Document text
Workin' on the railroad Photo by Steve Johnson Tony Johnson works inside the boiler of old No. 4, a 74-year-old Medco steam locomotive being restored by area train buffs. Iron horse may run anew By PAUL FATTIG Birds built nests in its boiler. Rust ate away at its iron belly. Souvenir collectors made off with pieces that weren't tightly bolted down. But the railroad buffs restoring old No. 4, the iron horse that once puffed along the tracks near Butte Falls, vow it will one day run again. "It'll probably take five years but we're going to get it running," said Jerry Hellinga, a member of the Southern Oregon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Jerry Hellinga gets into his work restoring the locomotive. "There aren't many of these left," Hellinga said. "It's worth all the work." The Medford resident had just crawled out of the belly of the boiler for a break Monday afternoon. Inside, chapter president Tony Johnson of Medford showered the interior with sparks as he deployed a metal grinder to remove heavy metal. The steam locomotive, built in 1925, hauled logs in the Butte Falls area from 1925 until its last run from Butte Falls to Medford on June 27, 1959. That's when the now-defunct Medford Corp. decided it was time to put the old iron horse out to pasture. The locomotive was given to the city of Medford, and parked in Jackson Park. The chapter formed in 1976 in response to the city's inquiries about how to get rid of the engine. The engine was moved to the Medford Railroad Park in 1986. The city has since given the locomotive to the nonprofit group for restoration. The railroad buffs want to include the steam engine in a "living" railroad museum and tourist short line they hope to establish near Butte Falls. The steamer would join a 1952 diesel engine, already restored by the chapter, which once rolled on the Medco railroad. But restoration of the oil-fired steam locomotive is a long way down the line. The boiler, weighing some 30,000 pounds, was lifted off the structure on Friday with the help of a crane supplied by R.A. Cook of Central Point. It was the first time since the locomotive was built that it was been dismantled, Hellinga said. "There was 40 years worth of bird nests in there that we had to clean out," observed volunteer John Powell of White City. He and Rick Aubin of Medford spent much of Monday afternoon removing chunks of rust from the boiler. Constructed by Willamette Iron and Steel in Portland, it was one of 33 locomotives built between 1923 and 1929. Of those built during that period, only six survive. But they aren't necessarily intact. Souvenir hunters took a lot of the smaller hardware from No. 4. The bell, which weighs some 250 pounds, is missing. "We're pretty sure the bell is still in the Medford area," Hellinga said. "We just want them back, no questions asked." The volunteers discovered some of missing parts in the fire box when they dismantled the engine. "Unfortunately, a lot of it was damaged beyond repair," he said. "The steam gauge -- a real nice one -- was thrown into the fire box. Then someone threw some stuff on top of it and lit a fire. The center was melted out. So we have to replace that." The chapter has a $16,000 grant from the state lottery, as well as a $2,500 grant from the Southern Oregon Historical Society, to rebuild the boiler. However, that will pay only for materials and hiring a person certified to work on boilers to do the work the volunteers aren't qualified to do, Hellinga said, adding that the volunteers will match that with labor. "We're going to be working on this every Saturday unless it's pouring down rain," Hellinga said. "We'd appreciate any help we can get." After the boiler work is completed early this summer, more money and labor will be needed as the volunteers continue their heavy metal labor, he said. (Anyone interesting in joining the chapter or donating should contact the Southern Oregon Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, P.O. Box 622, Medford, OR 97501. For further information, call Hellinga at 772-6432.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA