WINNEMUCCA - This is a great photo of an 1890s locomotive, engine No. 1541.
James Bird was its engineer between Winnemucca and Truckee, Calif. Mr. Bird is standing beside the train with an oil can in his hand.
The Southern Pacific had oilers to take care of such tasks, but I suspect James Bird checked every bit of their work before he climbed into the cab for his run.
Also of note, how that locomotive shines! Amazing! Those were coal-fired boilers and they belched significant amounts of coal smoke. It took a lot of work to keep a locomotive so clean and even more effort to polish it to the shine it has in the photo. Not a task I'd want to take on!
- Compiled by Barbara Powell
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