The colorful Sumpter Valley Railroad. Sumpter Valley's 1915-vintage Heisler #3 hauls a colorful consist of mixed freight on the westbound run toward Sumpter in the late afternoon sun.
The odd-looking car immediately behind the locomotive is West Side Lumber Company Coffin Tank Car #5. This car was originally built for the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway that ran from Reno, NV to Lakeview, OR. It later served the West Side Lumber Company, where it received its current number. It is called a "coffin" tank car because...well, the tank looks a bit like a coffin. Over its lifetime, the car was used for a number of applications, including hauling water for steam locomotives and fire-fighting. It was acquired in 2005 from the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Railroad and at the time, it was in such poor condition that the flat-car deck was about ready to fall apart. Over the past 8 years, it has been restored by the Western Railway Preservation Society and is now fully functional. The original tank has been repaired and the car actually served as an auxillary water car for the locomotive on the 2013 edition of the Sumpter Valley Fall Photo Train. With this car in the consist, there were no concerns about running out of water as the train performed many run-bys each day.
