Some of you may have seen my two trolley’s that were inspired by Fisherman’s Rose Lake Park trolley and that is where the real story (as opposed to the made up one I am about to tell!) of the Parlusiana Lumber Company begins.
As a nod to the inspiration behind them I decided to use destinations from the Rose Lake Park story on my trolleys but as there were only a few to choose from I needed to create at least one more to add to the destination boards and so the town of Parlusiana was born (a twist on Parluza – the Planco word for Place!)
Now I had added this fictional town to my trolleys I began thinking about what kind of town it would be, it needed to fit somewhere between the reasonably remote Rose Lake Park at the end of the trolley line and the built up Peepsburgh at the other but also needed to be a big enough place to warrant trolley stops (and it’s name on the destination boards!) so I came up with a Port Town further down the Rose River towards Peepsburgh (if I have followed the geography of the Plancovania Region correctly!) that grew because of the lumber camp up at Frontier Peak and the need to transport logs out towards the larger towns.
And lo, the Town of Parlusiana and it’s Lumber Company was born!
I am currently building a full park map of the town around the 1930s (Why not a specific date? Hopefully to hide any historical inaccuracies with my vagueness…) which will be documented in due course, however, the finished product is months away and I was desperate to share something so as the Parlusiana Lumber Company’s railroad is pretty much complete and all the locomotives and rolling stock have been built (until I decide to add more…) I thought I could share them with you before the town is ready for visitors!
(Before we start, please note I am in no way associated with the wonderful Rose Lake Park and its creators, what you are about to read is in no way part of their official time line or the world they have created – it’s probably best to think of it as fan fiction with less gratuitous nudity!)
The year is nineteen thirty something and this is a brief history of the Parlusiana Lumber Company’s railroad so far…
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 1 & 2
PLC No. 1 & 2 were built way back in 1867 by the Emmdee Boiler Works and were the first steam locomotives to be used by the company running on standard gauge track down on the dock to move logs around. This picture shows No.1 down by the water’s edge – the trees have certainly grown across the Rose River since this photo was taken so I would guess this photo is from the late 1800s. It must be pre-1901 as that was the year No. 1 overshot the end of the dock and ended up at the bottom of the river, it was never recovered and No. 2 continued to operate down on the dock on its own until it was replaced and sold for scrap in 1921.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 3, 4, 5 & 6
PLC No. 3 & 4 were built in 1874 by the Emmdee Locomotive Works (the company had expanded operations and capabilities by 1874!) to a similar but updated vertical boiler design to No. 1 & 2. The main difference was that these locomotives would take over from the horses on the Narrow Gauge line up to Frontier Peak carrying logs down the valley to the port so they were much smaller locos. No. 3 & 4 made a dramatic impact on how much lumber could be transported down the valley and so the company quickly invested in No. 5 (1875) and No. 6 (1876) to increase capacity of the line even further. These days No. 3 & 4 can still be seen working within the port itself (No. 3 pictured collecting sawn timber from the wood shop) although it is debateable what number should really be on the locos – after the Emmdee company went under in 1905 PLC began using parts from No. 5 & 6 to keep the original two running and pieces of No. 5 & 6 can still be seen around the locomotive sheds. Since the purchase of the Shay locomotives it is unusual to see the Emmdee locos outside of the port gates anymore.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 7 & 8
PLC No. 7 & 8 were built in 1898 and 1899 respectively by Shay/Lima and provided a huge amount of additional power to the locomotive fleet. Still vertical boiler but geared and articulated they could pull twice as much as the previous locomotives and were a big part of the expansion of the PLC in the early 1900s. No. 8 is pictured here climbing up towards Frontier Peak and about to cross the trestle over the Wayawano River. Until recently these locos could still be seen making the trip to the Peak, however, No. 7 is now at the back of the locomotive shed awaiting a replacement boiler having failed an inspection.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 9, 10, 11 & 12
