Trains in Liberal, Oregon, in September, 1998

On our way to visit the Pacific Northwest Live Steamers' Shady Dell Train Park in Molalla, Oregon, in September 1998, my dad and I stopped in nearby Liberal, Oregon, to photograph some locomotives on the Molalla Division of Dick Samuels' Oregon Pacific Railroad. My dad's pictures came out underexposed, but I am including them anyway.

 

Locomotive #602 is an 800-horsepower SW8, built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1952 as Bamberger Railroad #602. After the Bamberger shut down it was sold to the Yreka Western in 1958. It was transferred in 1978 to the Oregon Pacific & Eastern, which was under the same ownership as the Yreka Western.

Photo by Cliff West

The locomotive was purchased by Dick Samuels after the Oregon Pacific & Eastern shut down in 1994. It may have been intended to be painted in Oregon Pacific colors as #802, but that never happened and #602 still wore its OP&E paint and herald on the cab.

Locomotive #803, "Spirit of Canby," is an SW8 built by EMD in March 1953 as Texas & New Orleans (a Southern Pacific subsidiary) #13. In the systemwide renumbering of 1965, it became Southern Pacific #1105. 

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific retired the locomotive on February 7, 1983, and sold it to Chrome Crankshaft on November 28, 1984. It was resold to Northern Railway Services in April 1987, and was assigned #80. In January 1989, it was sold to the Lewis & Clark Railway as #80. It was purchased by Dick Samuels in August 1995.

Photo by Cliff West

This locomotive was briefly numbered East Portland Traction Company #802, but was given #803 when painted in Oregon Pacific colors.

Photo by Cliff West

Here is a view of the two locomotives together, with the RSG Forest Products mill in the background.

Portland Traction Company SW1 #100 at the Portland Union Station Centennial

Displayed at the 100th Anniversary of Union Station in Portland, Oregon, 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 Wallula, 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.

National Train Day 2010 in Portland, Oregon: Conclusion

I originally posted this on my old website on the PORTLAND PLACES: Portland Union Station page on May 16, 2010.

Continued from Amtrak Cascades Talgo Tour…

Also on display were a couple of motorcars, or speeders, displayed by members of the North American Railcar Operators Society, a group of private motorcar owners that arrange to operator their vehicles on railroad lines.

Speeder at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

This Tamper TMC2 named "Sophia" was built in 1984 for the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is powered by an 18-horsepower 2-cylinder Briggs & Stratton engine with a snowmobile-style automatic transmission. Current owners Kay and Guy Howard of Junction City, Oregon restored it to operation in 2006.

Speeder at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

This Fairmont MT-14-M was built in May 1986 for the Union Pacific Railroad. It was last stationed in Pocatello, Idaho and was numbered #2615. It is powered by a 20-horsepower 2-cylinder Onan engine with a 2-speed transmission and has a top speed of over 40 miles per hour.

SP #4449 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

Here are some additional photographs of #4449, the Mount Hood, Oregon Pacific #1202 and the Union Pacific caboose as they were rearranged at the end of the event to return home.

OPR #1202 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

SP #4449 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

Here is #4449 positioning itself to lead the consist back towards Brooklyn Yard.

SP #4449 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

Here is the train starting over the Steel Bridge.

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

The Oregon Pacific diesel and Union Pacific caboose would be set off at East Portland Yard to return to Milwaukie while #4449 and the Mount Hood would continue back to the Brooklyn Roundhouse.

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

The following video shows #4449 departing Union Station at the end of the day, and Oregon Pacific #1202 returning to Milwaukie with with Union Pacific caboose.

4449 departing Portland Union Station after National Train Day 2010.

Union Pacific Caboose #25198 at National Train Day 2010

I originally posted this on my old website on the PORTLAND PLACES: Portland Union Station page on May 16, 2010.

Continued from PNWC #600 Mount Hood…

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

Union Pacific Class CA-4 caboose #25198 was built in November 1944 by the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company in Michigan City, Indiana as #3898. It was renumbered in April 1959. It spent much of its career in local service out of Union Pacific's Albina Yard in Portland.

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

It was retired on June 11, 1985 and donated to the City of Montpelier, Idaho in March 1986, where it was stored until returning to Albina in 1991.

