Dierks Lumber & Coal Company 2-8-2 "Mikado" Locomotives in the USA

Class 226 (Locobase 15340)

Data from DeGolyer, Volume 77, pp. 780+. See also Bernard Reed's entry on Herman Dierks in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, accessed at []. (Thanks to Chris Hohl for his 24 October 2015 email pointing out the absence of superheater area and supplying the figure; and thanks to Melvin Holleman for his 31 August 2020 email correcting the year of the Weyerhaueser buy-out.) Works numbers were 60005-60006 in May 1927.

DeQueen, Arkansas-based DL&CC bought these two Mikados for logging operations out of DeQueen (226) and Mountain Pine, Ark (227). They were relatively small engines, especially so for standard-gauge 2-8-2s, and had 8" (203 mm) piston valves.

Unlike several other Baldwin locomotives, these two bore the DL&CC name rather than one of its two subsidiary railroads. The railroads over which the two operated had ruling grades of 3% but were expected to climb 5-6% grades, each about a half mile (0.8 km) long. Both operated for the DL&CC and its corporate successor, Dierks Forests Inc until Weyerhaeuser bought out the company in 1969.

Holleman's gracious email included some additional comments on his years at Dierks Forests: " As a former employee of both Dierks Forests Inc and Weyehaeuser I'm very familiar with the subject. Weyerhaeuser bought out Dierks Forest Inc in 1969. I grew up watching both of those steam locomotives from the classroom as they went to Clebit, Ok. and back. Clebit is several miles north of Wright City, Ok., I live in Wright City, Ok. The Weyerhaeuser acquisition occurred while I attended college."

226 went on display at the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroad with the goal of restoring it to service. 227 went on display at Broken Bow, Okla.