Treasures of the Jamestown Roundhouse: Sierra #34 When the Sierra Railroad of California dieselized in the mid-1950s, it retained several of its steam locomotives for a side business that catered to the movie industry and the excursion market. The locomotive you see here is a medium-sized Mikado that was built by Baldwin for the Sierra Railway, primarily for freight service, in 1925. Unlike her famous sister, Sierra #3, she wasn't quite glamorous enough for a movie career, so when the Sierra ended regular steam operations, she became an excursion locomotive, serving into the 1970s and sometimes double or triple-heading with her surviving sisters. Alas, she was pretty worn out when she last rolled into the Jamestown Roundhouse on her own in 1979. She was subsequently sold to a private owner, who has elected not to operate her, but to leave her at her life-long home. Having been under cover for the last 30 years, #34 is certainly well-preserved, although folks at Railtown 1897 SHP indicate that it would take a fairly major overhaul to get her running again. Ownership and budget issues make that unlikely in the near-term. For now at least, she's protected and she's there for Railtown visitors to enjoy.
