| Equipment: | January 1, 1899: one Shay locomotive, seven log cars, four log carts, one wagon, one mule, 34 oxen, and three miles of railroad iron on the tram road. February 16, 1899: 17 yokes of oxen, four log carts, seven tram cars, four and a quarter miles of iron tram rails of which one and a quarter miles were mounted on the tram, and the Shay locomotive. 1928: a 15-ton narrow gauge locomotive, a Baldwin 29-ton locomotive, a Porter 23-ton locomotive, 31 log cars, and 5,000 30'-long and 30# rails. |
| History: | The Keystone mill at Waukegan appeared in several directories and lists of sawmills between the years 1904 and 1915. Daily capacities ranged from 40,000 to 100,000 feet. This mill belonged to E. L. Arnold and O. P. Perkins, which was sold to Keystone in 1899.
On January 1, 1899, Arnold sold his interest in the operations to Perkins. The property transferred included one Shay locomotive, seven log cars, four log carts, one wagon, one mule, 34 oxen, and three miles of railroad iron on the tram road. On February 16, 1899, Perkins sold the sawmill and planing mill to Keystone Mills Company (T. H. Garrett, President) for $6,282 in cash and 12 notes each for $500. Keystone received the sawmill, 17 yokes of oxen, four log carts, seven tram cars, four and a quarter miles of iron tram rails of which one and a quarter miles were mounted on the tram, and the Shay locomotive.
For the next twenty-nine years, the Keystone Mills Company continued to tram in Montgomery and San Jacinto counties. According to the Montgomery County History, “Old Smokey” with Melvin Traylor engineering carried the woods crew to the front and back each day. “The Dinky,” the log train, made twice-daily runs to the mill, Jeff Musgrove the engineer and Ed Walker his fireman.
The bill of sale from Keystone Mills Company to Sampson Machinery and Supply Company, in August, 1928, knelled the end of the Keystone tram road. Among the equipment sold included a blacksmith and machine shop, a 15-ton narrow gauge locomotive, a Baldwin 29-ton locomotive, a Porter 23-ton locomotive, 31 log cars, and 5,000 30'-long and 30# rails, either stacked or on the tram road. All of this material was sold two months later to C. J. Robertson and E. L. Kurth.
Strapac identified the name the Waukegan Transportation Company as the tram line for the Keystone Mills Company. It operated at least four locomotives over the 36-inch narrow gauge track. One engined was purchased in 1894 from Bender and Sons at Moscow, Texas.
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