SP&S Class A-2 Switch Locomotives. Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway No. 6 was the only locomotive in Class A-2. Purchased from the Northern Pacific for A. B. Hammond's

A. B. Hammond

Andrew B. Hammond was an American lumberman. He developed the Missoula Mercantile Co. He built the Bitterroot Valley Railroad and the Astoria Columbia River Railroad. He was president of the Hammond Lumber Co. and the Hammond Steamship Co....

 Astoria and Columbia River Railway, Number 6 came to the SP&S secondhand. She was used as a switch locomotive until 1931 when she was sold to the St Helens Terminal and Dock Co. at St. Helens

St. Helens, Oregon

St. Helens is the county seat of Columbia County, Oregon. It was founded by Captain H. M. Knighton, a native of New England, in 1845 as "Plymouth". The name was changed to St. Helens in the latter part of 1850 for its view of Mount St. Helens some away in Washington. The population was 10,019 at...

 Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

Background

The Astoria and Columbia River (A&CR) ran from Astoria Oregon to Goble Oregon, where the A&CR met the Northern Pacific. In 1907 the NP Purchased the A&CR to be a feeder line for the new Spokane Portland & Seattle Ry. To help the new feeder line handle increasing freight traffic, an NP Switcher was sold to the A&CR on August 7 1907. The SP&S took over the A&CR and on February 24 1911, obtaining all A&CR locomotives. The former A&CR Switch Locomotive number 1 became SP&S number 6.

Construction History

Number 6 was built for the Northern Pacific by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1887. Her builders number was 8617.

Operational History

SP&S Number 6 continued with switching duties at Astoria, Oregon

Astoria, Oregon

Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...

. On June 30, 1931 SP&S Number 6 was sold to the St. Helens Terminal and Dock Company.

Numbering

Originally numbered NP 386, and then NP 988 the A&CR numbered NP 988 as A&CR Number 1. The SP&S renumbered A&CR 1 to SP&S Number 6.

Disposal

SP&S Number 6 was sold to St. Helens Terminal & Dock Co (StHT&D Co). Grande Claims that Number 6 then "Blew up and was scrapped". However he gives no dates for this. Gaertner only states that when the SP&S bought the St.HT&D Co in 1933 that an SP&S locomotive (SP&S 201) had to be brought in.

Discrepancies

Gaertner and Grande differ on several dates. Grande gives a build date of 1897. He also states that the date SP&S No. 6 was sold to the StHT&D Co was 1921. Gartner gives dates of 1887 and 1931.