Fresh from her 1,472-day inspection, and looking like a brand new locomotive, Sumpter Valley's 1920 Alco Mikado #19 charges west out of a rock cut with a freght bound for Sumpter, just a couple of miles ahead.
Having visited more than a few steam railroads in the last several years, I have to say that the 19 is one of sharpest looking steam engines I've seen. The crew at Sumpter Valley has really done an excellent job putting her back in tip-top shape. This engine was delivered new to the Sumpter Valley as a wood-burner back in 1920. She was originally numbered 102, but her number was later changed to 19 to avoid confusion with logging locomotives operating on the line. She served the Sumpter Valley for 20 years until 1940, when she was sold to the White Pass and Yukon. There, she ran as #81 during and after World War II. When the White Pass retired her, she sat on a dead-line in Skagway until 1977, when she was repatriated to Oregon and donated to the reconstructed Sumpter Valley. She was restored to operation in 1996 and ran until her boiler inspection expired in 2011. With the recent completion of a new inspection, she's good for 1,472 more days of service, or 15 years, whichever comes first.
