...photo was taken in Paradise, MT. on the Northern Pacific, 100s of miles from Spokane, WA., the farthest East the SP&S ran. How it was on the NP, I have not a clue. -Andy Carlson
That SP&S engine was on it's way back from Livingston, MT after a major overhaul in the NP shops.
Looking at a larger printed image of the same picture, there appears to be large numbers on the right side of that auxiliary tank car. It looks like 159, maybe 150. The weathering is probably covering up the rest, it's hard to tell. That number placement is not consistant with either SP&S or NP company service tank cars, however, it is absolutely consistant with GN company service tank cars. I'm throwning out a guess here, but I don't think it's out of the question for the GN to have loaned the SP&S one of their auxiliary tank cars (a road that burned oil as well and half-owned the SP&S) when the NP couldn't and needed to get that SP&S oil burner from Livingston to Spokane with no oil facilities along the way.
