There is only one narrow gauge, wood-burning, 4-4-0 American that is still operational, and she is depicted here on the DSNG, crossing the High Bridge at Tacoma on a northbound run to Cascade Canyon. Owned by Las Vegas Attorney Dan Markoff, the beautiful Eureka & Palisade #4...or "Eureka" also holds the distinction of being the only 19th century, wood-burning 4-4-0 of any gauge that still runs occasional wilderness passenger excursions. I had the pleasure of riding in the caboose on this trip and getting to chat with Mr. Markoff about this special locomotive. Folks often wonder why Eureka seems limited to this two-car consist. Mr. Markoff explained that the coaches on the D&S are considerably heavier...nearly twice the weight...of the coaches Eureka pulled in her day. He also indicated that quality of the fuel she burns has a lot to do with her performance. According to Mr. Markoff, wood generally comes in 4 grades. The two most common are "Uphill Wood" and "Downhill Wood", which are terms that pretty much describe what the engine can do with them. He classifies the extremes as "Atomic" (which lifts the pops frequently if the Fireman isn't paying attention) and "Death Wood" (which basically puts the fire out!). When asked to classify the wood supplied for our trip on this particular day, his assessment was that it was somewhere between "Uphill" and "Atomic".....pretty good stuff! And sure enough, Eureka performed superbly climbing the grades up to Cascade.
