[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 9336] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]RECOGNITION OF THE CENTENNIAL OF THE MASON COUNTY LOGGING NO. 7 LOCOMOTIVE ______ HON. MIKE THOMPSON of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join the Roots of Motive Power and the Mendocino County Museum as they celebrate a rare achievement, the 100th birthday of an operating steam locomotive, the 1910 Baldwin Locomotive Works Mason County Logging #7. I would also like to recognize the 25th anniversary of Roots of Motive Power. The story of Mason County Logging #7 mirrors the history of logging in the Pacific Northwest. Logging locomotives were designed especially for their girth and flexibility to operate on spurs penetrating steep hillsides and deep canyons with their valuable loads. Locomotive #7 started out with the Black Hills and Northwestern Railroad, a subsidiary of Mason County Logging Company, operating in the dense Douglas fir forests near the Washington State capital of Olympia. It remained in Washington for 80 years. A workhorse for more than 40 years, it stood idle for 45 years and may have been lost forever to scrap metal. In 1984, however, with foresight Willits resident Chris Baldo began years of negotiations that culminated with his purchase of No. 7 in 1990. The old locomotive was placed on a lowbed and trucked to Mr. Baldo's Willits Redwood Company yard, arriving on September 24, 1990. Preservationists like Mr. Baldo are not daunted by such a task as restoring what was at the time a rusty, nearly forgotten antique and bringing it back to life. His perseverance, tenacity and dogged determination turned the steam powered locomotive into a piece of living history. It took 11 years from Mr. Baldo's original purchase for No. 7 to complete restoration back in Washington until its return to California. In 2001, after a brief stint pulling Sierra Railroad coaches outside of Oakdale, California, No. 7 was moved back to Willits to its new home at Roots of Motive Power adjacent to the Mendocino County Museum in time for the Roots' Steam Festival on September 8 and 9. The completion of a two-thirds mile track allows the engine to let off steam on special occasions. As we commemorate the significance of this locomotive, one of only a few hundred left in the United States, I also salute the Roots of Motive Power, an organization associated with the Mendocino County Museum and ``dedicated to the preservation, restoration and operation of logging and railroad equipment representative of California's North Coast Region from the 1850s until the present.'' With more than 300 members Roots of Motive Power produces The Highline, a beautiful magazine-like newsletter and educational events. They also hold ``steam-ups'' four times a year, one of which will celebrate the 100th birthday of No. 7. Madam Speaker, it's not often we pause to recognize a restored steam engine but the 1910 Mason County Logging No. 7 and the dedication of those who wanted to preserve its historical significance for the enjoyment of future generations deserve our praise. In addition, I am proud to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the Roots of Motive Power in Willits, California, the ``heart of the redwoods'' for their dedication and long lasting contributions to preserving the best of times gone by. ____________________