The following is an AI Prompt I asked for. Ballast has been added at the engine house with more to follow. Happy Christmas all! Second Ops session in a few days. More info on that soon.
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| #94 and #940 awaiting a call to service. |
Profile in Persistence: CSLP No. 94 Still Earning Her Keep After 70 Years
By Staff Writer – Railfan Western Edition
If you find yourself wandering into Clearwater Yard in the quiet hour before sunup, when the sky is still bruised blue and the crew trucks haven’t yet rolled in, you’ll usually spot a familiar old warrior idling patiently at the mouth of the B. Dirks Service Facility. Under the soft hum of yard lights and the drifting mist off the Swan River, stands CSLP No. 94, an Alco RS-3 whose career spans nearly three generations of Northwest railroading.
Delivered brand-new to the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway in 1955, No. 94 seemed destined for an ordinary career — locals, transfers, the occasional branch-line wander. But while many of her sisters bowed out as the diesel era marched forward, 94 survived wave after wave of retirements and trade-ins. Call it timing, call it stubbornness, call it the uncanny Alco knack for staying indispensable — whatever the reason, the locomotive endured.
So when the newly formed Clearwater, Spokane & Pacific began assembling its roster decades later, the decision to bring 94 into the fold was almost instinctive. Here was a locomotive that had already spent most of its working life in the same valleys and forests the CSLP now called home. She was a natural fit — a bridge from the fallen-flag past to the shortline’s bright, scrappy future.
To this day, 94 still wears a patched, semi-original SP&S livery, complete with weathered panels and the kind of hasty shop touch-ups that say, “I work for a living.” CSLP intentionally kept the look, and it’s become something of a signature. Railfans go hunting for her; crews simply hope they get her.
Ask any engineer and you’ll hear the same thing:
“She’s sure-footed. She pulls well. And she’s got soul.”
On the Blue Star Job, 94 digs in with that classic Alco determination, shoving boxcars through the industrial district with a steady confidence that belies her age. Over on the Swan River Turn, she gets to stretch out a bit, barking her way along the winding waterline route like she’s back in her prime. She may not outrun the newer road units, but she out-charms them by miles.
Mechanical reliability? Shockingly good — though the shop forces would argue luck has little to do with it. “We keep her going because she deserves to keep going,” one mechanic said. That probably explains why 94 feels less like a piece of equipment and more like the unofficial mascot of the railroad.
As the CSLP adds newer, cleaner power to the roster, No. 94 remains a fixture — a reminder of where the railroad started, and a quietly defiant symbol of how far the railroad has come.
Some engines fade quietly into retirement.
CSLP No. 94 refuses. She just keeps earning her keep — one river turn at a time.
LOCOMOTIVE SPECIFICATION BOX
Clearwater, Spokane & Pacific Roster Reference
Model: Alco RS-3
Builder: American Locomotive Company (Schenectady, NY)
Builder’s Number: [fictional number available if you'd like one]
Built: March 1955
Original Owner: Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway
Horsepower: 1,600 hp
Prime Mover: Alco 244, V12 turbocharged
Operating Weight: ~247,100 lbs
Tractive Effort (Starting): 61,500 lbs
Maximum Speed: 65 mph (as delivered)
Control: Standard MU, 27-pin
CSLP Acquisition: First locomotive added to CSLP roster
Primary Assignments:
• Blue Star Job (industrial switching)
• Swan River Turn (local road job)
• General yard and transfer service
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