An overview of the Sierra Railway Jamestown Shops circa 1922, taken during an I.C.C. survey.
Over the past few years, Interpretive Aide Mike Ninneman has been working to update the historical background information about Railtown for our interpretive program. Much of the information supplied to our volunteers has been passed down through the years from older published sources or anecdotes taken from first or secondhand accounts. However, as with any subject, careful research has revealed numerous errors which have been incorporated into Railtown's storytelling over time.
One example is the "Blacksmith forge" located in the Roundhouse. Previous interpretive manuals cite its origins as the 1950s, when the original Blacksmith Shop was leased to a leaf spring manufacturing company. The common speculation has been that following the Great Depression the Blacksmith performed all his work in the Roundhouse, which is why a forge was installed there. This is not the case, as demonstrated in part by the I.C.C. Valuation records for the Sierra Railway.
The Boiler Shop as it exists today. Aside from some clutter, it has changed little over the past century.
During the late 19th early 20th Centuries, the Interstate Commerce Commission was responsible for the regulation of American railroads, which included setting operational, maintenance, and safety standards as well as helping common carrier railroads set freight rates. Many of these responsibilities were later assumed by the Federal Railroad Administration in 1967 under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Transportation; the I.C.C. was finally dissolved in 1996.
In 1916, the I.C.C. began a valuation survey of the Sierra Railway in order to accurately estimate the cost or value of the railroad's assets so that freight rates could be fairly determined. To do this, the dimensions and construction materials of all rolling stock and buildings as well as the original purchase price and manufacturer/previous owner (if known) along with the age and depreciation of all tools, machines, and equipment had to be documented. All of this information helped the I.C.C. determine the owners' ultimate cost or investment in the railroad's infrastructure. Based on this information, the I.C.C. kept freight rates in check so that the railroad could maintain a profit without charging customers exorbitant fees. Over the years, knowledge and documentation of the Sierra Railway's operational practices has been lost or forgotten; fortunately, the I.C.C. valuation records exist intact, providing significant detailed information on this early period in its long and storied history.
Back to the main point, the forge inside the Jamestown Roundhouse was installed in 1912, according to the I.C.C. records. However, this forge was not used by the Blacksmith, but rather by the Boilermaker. You see, when the original roundhouse burned down in 1910 and the current roundhouse was built to replace it, the old alleyway between the Roundhouse and Machine Shop was enclosed, creating what was known as the "Boiler Shop". This area was used exclusively by the Boilermaker and his helpers to perform maintenance on the steam locomotives.
The Boilermaker was essentially a locomotive mechanic who, under the direction of the Master Mechanic, performed nearly every kind of maintenance task pertaining to the steam locomotives, such as inspecting the boilers, changing the tires, replacing broken staybolts and braces, removing and "safe-ending" boiler tubes, laying firebrick, servicing brake valves and components, cleaning out* and patching the tender tanks, etc. (In the old days, many of the water tanks were fed by shallow wells, which deposited large amounts of sand in the tender tanks, which had to be scooped out periodically to prevent sand from running through the injectors.)
The Boiler Shop was his workspace, and while it may have occasionally been shared with the Blacksmith, it was generally used by shop personnel working on the steam locomotives. While it is okay to use the general duties of a Blacksmith as a point of reference, it is important to properly interpret the role of the Boilermaker as it is a position unique to railroad shops. As the public's primary source of information on the history of the park, it is crucial for us to learn as much as we can about our subject matter so we may disseminate accurate information to our audience.
