Zuni Mountain Railroads Cibola National Forest, New Mexico

Locomotives in the Zuni Mountains

The logging railroads of the Zuni Mountains used what could best be described as a 'motley collection' of steam locomotives. Some came from dealers in used railroad equipment, many were purchased from the friendly AT&SF, and several came right from the builder's works. Few, if any, of the locomotives were of any distinction in terms of design; they were simply purchased from among the locomotive's available at the time. Nevertheless, several of the locomotives marked for years in the Zuni Mountains serving under several companies in turn.

The typical logging locomotive in the Zunis fall into one of two groups. The first group consisted of obsolete main line locomotives, purchased from the AT&SF or from dealers in such equipment. This group also included a number of obsolescent locomotives leased from the AT&SF for periods ranging from a few days to a year or two. The second group was made up of specialized logging locomotives purchased new from the builders for use on steep logging spurs laid with light rail on uncertain road beds. The Shay geared locomotive, built at Lima, Ohio, proved to be the most popular and longest-lived of the specialized types. The lone Climax gear-drive locomotive was useful enough to last for many years.

The accompanying Locomotive Rosters (Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) list every locomotive known to have operated on the logging railroads in the Zuni Mountains. It is very likely that there were additional leased locomotives, but specific information is not available. The tables also list, where known, the locomotive wheel arrangement, builder, date built, builder's serial number, and the key dimensions and weights. This information is expressed in an abbreviated form which may best be explained by the following example:

102 2-8-0 Schenectady #5620, 1900 51-22x26-168500

102 is the road number, i.e., the number assigned to the locomotive by the operating company. It is usually found painted in several places and on a cast number on the smokebox front of the locomotive.

2-8-0 represents the locomotive wheel arrangement in the Whyte System (Bruce 1952:19, 25). The first digit counts the pilot truck wheels. The second digit counts the driving wheels. The third digit counts the trailing wheels. A zero is used to indicate none, and "T" indicates a tank locomotive carrying fuel and water on the locomotive itself in place of a separate tender. Gear drive locomotives are indicated by 2T Climax or 3T Shay, showing the number of drive trucks and the design.

Schenectady #5620, 1900 is the builder, builder's serial number and date built (year or month/year). The serial number is usually found on a cast plate attached to the smoke box and often it is stamped into other parts of the locomotive. The builders of concern here include the following:

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, Pa.
Climax Manufacturing Company, Carry, Pa.
Glover Machine Works, Marietta, Georgia
Hinkley Locomotive Works, Boston, Ma.
Lima Locomotive and Machine Company, Lima, Ohio
Manchester Locomotive Works, Manchester, New Hampshire
H. K. Porter Company, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Schenectady Locomotive Works, Schenectady, New York
American Locomotive Company (ALCO), Schenectady Works, Schenectady, N.Y., and Brooks Works, Dunkirk, New York

51-22x26-168500 gives some key locomotive dimensions:

51 is the driving wheel diameter in inches.
22x26 is the diameter and stroke of the cylinders in inches.
168500 is the total engine weight in pounds.

The term "light weight," where used, means the weight of the locomotive without its normal load of fuel and water. The weights of gear-drive locomotives, given as "70 tons," are nominal weights at typical locomotives of the same class. Actual locomotives varied considerably, depending on details chosen by the purchaser.

Table 1. Locomotives of the Zuni Mountain Railway (Narrow Gauge), 1892

Histories:

Figure 52. A borrowed Santa Fe Railway locomotive, Number 2303, off the rails on new logging track of the Zuni Mountain Railway, January 4, 1906. (V. J. Glover collection)

Table 2. Locomotives of the Zuni Mountain Railway (Standard Gauge) 1903-1917

Histories:

General Note: Most, if not all, of the above locomotives were taken aver by the McKinley Land & Lumber Company in 1917.

Table 3. Locomotives of the McKinley Land and Lumber Company, and the George E. Breece Lumber Company, 1917-1942

Histories:

Note: In addition, George E. Breece Lumber Co. purchased the locomotives owned by Prestridge & Seligman at Grants in 1940. See Table 4.

Table 4. Locomotives of Prestridge & Seligman, Grants, New Mexico, 1933-1940

Histories:

General Note: Locomotives 648, 2nd 4, and 678 were sold July 17, 1940, to the George E. Breece Lumber Company. 2nd 4 was sold as noted, and the remaining two locomotives were scrapped at Grants ca. 1943.

Table 5. Locomotives of the McGaffey Company, 1912-1929

Histories: