Saturday, July 4, 2015

100th Anniversary of Portland Union Station

I originally posted this on my old website as part of the PORTLAND PLACES: Portland Union Station page on May 21, 2008.

The 100th Anniversary of Union Station in Portland, Oregon, was celebrated on May 11, 1996.

SP #4449 & SP&S #700 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
SP #4449 & SP&S #700 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Portland's two operating mainline steam locomotives, Southern Pacific #4449 and Spokane, Portland & Seattle #700, were displayed side-by-side. Both are 4-8-4-type locomotives. #4449 is a GS-4 class locomotive, built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1941 for glamorous service pulling Southern Pacific's premier Daylight streamlined passenger trains in Southern California. It was replaced by diesels and retired on October 2, 1957. #700 in one of three 4-8-4s built for the SP&S in 1938 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These locomotives were identical to A-3 class locomotives then being delivered to SP&S's parent, the Northern Pacific Railway, except that the SP&S locomotives burned oil instead of coal. By 1955, the SP&S had completed dieselization and was ready to retire the last of its steam locomotives. After pulling 1,400 passengers on a 21-car Farewell to Steam Excursion between Portland and Wishram, Washington on May 20, 1956, #700 joined the rest of SP&S's steam locomotives in a scrap line. After the Union Pacific offered the City of Portland 4-6-2 Pacific #3203 to display in a park, SP&S donated #700 on January 13, 1958, and would be the only SP&S or NP Northern to survive; in fact only one other SP&S steam locomotive survived. Southern Pacific donated #4449 to the City of Portland on April 24, 1958. All three locomotives were put on static display at Oaks Amusement Park. On December 14, 1974, #4449 was removed from Oaks Park and moved to Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Roundhouse near Union Station for restoration to pull the American Freedom Train, a museum train of American artifacts that traveled the country in celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976. #4449's boiler was put to steam on April 18, 1975 for the first time since 1957. She moved under her own power on April 21, and was christened on May 16. She left Portland on June 20 to take over the Freedom Train in Chicago on August 4. #4449 pulled the Freedom Train for the rest of its tour until it ended in Miami on December 31, 1976. #4449 returned to Portland by pulling a series of "Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursions" across the South and West in April, 1977, still in its Freedom Train paint but with the "Amtrak" name added to the tender. #4449 arrived in Portland on May 1, having visited at least 30 states (many more than once) during its Freedom Train and Amtrak Excursion travels, and was placed in indoor storage. In 1981, #4449 emerged, restored to the post-WWII version of its Daylight paint. After #4449's restoration, 15-year-old Chris McLarney founded the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association in 1977 to restore #700. The locomotive returned to operation in 1990.

Amtrak P40DC #802 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Amtrak P40DC #802 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Amtrak had a Superliner consist on display for visitors to walk through. P40DC #802 was on display with the consist. Amtrak #802 was built by General Electric in 1993, one of the first of Amtrak's newest generation of locomotives.

Union Pacific DDA40X #6936 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Union Pacific DDA40X #6936 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Union Pacific #6936 is a DDA40X, built in January 1971, one of 47 built, all for the Union Pacific, which at nearly 100 feet in length and with 6,600 horsepower are the largest and most powerful diesel locomotives ever built. #6936 is one of 13 that survive today, and the only one still owned by Union Pacific. It was transferred from freight to excursion service in May, 1985.

Sumpter Valley Railway 2-8-2 #19 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Sumpter Valley 2-8-2 #19 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Sumpter Valley Railway #19 is the first of a pair of narrow-gauge 2-8-2 Mikados built for the eastern Oregon railroad by the American Locomotive Company in 1920. #19 & #20 were replaced on the Sumpter Valley in 1940 by a pair of used Baldwin articulated 2-6-6-2 Mallets. The tenders from the Mikados were put behind the Mallets, and the Mikados were sold to Alaska's White Pass & Yukon, where they served until 1957. The Mallets were sold to a railroad in Guatemala in 1947, and the tenders went with them. The Sumpter Valley reacquired the two Mikados in the 1970s and got the tenders back from Guatemala.

Sumpter Valley Railway 2-8-2 #19 running at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Sumpter Valley 2-8-2 #19 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

#19 was restored at the Brooklyn Roundhouse in the early 1990s. It had recently been completed and was brought to Union Station's 100th Anniversary before being returned to the Sumpter Valley. A section of track at Union Station was converted to the narrow 3-foot gauge to allow #19 to be fired up and operate back and forth.

Great Northern Caboose X40 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Great Northern Caboose X40 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Great Northern Caboose X40 was built in 1960 by the International Car Company. It became Burlington Northern #10330. It was retired in the 1980s and was purchased by private owners and restored to Great Northern colors.

