Polson Brothers Logging Company began business in 1895 in Hoquiam. In 1903, the name was changed to Polson Logging Company. Polson was bought out by Rayonier in 1948.
The city of Hoquiam began as a manufacturing and export center for forest products, including pulp and paper, on the Hoquiam River on north side of Grays Harbor a dozen miles from the Pacific Ocean adjacent to Aberdeen in Grays Harbor County. With Aberdeen it continues to serve as the business and commercial center of southwestern Washington.
The conventional "rod" locomotive gets it's nick name from the side "rod" or metal bar that connects all of the drivers (driving wheels) to the steam cylinder. The drivers were fixed one in front of the other and could not rotate like the drivers sets or "trucks" on the the geared locomotives. This limited the sharpness of curves the rod locomotive could travel through on the railroad. The more drivers a rod locomotive had, the less it could tolerate the sharper curves on the railroad. The rod kept the drivers on one side moving in unison. The size of the drivers (sometimes taller than an adult person) was great for speed, but reduced the load carrying power of the engine.
Kinsey Brothers Photographs of the Lumber Industry, 1890-1945
