I was up on Vancouver Island in June of 1968. I did this a couple of times while on leave from the Air Force.

There were still at least 3 separate steam operations running then: Hillcrest Lbr. Co. with Climax 10, MacMillan Bloedel was using 2-6-2 1077 in the woods and 2-6-2T 1044 at the mill in Chemainus. Also running when there was a barge to switch was Elk Falls Shay 2.

I drove up to M.B.'s camp near Ladysmith one morning and introduced myself to the crew.
Pete McGovern was the engineer, Fred Lawes was the fireman and Jack McAdam was the brakie. I'd never ridden a steam logger before and managed to blurt out a request to Pete. He smiled and said that'd be alright.

We took a train of logs downriver to Diamond tender first. Pete explained the differences between the time for the brakes to set up account of the 2 kinds of triple valves used. This was pretty much all over my head then. When we got to Diamond Yard, he had to work steam to get the train down to the South end. The loads were cut off & Pete ran 1077 over to the tank and took water.

He looked at me and suggested "Let's go for a walk". I had no idea what was up but followed him. He stopped right in the middle of an empty rail and pointed ahead and asked me what I saw. I had no idea what he was after. He smiled and showed me a bird, could have been a Plover, and said it was sitting on a nest. He didn't want to disturb it when we took the empties back to camp, so he got the ok from the operator in the interlocking tower to make a backup move on Crown-Zellerbach's track so we could get lined out on another rail. This was just the kind of thoughtful professional that he was.

The ride back was nothing short of spectacular. 1077 was a modest sized engine and lacked superheat. Both lifting injectors were on all the way to camp. We had a meet with Crown at the one siding on the way. They had gotten there first by a minute or so and we had to stop and wait for their brakeman to walk up and line us through. I took b&w that day (Plus X) and got a few nice memories.

The next year I came up right at the end and got to ride both of the tank Mikes, 1055 and 1066. This was a great operation and they were quite friendly to fans. Pete & I kept in touch 'till he passed some years later. I was able to ride with him again when my wife & I were on our honeymoon in 1978. We rode on Crown's Alco RS out to the big bridge over the Nanaimo River to check on a report of a possible fire. It turned out to be unfounded.

Pete was maybe the finest steam man that I'd ever ridden with and that's saying a lot. I've been on close to 80 locomotives in my life. He was a cut above the rest and a fine human being also.

Some background on 1077. If memory serves, she is a 1923 Montreal Prairie with an all-weather cab. Cylinders are 17" and drivers are the standard 44". She was the spare engine for the woods operation. At this time, the normal engine, Baldwin 2-8-2T 1055 was in the shop in Chemainus getting an overhaul.

1055 was the more powerful engine, with 200 lbs. on the boiler vs. 180 for 1077 and had 18 " cylinders. She also had smaller drivers, 42" vs. the 44" on 1077. I think her t.e. was slightly in excess of 30,000 lbs., while t.e. on 1077 was around 23,000 lbs.

All 4 of the MB quartet have survived. 1055 has operated on the tourist line out of Port Alberni.

Great story Tom. Thanks for posting. I was fortunate to visit that operation and agree that the crew were an unbelievable bunch. The 1055 was being used and they welcomed my wife and I into the cab for a ride. Great memories.

Tom -

80 locomotives? Wow! Now I really am jealous!

The numbering of the MacMillan Bloedel engines has always interested me. Can't recall a similar numbering system on any other operation. I'm assuming the locomotives were numbered in consecutive order as they were put into service; 1044, then 1055, then 1066 and finally 1077. So, were there previous engines numbered 1011, 1022 and 1033? I wonder who came up with that system?

Les

Just think Bill, 10 years earlier and we could have been riding Shays!

Thanks for your comments.

Les, I wish that I could provide some meaningful info on the numbering system that M-B used. What little that I know is that besides the 4 rod engines that were around until the end of rail logging in late 1969, there were also a pair of Pacific Coast Shays on the Nanaimo River operation in years prior. They were 1088 and 1099 and were gone when I first got there in 1967.

At the M-B Franklin River operation were 5 more P.C. type Shays. They were 1010, 1017, 1019, 1027 and 1031. A couple of these lasted until the end of that show in 1959. Also there was 2-6-6-2T compound mallet 1006 ( I think I got the number correct) as well as 1055 in an earlier number. After the show quit, the 2-8-2T went to Comox at Ladysmith for a short stint. She got a 2 digit number there and then was transferred the short distance to M-B where she continued her storied career. This included being sent down to Chemainus after rail logging was over and taking over switching duties from 1044 and 1066 which were both in need of work. This went on into the early 1970s.

