When did the Central Pacific quit using wood for locomotive fuel over the Sierra?
I don’t have a date for the last use of wood over the Sierra. I do know that SP was still using wood fuel on the Siskiyou route into the 20th century. On 4-8-0s, no less. There are severalwell-known photos of a head-on wreck involving two 4-8-0s and a 4-6-0. The photos were taken by a Carmel photographer who happened to be on the passenger train. Often misdated, the photos were taken in 1901. So it’s possible that SP went directly from wood to oil on the Sierra route, and fairly likely that they did so on the Siskiyou route. However, I’m pretty sure the SP did use coal over the Sierra (at least on some locomotives) – seems to me I’ve seen a photo of some early Harriman 2-8-0s on the Hill burning coal. —Kyle K.
