We're puttin' things together ...

It's taken 14 years to disassemble and re-build the numerous parts on the Diamond and Caldor No. 4. Lead machinist Sam Thomson took almost two years to design, build and operate his "Rube Goldberg" valve resurfacing tool. He finished shaping the valve surfaces on the locomotive's three vertical engines last month.

Then two weeks ago, the crew reinstalled the crankshaft while I was on vacation. Sam's next project will be to complete the middle eccentric.

As Keith Berry says, the Shay is going together "one piece at a time." We're all happy to see her going together.

History of the California Door Company and its logging railroads #3

This history was prepared by Robert Niles for the Eldorado National Forest in 1979. The El Dorado Western Railway blog will reprint serialized portions of Mr. Nile’s report in the coming months.

The railroad was to be a three-foot, narrow gauge and would be 34.69 miles long. Construction progressed rapidly as the D&C was financed by a sound and prosperous company. Ties and bridge timbers were sawn out at the Caldor Mill and the track work advanced westward from Caldor to Diamond Springs.

A total of 63 trestles with a combined length of 10,992 feet were required to traverse the difficult terrain. A steel bridge structure 97 feet long was built to cross the North Fork of the Comsumnes River and was one of the longest ever built for a logging railroad up to the time.

Ties and trestle timbers were delivered to the work crews with the steam tractor and the work progressed rapidly. The Diamond and Caldor Railway line was completed in October 1904 after 18 months of construction and a cost of $388,788.00.

The first locomotive to see service was a Baldwin saddle tank 2-4-2T built in 1887 and purchased used from the Ferries and Cliff House Railway (their #3). At the same time locomotive #2, a Lima two-truck Shay #863 was purchased new and put into service.

Rolling stock was equipped with link and pin couplings standard for the times and which would eventually be the deciding factor in the termination of the railroad some 50 years later.

I'll post the next installment in two weeks ...

New board member and officers

I'd like to take time to welcome our officers:

• Keith Berry -- president
• Steve Karoly -- vice-president
• Bill Rodgers -- treasurer
• Mary Cory -- secretary

Keith and I would like to thank outgoing president Eric Stohl. Eric has served as president for the past four or five years. Eric continues on the board as a director.

We'd also like to welcome Mary Cory to the board. In the past, she's always served as de facto member while serving as secretary. The board honored her tonight by electing her to a three-year term as a director.

Directors Shelly Tilly, Keith and I were re-elected as directors. According to the bylaws, directors serve three-year terms while the officers are reconfirmed each July.

Pressure washing

Keith Berry pressure washes the No. 3 cylinder. Sam Thomson finished his 15-long long project to resurface the valve facings on the Diamond and Caldor No. 4 two weeks ago. The crew pulled the engine out of the engine house today so Keith could clean dirt and metal shavings from around the valve surfaces.

History of the California Door Company and its logging railroads #2

This history was prepared by Robert Niles for the Eldorado National Forest in 1979. The El Dorado Western Railway blog will reprint serialized portions of Mr. Nile’s report in the coming months.

A new, modern sawmill was constructed and the locale was renamed “Caldor.” Mr. Anton Hassler, Sr., was designated as the new mills superintendent. He had emigrated from Germany and was working for the California Door Company, which at that time had a contract to manufacture and install sash and doors during an expansion and remodeling project at San Quentin Prison at San Rafael. He moved to Caldor as superintendent in 1902 when the new sawmill was completed.

The new mill was unique in that the log pond, supplied by water from Dogtown Creek, was elevated above the operating floor of the mill, allowing the floated logs to be lowered by gravity down the log chute to the mill floor for placing on the log carriage. The sawn lumber was then transported to Diamond Springs where a new planing mill has been constructed. Rail service from the Diamond Springs mill was available via the Central Pacific (Southern Pacific) Railroad to the Oakland sash and door plant.

The sawn lumber from Caldor Mill was first transported to Diamond Springs on lumber wagons drawn by mule teams. This was a slow and difficult task. Oxen were then tried for a time to see if they could improve on the situation, but they provided no appreciable advantage. The progressive company then brought in chain driven steam tractors to do the hauling job in 1901. A review of the situation made it apparent, however, that a railroad would be the only reasonable solution to the transportation problem.

A railroad route was surveyed in 1901 and a wholly owned subsidiary of the California Door Company, the Diamond and Caldor Railway, was incorporated as a common carrier in 1902. Officers of the railroad were W.Y Kellog, President; C.W. Doe, Vice President; F.A. Merquire, Secretary; E.H. Kitteredge, Treasurer; and W.I. Wilson, General Manager.

I'll post the next installment in two weeks ...

Pulling No. 4 out of the barn

Pulling No. 4 out of the barn, originally uploaded by SeabeeCook.

The Diamond and Caldor Railway No. 4 gets some fresh air after seven months in the engine house. Lead machinist Sam Thompson watches to keep the engineer's side track clear. We pulled the engine for the El Dorado County Fair in Placerville, California, yesterday.

Although fair attendance is down significantly from last year, about 200 fair goers stopped by and viewed the engine. The locomotive is in its fifteenth year of restoration.

Come out to the fair

I'm getting ready to head out to the El Dorado County Fair and pull the No. 4 out of the engine house with the crew. This has been a slow year so far, so we need you to come out. The museum, railroad and fair have each experienced low turnout.

We would love to meet our fans today. All it costs you is a nominal fee at the entrance gate. The Diamond and Caldor No. 4 will be on the trail track from 10 a.m. until around 5 p.m.

See you then ...