I am unable to locate my Canadian Shay list that Jack Holst put together. M-B may have also had a 90-3 Shay, but I cannot say for sure. Any corrections or additions here are welcome.

Please note that I corrected the number of the 2-6-6-2T at Franklin River to 1006.

Some additional notes on M-B Shays. These came from a typed manuscript that I got from Jack Holst with help from John Labbe, Jim Gertz, El White & Doug Richter. All these gentlemen are gone now.

1st 1066 Lima c/n 1783 45-2 class
1011 Lima c/n 2972 70-3 class
1037 Lima c/n 3261 90-3 class
1012 Lima c/n 3282 90-3 class
1010 Lima c/n 3340 PC type

Hi Tom: Thanks for the great story, I was just a little to young to remember this railway in steam, though I do recall it well during the diesel era. The bird you refer to is almost certainly a Killdeer, they are very common around here and have a similar colour to a Plover. They like to nest on rocky beaches so you often find them in ballast or gravel pits, they do a distinctive act as though they have a broken wing if the nest is threatened to try and attract the predator away, they likely would have tried this on 1077 had you gone up "their" road. I remember Pete McGovern well, after the railway closed he became very involved with the Ladysmith Railway Historical Society, and our attempt to turn this into a tourist line / museum. He passed away suddenly on the museum site around 1990 doing what he loved best.

Pat

Hi Pat.....
and thank you for your comments. The minute that I saw Killdeer, I then remembered just what it was. Appreciate your correction.

One thing that I forgot to mention about Pete is just how ramrod straight that he sat on the seat. His upper body moved with the piston strokes of the locomotive.

Another thing was that on the day that we met Crown with their Baldwin VO and train of logs, we were really surprised to see a beautiful young lady riding along in the cab. Pete told me that I rode the wrong train that day.

He was proud of the fact that he earned the first diesel ticket in the Province. I don't think that he used it much, but could be wrong.

As an aside, did you ever meet or hear of Spike Carson? He was an old time logger. I met him up at Mesachie Lake one time and Harry Wright introduced us.

Hi Tom: I never worked with him but did meet Spike a couple of times. If memory serves he was one of the engineers hired by the province to run the Museum Train on it's tours of the province in '75 and '76. This would have been with 3716 on the mainland and little 1077 on the island. Spike was also an engineer at the Forest Museum at this time. Peter Davies a friend of mine who is just a couple of years older used to fire for Spike at the Forest Museum, and Spike arranged for Peter to fire 1077 on one of the island tours, so Peter got the honour of firing what was almost certainly the last steam locomotive to pass through many island communities. There is also an interesting bit of oral history about 1077 which has been passed down over the years, not sure of the truth but it's a fun yarn. Montreal locomotive works sent a salesman out to Port Renfrew visit the Cathels and Sorensen manager and mechanics to spec out the locomotive. The salesman and purchasers got all so drunk that the specifications ended up being a total muddle and not really a very suitable locomotive for their operation, it is very weird that this engine is unsuperheated so there may be some kernel of truth to the story.

Pat

That really is an interesting anecdote regarding the "meeting" over the purchase
of 1077. I don't doubt that this certainly could have happened.

While the lack of superheat was a bit of a detriment, we have to concede that
something was right with her as she was one of the survivors on the Island
and even had a career with the public following 1969 when M-B rail logging quit.

I wish now that I had spent more time talking with some of these guys. There
were times while on the spot or firing up when we had time to exchange
backgrounds and stories. Onni Parta at Chemainus was a wonderful gent
with a storied career in the woods. He had fired Porter 2-6-2T at Copper
Canyon when it trailed a slope-back tender. The first time that I met Onni was
at the Chemainus shops in 1967. He & others were fabricating steel steps
on the side of one of the engines. He was a big imposing guy with flinty eyes
and a bit of a sharp voice. I was a little intimidated at first but soon found out that
he was one of the easiest people to get along with that I'd ever meet. When
he learned that I was in the USAF, he always wanted to know how I was doing
and how things were at Edwards where I was stationed. Ed Marty was a
relief engineer at Chemainus and another great guy. They were all low key
and as good at listening as they were at speaking. This goes for the entire
bunch.

I stayed in touch with some of them until they passed. I'm glad that I had
the foresight to get some images of them while at work.