| Sad photo of a once proud locomotive who pulled the passenger trains into Yosemite Valley with a very interesting history.. Originally built by the Wabash shops as Wabash #129 in 1881, it was sold to the Yosemite Valley RR in 1906 and converted to an oil burner. The loco was driven to California by its Wabash engineer, C.H."Charlie" Grant, who stayed on the YV as an engineer. Eventually he reached senority on the line in 1911 and ran #21 in passenger service until his retirement in 1926 (he later died in 1928). During a restoration in 1924, the loco was named "C.H. Grant" in his honor. Eventually, the loco was assigned to El Portal yard for reserve service in 1932. When the YV was granted abandonment in 1945, the loco was scrapped at Merced in 1946. Unknown photographer took this sad view of it sitting by the engine house at El Portal, CA. |