After the success of No. 7 & 8 PLC decided to continue using the powerful Shay articulated locomotives to pull loads up and down the pass. A newer version with a horizontal boiler provided just what the company was looking for when they wanted to expand operations in 1908 with No. 9 & 10 and again in 1911 with No. 11 & 12. These new Shays were capable of pulling four loaded lumber wagons and so doubled the train lengths yet again which aided the company’s rapid expansion. All four of these locos are still in operation although No. 10 is out of service for routine maintenance. This rare recoloured photo appears to show No. 23 pulling a train out through the port gates, however, there never was a No. 23 so it is believed to either be a joke or genuine mistake by the artist who recoloured the photo.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 14 & 15
After the war the Parlusiana Lumber Company experienced another period of rapid expansion and decided to replace the somewhat unreliable No. 2 that was still, just about, keeping the logs moving down on the dock. Having struggled on with one locomotive for 20 years it was decided that an investment should be made in two standard gauge locos to work the docks, allowing for any issues to be rectified and routine maintenance to be carried out without risking operations. Unfortunately, due to the tight curves and limited clearances of the nearly 60-year-old track work on the dock there wasn’t a suitable Shay locomotive available so PLC turned to W&S Loco Works for a shortened 0-4-0 version of their popular 0-6-0. These two powerful saddle tanks were perfectly suited to working the docks and continue to do so today, as you can see from this recoloured photo of No. 14. At the current time No. 15 is in the loco shed for routine maintenance and No. 14 is in daily use.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 16, 17 & 18
At the same time as investing in No. 14 & 15 PLC also bought another Shay to work the line to Frontier Peak. No. 16 is of the exact same design as it’s predecessors and was chosen for simplicity – if all the locos are the same then maintenance is easier and your loco crews can operate any of them without extra training or knowledge. It was for this reason that three years later in 1924 PLC invested in two more identical Shays (No. 17 & 18) to complete the current fleet of locomotives. Pictured here in this recoloured photograph is No. 17 in the pilot siding outside the gates ready to pull back and move rolling stock around the port. All three of these locomotives are still in daily operation on the line up to Frontier Peak.
So there you have it, the locomotives of the Parlusiana Lumber Company in the 1930s. They can all be found in this collection in my workshop:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2085898178
Thanks again to the Rose Lake Park team for inspiration and to all the workshop creators whose work has made its way into this project – hopefully all credited in the workshop blueprints!
Next up we’ll have a look at the rolling stock of the PLC, hopefully in a lot less detail than this!
Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
Matt
As a nod to the inspiration behind them I decided to use destinations from the Rose Lake Park story on my trolleys but as there were only a few to choose from I needed to create at least one more to add to the destination boards and so the town of Parlusiana was born (a twist on Parluza – the Planco word for Place!)
Now I had added this fictional town to my trolleys I began thinking about what kind of town it would be, it needed to fit somewhere between the reasonably remote Rose Lake Park at the end of the trolley line and the built up Peepsburgh at the other but also needed to be a big enough place to warrant trolley stops (and it’s name on the destination boards!) so I came up with a Port Town further down the Rose River towards Peepsburgh (if I have followed the geography of the Plancovania Region correctly!) that grew because of the lumber camp up at Frontier Peak and the need to transport logs out towards the larger towns.
And lo, the Town of Parlusiana and it’s Lumber Company was born!
I am currently building a full park map of the town around the 1930s (Why not a specific date? Hopefully to hide any historical inaccuracies with my vagueness…) which will be documented in due course, however, the finished product is months away and I was desperate to share something so as the Parlusiana Lumber Company’s railroad is pretty much complete and all the locomotives and rolling stock have been built (until I decide to add more…) I thought I could share them with you before the town is ready for visitors!
(Before we start, please note I am in no way associated with the wonderful Rose Lake Park and its creators, what you are about to read is in no way part of their official time line or the world they have created – it’s probably best to think of it as fan fiction with less gratuitous nudity!)
