This 2-6-2 (Prairie) type locomotive was a difficult prospect to photograph. When I visited, one side was cluttered with parked police vehicles and the other was awash from recent rainfalls.
The engine was built as #8 for the Mc Cloud River Railroad in 1901 by Burnham, Williams & Co., one of the early incarnations of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In 1937, it was bought from McCloud River by the Amador Central Railroad, a shortline operating 12 miles between a connection with the Southern Pacific at Ione and Martell, CA. Renumbered #7, it worked from 1939 until retired in 1956.
The AMC passed through a number of owners before ending operations in 1997.
The engine weighs 107,000 lbs, 82,000 lbs on its 44” drivers. with an engine wheelbase of 23’ 10” and a 7’ 8” driver wheelbase. It is equipped with Stephenson valve gear and has 16" x 24" cylinders. The firebox is 114 sq ft and grate area 16 sq ft with a total heating surface of 1,499 sq ft. An oil burner operating at a boiler pressure of 160 psi, it delivered 18,991 lbs tractive effort. The loaded tender weighed 50,000 lbs.
#7 is on display at the end of N Church Street in Ione, CA. An E Clampus Vitus commemorative plaque stands beside the enclosure.
