October 10, 1935 — The wind howled through the Black Hills of Thurston County as a geared steam locomotive rumbled across a rotting trestle. It would never finish its route. Get the scoop after the jump.

A Routine Run Turns Tragic

On a rainy October morning in 1935, Mutual Lumber Company’s Number 2 locomotive (nicknamed “Climax”) rolled through the dense timberlands near Tenino, Washington. What should have been another day on the rails became a disaster when the train plunged twenty feet off a deteriorating wooden trestle, flipping on its side in the brush below.

All eleven crew members jumped before impact. Four suffered serious injuries. The rest limped away, bruised but alive. The train, however, was left behind. Abandoned deep in the woods, hidden by time and forest, and decaying.

The Search for the Climax Locomotive

Fast-forward to 1959, when members of the Barrett family, including railroad enthusiast Jim Barrett, searched the Vail operation grounds owned by Weyerhaeuser, a paper mill company. By now, the old railbed had mostly washed out, and the truck roads weren’t yet connected. While scouting on a stormy day, Jim came face-to-face with a black bear on the tracks. That bear may have saved history … and created a Thurston County legend.

Jim climbed a nearby ridge to avoid the animal, and there it was. Old Number 2, still lying on its side where it had derailed 24 years earlier.

The Climax had been stripped for parts long before it was rediscovered. Its steel bones now sinking into the dirt. But for Scott Barrett, then a 7-year-old tagging along, the wreck site left a lasting impression.

“My older brother Chuck found a deer bone in the mud and told me this was the leg bone of the engineer. I believed him and ran half a mile before anyone caught me.” – Scott Barrett, CWRail

With the appropriate permits in place, the wreck was salvaged and eventually scrapped.

A Haunting On The Trestle

You’d think the story ends there. But for some, the wreck became the talk of legend.

Hikers in the nearby woods have reported:

• Footsteps on the long-gone tracks, when no one else is around
• A distant train whistle coming from nowhere on foggy mornings
• The phantom figure of a man in overalls, pacing near the wreck site before vanishing

Some say it’s the spirit of the engineer, still walking his doomed route. Others believe the trestle, now rotted and swallowed by forest, remains cursed. After all, the crash site was hidden for decades until a bear led the way.

You Can’t Visit The Train Wreck Site

The exact wreck site lies on private Weyerhaeuser property, within the Vail operation, and it’s not open to the public. But the story survives, probably fueled its inaccessibility and local lore.

For those fascinated by railroad history, the Climax locomotive itself is a rare beast. It was built in Corry, Pennsylvania, and designed for steep and rugged logging lines like the ones in Thurston County and western Washington.

Today, all that’s left is a tall tale and a creeping unease in anyone who walks the old grade.

Supernatural Notes

OK, this tales screams of urban legend, and it’s pretty obvious to me that there’s likely no hauntings associated with the wreck. In reality, no one died. It’s hard to have a ghost without a dead body pulled from the wreckage.

But legends and lore could create some kind of spooky supernatural experience. If people believe the old derailment has some ghosts (especially a headless engineer), then that could be the spark to this legend.

If only I could get onto the grounds to check it out …

Sources:

Barrett, Scott. Mutual Lumber Company’s Number 2 Locomotive Wreck Account. CWRail Facebook Post, 10 Oct. 2019.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/398268110643399/posts/2104526156684244

Washington State Department of Natural Resources. “Capitol State Forest.” DNR.wa.gov, Washington State, https://www.dnr.wa.gov/forest-and-trust-lands/capitol-state-forest

The Daily Olympian. “Train Wreck Injures Four.” The Daily Olympian, 11 Oct. 1935. Microfilm, Olympia Timberland Regional Library, Olympia, WA.

“Mutual Lumber Company Locomotive Wreck (Part 1).” CWRail.org, https://cwrail.org/mutual-lumber-company-1935-locomotive-wreck-part-1

Hilton, George W. American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford University Press, 1990.
(Includes information about Climax locomotives and their use in Pacific Northwest logging operations.)

“Climax Locomotive Works.” SteamLocomotive.com,
https://www.steamlocomotive.com/geared/climax

Washington State Archives – Southwest Regional Branch. Thurston County Commissioner Meeting Minutes, 1935. Olympia, WA.

Thurston County Historical Commission. Thurston County Historic Context Report. Thurston County, 2016. https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/permitting/historic

“Logging and Railroads.” ThurstonTalk, 6 Jan. 2018,
https://www.thurstontalk.com/2018/01/06/loggers-black-hills-mud-bay-logging-company