Portland Traction Company SW1 #100 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Portland Traction SW1 #100 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Locomotive #100 is a 600-horsepower SW1 built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1952. It was originally owned by the Portland Railroad & Terminal Division of the Portland Traction Company and has worked on the East Portland branch for nearly its entire existence. It was joined in March 1953 by another SW1: #200. In the mid-1980s, #100 was sold to Watco Companies and used at a paper mill in Wallua, Washington, while #200 was sold and ended up serving a grain elevator in Superior, WI. #100 was purchased by Dick Samuels in 1987 for use on its original line, which would become the East Portland Traction Company, and was repainted back to its original orange paint scheme, which it retains today. #100 was also used for a time on the Molalla Western in 1993 just after Dick Samuels took over that line, but is typically used on the East Portland line and calls the Milwaukie shops home.

Nickel Plate Road RSD5 #324 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Nickel Plate Road RSD-5 #324 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

This Alco RSD-5 was built in November 1955 as Utah Railway #306. It was retired in May, 1982. It was sold to Industrial Salvage & Metals of Salt Lake City in November 1983 and was traded to the Promontory Chapter of the NRHS in January 1984. Doyle McCormack purchased it in October 1993 and painted it as Nickel Plate Road #324, though it actually carries the DLMX reporting mark. Nickel Plate didn't actually have any RSD-5s, but they did have the similar 4-axle RS-3s. The number 324 was an unused number on the Nickel Plate roster, between the road's Baldwin AS-16s and Alco RSD-12s.

Amtrak Talgo Demonstrator Set at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Amtrak Talgo Demonstrator at Union Station on May 11, 1996

This Spanish-built Amtrak Talgo Demonstrator trainset was used between Portland and Seattle. It was the prototype of the Cascades trainsets that would eventually go into service.

WIllamette & Pacific GP39-2 #2304 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11 ,1996
WPRR GP39-2 #2304 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Willamette & Pacific #2304, Corvallis, is a GP39-2 that was built in 1974 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #3603. It is one of a group of 17 GP39-2s Willamette & Pacific acquired from the Santa Fe in 1993.

Willamette & Pacific Woodchip Gondola #74003 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
WPRR Woodchip Car #74003 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Willamette & Pacific #74003 is a woodchip gondola that wears a special paint scheme for D.A.R.E., Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It was originally built in 1974 for the Southern Pacific Railroad as #355220.

BKSX Dome Coach #9544 Silver Scene at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
Dome Coach Silver Scene at Union Station on May 11, 1996

Dome Coach Silver Scene was built by Budd in 1947 as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #4729 for the Twin Cities Zephyr. It became Burlington Northern #5484 and then Amtrak #9544. It was retired in December 1983 and passed through a series of owners, by this time being restored with a California Zephyr letterboard (though this was not a California Zephyr car) and being operated as a RailVentures/Montana Daylight car.

BKSX Coach #4001 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
BKSX Coach #4001 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

BKSX 44-Seat Coach #4001 was built by Budd in 1950 as Southern Pacific #2228 for the Sunset Limited. It was also numbered 2367 and became Amtrak #4415. At this point it was being operated as a RailVentures/Montana Daylight car.

BKSX Dome Coach #9407 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
BKSX Dome Coach #9407 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

BKSX Dome Coach #9407 was built by Budd in July 1954 as Northern Pacific #550 for the Vista Dome North Coast Limited. It was assigned Burlington Northern #4617, but never received it before becoming Amtrak #9477. It was renumbered #9407 in October 1983 when it was converted to HEP. It was sold to become a RailVentures/Montana Daylight car, receiving BKSX reporting marks in May 1995, though at this point in 1996 it still gives the appearance of an Amtrak car.

BKSX Dome Coach #9410 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
BKSX Dome Coach #9410 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

BKSX Dome Coach #9410 was built by Budd in 1955 as Great Northern #1331 for the Empire Builder. It was assigned Burlington Northern #4611, but never received it before becoming Amtrak #9471. It was renumbered #9410 in January 1984 when it was converted to HEP. It was retired in 1995 and sold to become a RailVentures/Montana Daylight car.

Burlington Northern GP39E #2750 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 11, 1996
BN GP39E #2750 at Union Station on May 11, 1996

This freight train passed through Union Station during the 100th Anniversary Celebration. Burlington Northern #2750 was built in April 1963 as Great Northern Railway GP30 #3007. It became Burlington Northern #2207. In April 1989 it was rebuilt by EMD into GP39E #2750.

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