Steaming Past the Gilkey Bridge
No. 205 is steaming past the Gilkey Covered Bridge.
The Gilkey Covered Bridge is a 120-foot-long Howe Truss bridge built in 1939.
The bridge was named after the town of Gilkey which started as a railroad station in 1880. The town itself was originally named after settlers Allen and William Gilkey. The Gilkey station was a stop between Crabtree and Shelburn on the Southern Pacific Railroad serving as an important part of railroad farming products delivery.
Engine 205 was built in 1924 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, PA for the San Joaquin and Eastern Railroad and used by the railroad until it shut down in 1933.
Following the closure of the SJ&E the locomotive was sold to the Santa Maria Valley RR and moved to Santa Maria, CA. The 205 operated on the SMV until 1950 when it was donated to the city of Santa Maria and placed on display in 1950.
In 1983 the 205 was sold to George Lavacot and moved to Independence OR. where the restoration of the locomotive began. George and a group of friends met regularly over the following 38 years to bring 205 back to life.
In 2021, following the successful restoration of the engine, George sold the engine to the Albany and Eastern Railroad.