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Oregon California & Eastern Railroad Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad Cabooses |
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Weyerhaeuser used at least two known wood cabooses on its Klamath operations in the early years.  Weyerhaeuser caboose #702 at Sycan in 1959. Jerry Lamper photo.  The other end of Weyerhaeuser caboose #702, also at Sycan in 1959. Jerry Lamper photo.  The #702 in Klamath Falls. This caboose survives today on the grounds of the Klamath County Museum in Klamath Falls. Jeff Moore collection.  Weyerhaeuser's other early caboose, #704, as Sycan in 1959. |
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Weyerhaeuser replaced its earlier cabooses with three used cars, two purchased from the Great Northern and one from the
Southern Pacific. The 49-XX numbers indicate all three may have been acquired in 1949, unless as indicated on the Equipment
main page the numbering system refers to accounting codes or some other administrative purpose.  Weyerhaeuser #49-31 is the first of two ex-Great Northern 25-foot wood cabooses Weyerhaeuser purchased. The car had been GN #X630. Jerry Lamper photograph.  Weyerhaeuser sold the #49-31 to a private owner who stored it in Dorris, California, for many years, where Jerry Lamper found it in 1971.  The Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture acquired the 49-31 and moved it to their grounds at Black Butte, California, where they beautifully restored it, but in the process gave it OC&E lettering that it never wore while in service.  The other side of the #49-31.  Weyerhaeuser assigned the other former Great Northern caboose #49-32. Charles Heimerdinger Jr. caught this partial view of the car at 500 Transfer.  Another shot of the #49-32 between assignments at Sycan. Jeff Moore collection.  Weyerhaeuser after retirement placed the #49-32 on display outside their Klamath Falls mill, where it remains today (2025). John Henderson photo.  Weyerhaeuser assigned the former Southern Pacific steel caboose purchased at some point the #49-34, seen here at Sycan on 24 September 1975. The car may have replaced one or both of the former GN cabooses on the Woods railroad. W.L. Hammond photo.  John Henderson caught the #49-34 during switching moves at Sycan. Jeff Moore collection. |
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Weyerhaeuser is recorded to have purchased four former Southern Pacific steel cabooses along with the OC&E in
1975. The company numbered these cars 2001-2004, then added two more cars numbered 2005 and 2006 sometime after
the original sale.  One of OC&E's original four cabooses passing through Horton in 1976. Jack Bowden photo.  OC&E #2001 in Klamath Falls. John Henderson photo, Jeff Moore collection.  OC&E #2001 following a log train out of Sycan. John Henderson photo, Jeff Moore collection.  OC&E #2002 in Klamath Falls on 1 May 1977. Jerry Lamper photo.  OC&E #2002 in Klamath Falls on 2 August 1975. Ken Ardinger photo.  OC&E #2003 in front of the Sycan shops. John Henderson photo, Jeff Moore collection.  OC&E #2003 in Klamath Falls on 1 May 1977. Jerry Lamper photo.  OC&E caboose #2004 in Klamath Falls. John Henderson photo, Jeff Moore collection.  OC&E #2004 bringing up the rear of a train at West Switchback. John Henderson photo, Jeff Moore collection.  OC&E #2004 in Klamath Falls in August 1977. Dan Haneckow photo.  OC&E #2005 in Sycan. John Henderson photo, Jeff Moore collection.  OC&E #2006 would end up being the last of the former SP cabooses on the railroad as it remained in service up to the final day. Jerry Lamper caught it in Klamath Falls on 28 August 1984.  OC&E log trains after the railroad added the second tail track to both switchbacks in 1982 operated as 90-car trains, with a caboose cut in mid-train that would protect the reverse shove between the two switchbacks with a minimum of switching. The #2006 is seen here as the mid-train caboose on 28 August 1984. Jerry Lamper photo.  OC&E #2006 between a ballast hopper and a Baldwin switcher in June 1986, probably in Klamath Falls. Jeff Moore collection.  By December 1994 the #2006 was one of five pieces of equipment remaining in the former Klamath Falls yard, along with Baldwin switcher #101, two skeleton log cars, and a former BN passenger car converted to maintenance-of-way work. Jeff Moore photo.  The other end of the #2006 in December 1994. Jeff Moore photo.  The OC&E logo on the #2006 in December 1994. Jeff Moore photo.  The State of Oregon in the late 1990s or early 2000s moved the caboose several blocks east of where I found it in 1994 and made it a centerpiece and informational kiosk for the OC&E/Woods Line State Trail at the Klamath Falls trailhead. The caboose for many years wore this paint job. Jeff Moore photo.  The other side of the #2006. Jeff Moore photo.  By 2016 the caboose had been repainted boxcar red. Jeff Moore photo. |
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By the early 1980s the Sycan shops had become proficient car builders, which gave Weyerhaeuser the confidence to have the facility build three
new cabooses for the Klamath railroads. The McCloud River Railroad not far across the California border had two 1962-built International wide
vision cabooses custom ordered to a shorter length than the standard model. Some of the Sycan shop crew travelled to McCloud to take full measurements
and photos of the cars, after which the shop built three 1:1 scale replicas of the McCloud cars. Pictures of the McCloud cars can be seen at the
following links, which will open in new windows: McCloud River Railroad #101 McCloud River Railroad #102 Weyerhaeuser upon their completion around March 1981 assigned two of the cars to the OC&E as numbers 2007 and 2008 and the third to the Woods Railroad as Weyerhaeuser #081.  OC&E #2007 in Klamath Falls in 1981 shortly after being placed in service. Keith E. Ardinger photo.  Another shot of the #2007 in Klamath Falls on 22 October 1988. Jeff Moore collection.  #2007 and #2008 bringing up the rear of an OC&E freight somewhere on the line. Charles Heimerdinger Jr. photo.  Weyerhaeuser caboose #081 (home-built) bringing up the rear of a log train coming off the Woods Railroad at Sycan in 1984. Jimmy Bryant photo.  OC&E #2008 brings up the rear of a log train passing through Sprague River on 28 August 1984. Jerry Lamper photo.  OC&E #2008 entering Klamath Falls on 28 August 1984. Jerry Lamper photo.  Weyerhaeuser #081 passing through Sycan in 1984. Jimmy Bryant photo.  Weyerhaeuser #081 and locomotive #310 next to the Sycan shops on 29 August 1984. Jerry Lamper photo.  Keith Ardinger caught the #081 passing through Vancouver, Washington, on its way to Weyerhaeuser's Longview operations in Washington in 1991.  Also passing through Vancouver on this day was the #2008, with the #2007 also present. Keith Ardinger photo. |
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Sometime around 1981 Weyerhaeuser acquired one more caboose for the Woods Railroad, another steel former Southern Pacific car. The caboose is most likely one of the former
OC&E cars but could be formerly the #49-34, or maybe from some other source.  Weyerhaeuser #082. Jerry Lamper photo.  Another shot of the #082, this time in Sycan in 1984. Jimmy Bryant photo.  The #082 is another survivor, as it now resides along with a large number of other pieces of former OC&E and Weyerhaeuser equipment at Train Mountain near Chiloquin. James Hughes photo. |
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