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Pacific Lumber VO1000s 104 and 105 by John Schumann These didn't finish up their lives in California, but instead went on a long weird trip in the early 1980s to Iowa Falls, Iowa, to work for the Keota-Washington Transportation Co (KWTC). KWTC was a shortline that attempted to run the ex Rock Island line from Iowa Falls to Vinton. 104 and 105 were the first power for this line, and supposedly were purchased by the main shipper (a grain elevator in Wellsburg). One of the Baldwins came in unserviceable and never ran, and the other supposedly burned a TM after a few months service. In 1982 I made the trip to this line to look for the Baldwins. I didn't find them, but came across two GP9s at the interchange in Iowa Falls; these turned out to be the replacements for 104 and 105, which I found out later were hidden on a remote siding back behind the Wellsburg grain elevator -so I missed them. I've only seen a couple of pictures out there of 104/105 on the KWTC. KWTC folded about a year later. I found out directly from the elevator owner that they scrapped both 104 and 105 on the Wellsburg siding sometime later. So ended one of the stranger odysseys for lumber haulers from California. |
 photo by: Unknown - collection of Mark Laundry |
105 VO1000 c/n 71985, b/d 2/45 - built as US Navy #5 (65-00256) - 1964, to Pacific Lumber Company as #105 |
 photos by: Robert Lambrecht - Scotia, CA - July 19, 1978 |
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104 VO1000 c/n 71740, b/d 4/45 - built as US War Department V-1800 - 1962, to Pacific Lumber Company as #104 |