The morning sun begins to break through the stubborn fog and mist as a short work train, headed by Hammond Lumber Company #17, chugs slowly toward the shops at Mineral. A 1929 product of the American Locomotive Company, this 84-ton saddle-tank Mikado was originally built for the Crossett Western Company in Oregon. For the first dozen years of her existence, she worked the woods in the Tillamook Forest, removing timber that was salvaged from major forest fires. In 1942, she was sold to Hammond Lumber Company in California. After only 3 years of work, yet another major forest fire burned a series of trestles on the line she was working, stranding her at a remote forest camp. The line was never rebuilt and she was stranded in the woods for 20 years! In 1965, a private individual purchased the locomotive and literally trucked it out of the woods piece by piece. She was quickly restored to operation and was used in tourist service in Klamath, CA. After the small operation went under, she was eventually sold to the current owner of the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in Washington State, where she is now regularly used to haul tourist trains on the round trips from Elbe to Mineral.
