The Clearwater Pacific: Welcome Big Mike

Big Mike after arriving on his flatcar.

So what's old is new again. But I should start at the beginning. And that is far in the hinterlands of Appalachia. The W.M. Ritter Logging company was a force to be reckoned with at the turn of the last century. They had timber and railroads all over the dense spruce forests in West Virginia, The Carolina's, Kentucky and Tennessee. Sawmills and lumber companies were popping up all over the country. Not one to let good money go to waste it was decided that they would attempt to go after the tamarack and pine of the western states. Ritter spoke to his western acquaintance Jim Hill and enquired about a short spur line from the Great Northern near Kalispell, Montana. This would allow them to harvest the trees in the region and ship them to his mills out east.

Work started in 1912 with a brand new wood fired C-80-3 Shay from Lima numbered 19. This 80 ton locomotive was the only locomotive used by the line. But the numbers never seemed to work out. By 1933 W.M. Ritter was looking to get out of it's western holdings. Tim Chipman, who had taken over his fathers timber company to the south of Kalispell, stepped in and bought the spur, locomotive, and all the Ritter assets. Because Chipman already had a massive mill and operation in Bonner, the smaller Kalispell operation made financial sense. Both Seeley Lake and Kalispell had modest mills that benefited from the influx of local timber. Chipman worked the spur until 1948 when the line was abandoned. 19 was left in the woods until 1960 when it was skidded into a company park east of Kalispell for display.

In 1985 a group of local citizens purchased the locomotive for $1 and had it moved to Bonner for a hopped restoration. A former mill building was purchased and the locomotive placed inside. The restoration never materialized and #19 was all but forgotten. And then the Clearwater, Seeley Lake & Pacific purchased the building along with some other trackage in Bonner.

CMO Cannon O'Reilly was doing an inventory of the new acquisitions and came across #19 sitting in their building. After a bit of legal wrangling involving ownership of the locomotive the Clearwater Pacific became the proud owners of another steam locomotive. And a very thorough restoration began. The goal was to have a working locomotive that tired in with the history the Seeley Swan. Company volunteers lead the effort and locomotive restoration experts were retained.

In May of 2025 #19 came back to steam and got right back to work. In order to maintain the locomotive the engine house in Bonner was maintained. #19 travels on a special flat car up and down the Blackfoot Valley and is put to work for weeks at a time. Company volunteers still work before and after their officials shifts to bring steam back to valley. #19 has taken on the name "Big Mike" and the sound of clattering exhaust and steam whistles once again echo in Clearwater.