Salvage of Wb 292.

Lifting Wb 292 out of the mud and silt. PHOTO: Hugh McCracken

Heavy with silt

Buried deep with sand and silt by floods over the years, the boiler had filled with sediment. Suction forces equalling the weight of the locomotive had to be overcome.

Disaster with crane

The crane toppled during a dead-lift of 292, an outrigger failing on the stoney creek bed. A rescue crane was required to right the first, then both were employed to lift the locomotive onto a low-loading trailer.