The year is nineteen thirty something and this is a brief history of the Parlusiana Lumber Company’s railroad so far…
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 1 & 2
PLC No. 1 & 2 were built way back in 1867 by the Emmdee Boiler Works and were the first steam locomotives to be used by the company running on standard gauge track down on the dock to move logs around. This picture shows No.1 down by the water’s edge – the trees have certainly grown across the Rose River since this photo was taken so I would guess this photo is from the late 1800s. It must be pre-1901 as that was the year No. 1 overshot the end of the dock and ended up at the bottom of the river, it was never recovered and No. 2 continued to operate down on the dock on its own until it was replaced and sold for scrap in 1921.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 3, 4, 5 & 6
PLC No. 3 & 4 were built in 1874 by the Emmdee Locomotive Works (the company had expanded operations and capabilities by 1874!) to a similar but updated vertical boiler design to No. 1 & 2. The main difference was that these locomotives would take over from the horses on the Narrow Gauge line up to Frontier Peak carrying logs down the valley to the port so they were much smaller locos. No. 3 & 4 made a dramatic impact on how much lumber could be transported down the valley and so the company quickly invested in No. 5 (1875) and No. 6 (1876) to increase capacity of the line even further. These days No. 3 & 4 can still be seen working within the port itself (No. 3 pictured collecting sawn timber from the wood shop) although it is debateable what number should really be on the locos – after the Emmdee company went under in 1905 PLC began using parts from No. 5 & 6 to keep the original two running and pieces of No. 5 & 6 can still be seen around the locomotive sheds. Since the purchase of the Shay locomotives it is unusual to see the Emmdee locos outside of the port gates anymore.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 7 & 8
PLC No. 7 & 8 were built in 1898 and 1899 respectively by Shay/Lima and provided a huge amount of additional power to the locomotive fleet. Still vertical boiler but geared and articulated they could pull twice as much as the previous locomotives and were a big part of the expansion of the PLC in the early 1900s. No. 8 is pictured here climbing up towards Frontier Peak and about to cross the trestle over the Wayawano River. Until recently these locos could still be seen making the trip to the Peak, however, No. 7 is now at the back of the locomotive shed awaiting a replacement boiler having failed an inspection.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 9, 10, 11 & 12
After the success of No. 7 & 8 PLC decided to continue using the powerful Shay articulated locomotives to pull loads up and down the pass. A newer version with a horizontal boiler provided just what the company was looking for when they wanted to expand operations in 1908 with No. 9 & 10 and again in 1911 with No. 11 & 12. These new Shays were capable of pulling four loaded lumber wagons and so doubled the train lengths yet again which aided the company’s rapid expansion. All four of these locos are still in operation although No. 10 is out of service for routine maintenance. This rare recoloured photo appears to show No. 23 pulling a train out through the port gates, however, there never was a No. 23 so it is believed to either be a joke or genuine mistake by the artist who recoloured the photo.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 14 & 15
After the war the Parlusiana Lumber Company experienced another period of rapid expansion and decided to replace the somewhat unreliable No. 2 that was still, just about, keeping the logs moving down on the dock. Having struggled on with one locomotive for 20 years it was decided that an investment should be made in two standard gauge locos to work the docks, allowing for any issues to be rectified and routine maintenance to be carried out without risking operations. Unfortunately, due to the tight curves and limited clearances of the nearly 60-year-old track work on the dock there wasn’t a suitable Shay locomotive available so PLC turned to W&S Loco Works for a shortened 0-4-0 version of their popular 0-6-0. These two powerful saddle tanks were perfectly suited to working the docks and continue to do so today, as you can see from this recoloured photo of No. 14. At the current time No. 15 is in the loco shed for routine maintenance and No. 14 is in daily use.
Parlusiana Lumber Company No. 16, 17 & 18
At the same time as investing in No. 14 & 15 PLC also bought another Shay to work the line to Frontier Peak. No. 16 is of the exact same design as it’s predecessors and was chosen for simplicity – if all the locos are the same then maintenance is easier and your loco crews can operate any of them without extra training or knowledge. It was for this reason that three years later in 1924 PLC invested in two more identical Shays (No. 17 & 18) to complete the current fleet of locomotives. Pictured here in this recoloured photograph is No. 17 in the pilot siding outside the gates ready to pull back and move rolling stock around the port. All three of these locomotives are still in daily operation on the line up to Frontier Peak.
So there you have it, the locomotives of the Parlusiana Lumber Company in the 1930s. They can all be found in this collection in my workshop:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2085898178
Thanks again to the Rose Lake Park team for inspiration and to all the workshop creators whose work has made its way into this project – hopefully all credited in the workshop blueprints!
Next up we’ll have a look at the rolling stock of the PLC, hopefully in a lot less detail than this!
Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
Matt
