Owens Valley History Comes Alive at Laws Railroad Museum

Press Release

OWENS VALLEY HISTORY COMES ALIVE AT LAWS RAILROAD MUSEUM

Railfans worldwide can celebrate the weekend of October 12-13, when restoration crew volunteers at Laws Railroad Museum gathered to begin phase one of the project to restore steam locomotive Southern Pacific #9. This “middle sister” of the “Desert Princess” Trio, has been an iconic feature at Laws Museum even before the museum’s inception as such. Generations of Owens Valley families, as well as visitors from around the world, have climbed into her engine cab, rung her bell, and posed for family photos in front of her smoke box.

For 77 years a railroad ran through our valley, and for 34 of those years “Slim Princess #9” carried ore from the mines, cattle and sheep from the ranches, hay and apples from the farms, milk and butter from the dairies, and even people from here there and yon to elsewhere.  Her sisters, S.P. #8 and S.P. #18, were retired in 1954 and donated to the State of Nevada (#8) and the town of Independence (#18). Number 9 remained on the line as back up to “The Little Giant,” an S.P. diesel, until 1960 when the line was abandoned. Laws’ #9, a 1909 Baldwin “10-wheeler,” oil-fired and steam driven, thus gained the distinction of becoming the last steam locomotive to grace the rails of the last Western narrow-gauge common carrier.  Railfans, Western movie fans (she’s been in several…), and historians  from around the world arrive year-round just to see her in person.

Her rustic appearance is part of her charm, so why a facelift? In early 2023 it became apparent that the root of the word rustic is rust, and the damage from rust was considerable. Better stewardship of this venerable historic artifact was long overdue. Sixty-four years of exposure to the elements (as well as to the lawn sprinklers), had taken their toll. In August of 2023 #9’s historic appurtenances and boiler jacket were carefully removed, catalogued and stored, and #9 was escorted into the Engine House. She has been sheltered there for over a year while funds were raised to begin restoration.

Enter retired aerospace engineer John Shonafelt. John sees the steam locomotive as the “Space shuttle of the 19th Century” and used his engineering talent and passion for history to develop a 13-module management plan for the restoration of #9. By August 2024 enough funds had been raised to begin the first module of the restoration, but weather was prohibitive. Finally, October arrived, and the chosen weekend was close to perfect for hard labor outdoors in the desert.

October 12 saw 12 volunteers from as far away as Carson City, Nevada,  and Upland, California, gathered to begin Phase One: The Smokebox. The smokebox cover was carefully removed, and decades of creosote and rust were carefully debrided.  Extricating the rusted bolts was begun, and the first to be removed caused a mild celebration.  By the end of Sunday’s work day, there was reason to be optimistic about this project, which will require many more hours of volunteer labor, many more dollars, and many more unmeasurable units of dedication to historic preservation.

In the words of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.  Laws restoration crew volunteers took a big single step this past weekend, and can’t wait for the opportunity to keep travelling down this historic and very exciting road.

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For more about Laws Railroad Museum, click here.

News Staff