Hetch Hetchy #6 is a three truck Class C Shay locomotive built in 1921 by the Lima Locomotive Works. It had a largely uneventful service life, having been sold to the Pickering Lumber Company in 1926, where it remained until retired from service in 1958. It was bought by the El Portal Transportation Museum two years later, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It is on display on Foresta Rd in El Portal where it was looking in quite good condition when I visited.
#6 weighs 167,000 lbs. It has 36” drivers and three 13.5 x 15 cylineders. An oil burner operating at a boiler pressure of 200 psi, it delivered 35,026 lbs tractive effort. It has an oil capacity of 1,800 gallons and 3,500 gallons of water.
The Hetch Hetchy Railroad was a 68 mile, standard gauge Class III railroad built by the City of San Francisco to support construction and expansion of the O'Shaughnessy Dam across the Hetch Hetchy Valley. It operated operated as a common carrier from July 1918 to February 1925 while the dam was under construction.
Above, the backhead looks in very good condition, considering it is easily accessible.
The mountainous terrain on the line resulted in steep grades, some over 4%, and extremely sharp curves, 30° on one 190' radius. Trains consequently ran at very low speeds, less than 8 miles per hour.
These kinds of operating conditions were exactly what geared locomotives like #6 were designed for.
The Hetch Hetchy had four such locomotives, two Heislers and two Shays, including one, #12, leased from the Sierra Railroad during construction of the dam. It was also sold to the Pickering Lumber Company.