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Western Pacific 165 is an 0-6-0 switching
locomotive built by the Schenectady Works of the
American Locomotive Company. This engine was used
at many of the WP's railyards, including Stockton,
Sacramento and Portola. It was built in November,
1919, for the United Verde Copper Company of
Jerome, Arizona, as their number 87. On September
17, 1927, the 165 and three sister UVCC engines
were sold to the WP and become the road's S-34
class, numbered 163-166.
These
burly switchers supplemented WP's 12 existing
0-6-0s, but some 2-8-0s in working the various
yards. The 165 last operated in March, 1953, as WP
was winding down its last steam operations. The
engine was retired in October, 1957. Five years
later, the engine was donated to the City of San
Leandro. The engine was displayed for many years
at the San Leandro BART station, before being
transferred to the Alameda County Fairgrounds for
display there. It was later acquired by the
Pacific Locomotive Association and was eventually
acquired by the FRRS in a trade with a later
owner.
On
March 1, 2006, the 165 returned to Portola on a
museum flatcar, marking the return of WP steam
power to Plumas County for the first time in
nearly 50 years.
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Work has now begun on the evaluation of WP 165.
This evaluation and remediation effort will lead
into a restoration of the engine, hopefully to
complete operation. The first steps will be
removal of all non-compliant materials from the
engine and a complete and detailed inspection of
the boiler and all systems. Our Steam Crew is
headed by Chris Allan.
Please click here for Chris' Biography
Click for the
Steam Department News and Blog
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WP 165 Store.
The remediation work is now complete, but we're
still raising money to pay the bills. Please
help!
Please click the link above to
donate to the WP Steam Fund.
Or you can mail your donations to:
WP STEAM FUND - Feather River Rail Society - P O
Box 608 - Portola, CA 96122
Watch the TRAIN SHEET and the FRRSList for more
information.
WP 165 PRODUCTS!
Visit the WP 165 Store to find products featuring
our "little" 0-6-0. All proceeds to benefit the
165 restoration.
Click here to go to the store.
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