing shows her with pilots mounted to both ends in "Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods" p156. While no photographic evidence we've seen supports this, it is likely that she had pilots at both ends during part of her career because the NPC had a number of local runs to terminals lacking a turntable to turn engines around. We have photos of her sister engine, the San Rafael with pilots on both ends.
Facts: According to Graves and Stindt she was built by Mason in 1874, and was Mason builders #563. While she was originally assigned NPC engine number 3, she was never delivered to the NPC and was sold to the Minnesota Midland. Then she was resold to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio becoming number 22 and named the Dixi Crosby. She was regauged to standard gauge and became the Southern Pacific's number 658 in 1884 (Graves). According to the Abbott builders list, She was sold to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio in 1876 and became number 22 and was given the name Dixie Crosby. The NPC and the Minnesota Midland are not mentioned in the Abbott list. She had 15 x 20 cylinders and 3'0" drivers. With these dimensions she was not an identical sister of the Bully Boy. Speculation: It is unclear why the NPC never took delivery of the Tomales. Clearly she came close enough to delivery to have a builders photo. Did the fact she was never delivered have something to do with the rail jumping tendencies of the early Mason Bogies? Did the fact that the San Rafael ended up on her roof in Tomales Bay in 1875 have anything to do with the cancelled order. Maybe a NPC historian can help us resolve this question. Three sources (Abbott, Graves, & Stindt) indicate that the name used on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio in 1876 was the Dixie Crosby. Yet the above photo shows the spelling as Dixi Crosby. We are hoping someone with knowledge of the history of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio railroad can resolve this inconsistency. It is not known whether this engine was ever delivered to the Minnesota Midland. Hopefully, someone with a knowledge of this line can resolve this issue. Based on Graves comments, it is not clear whether this engine was regauged to standard gauge prior to shipment to the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio or when the railroad became part of the Southern Pacific system. Stindt indicates it was converted prior to shipment. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio RR is not listed in Hilton's "American Narrow Gauge Railroads" so it is probable that she was converted to standard gauge by Mason prior to shipment in 1876. We are hoping someone with knowledge of the history of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio railroad can verify this assumption. The following is a collection of logos of the NPC and its successor lines. Colors are limited to the Web color pallet and are probably not accurate.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(c) 2007 Iron Horse 1:29 |