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

It was donated to the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association and stored on the Mount Hood Railroad in Hood River, Oregon and in Pasco, Washington. It is now owned by PRPA founder Chris McLarney who repainted it in 2009.

UP #25198 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

The interior is also in almost entirely original condition, as seen in the photos below.

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Interior of Union Pacific CA-4 Caboose #25198

Also inside the caboose are historical photographs and HO-scale models that depict the caboose's changing appearance over the years.

OPR #1202 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

The caboose is normally stored in Milwaukie, Oregon on the Oregon Pacific Railroad, and was accompanied to Union Station by Oregon Pacific #1202 Walter B. Beebe, which was built in 1953 as Canadian Pacific SW9 #7403 and rebuilt in 1982 as SW1200RSu #1202. The Oregon Pacific acquired it in 2006.

OPR #1202 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

Continue to BNSF Railway ES44DC #7400…

ORHF Holiday Express 2009

I originally posted this on my old website on February 13, 2010.

(NOTE: This website is NOT affiliated with ORHF or the locomotives; visit orhf.org for current info)

Spokane, Portland & Seattle 4-8-4 #700 on December 5, 2009

The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation's annual fund-raiser to raise money for a permanent home for Portland's historic locomotives and railcars is the Holiday Express in December, offering rides to the public along the Oregon Pacific Railroad from Oaks Amusement Park in Sellwood to East Portland and back and features Santa Claus for the children.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 11, 2009

The 2009 event was scheduled for December 4-6 with Spokane, Portland & Seattle steam locomotive #700 and December 11-13 with Southern Pacific Daylight steam locomotive #4449, and used passenger cars from the Friends of SP #4449, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and the Northwest Rail Museum.

The video below was filmed on December 4-5, 2009.

ORHF Holiday Express on December 4-5, 2009.

The video below was filmed on December 11, 2009.

ORHF Holiday Express on December 11, 2009.

The video below was filmed on December 12, 2009.

ORHF Holiday Express on December 12, 2009.

The following is the consist of the train:

Spokane, Portland & Seattle #700 or Southern Pacific #4449
PNWC #600 Mount Hood
DLMX #1210 Plum Creek
PNWC Coach #6200
DLMX #5659 Gordon N. Zimmerman
PNWC #6800 Red River
NRM #2955 James J. Gilmore

Each will be covered in its own post.

Related Links:
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation
Pacific Railroad Preservation Association
Friends of SP #4449
Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society
Brian McCamish's Holiday Express 2009 Page

Continue to Spokane, Portland & Seattle #700…

ORHF Holiday Express on December 14, 2008

I originally posted this on my old website on March 26, 2009.

Continued from NRM #2955 James J. Gilmore…

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

On Sunday, December 14, 2008, the last scheduled day of the Holiday Express, a rare snowstorm descended on Portland.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

Initially the Holiday Express was going to be cancelled for the day.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

After some riders arrived despite the weather, two runs were made before the weather deteriorated even more.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

The rest of the event was cancelled for the safety of drivers, who were having difficulty on the road leading to Oaks Park, which was beginning to freeze.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

I braved the snow and rode the first of the two runs, and took pictures and video of the second run from the ground.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

This was a rare opportunity to see #4449 operating in the snow.

Doyle McCormack in the cab of #4449 on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

Holiday Express Platform at Oaks Park on December 14, 2008

In addition to the steam train ride, speeder rides were also offered, but due the snow the speeders weren't running on the last day.

Speeders at Oaks Park on December 14, 2008

Oregon Pacific's SamTrak caboose was also parked there for both weekends.

SamTrak Caboose #900 at Oaks Park on December 14, 2008

Here are pictures of some of the Holiday Express passenger cars in the snow at Oaks Park.

PNWC Sleeper-Lounge #600 Mount Hood on December 14, 2008

PNWC Sleeper-Lounge #600 Mount Hood on December 14, 2008

DLMX Coach #1210 Plum Creek on December 14, 2008

PNWC Coach #6200 on December 14, 2008

NRM Observation #2955 James J. Gilmore on December 14, 2008

The following pictures were taken from inside the James J. Gilmore round-end observation car as it led the train during the reverse move toward East Portland.

Aboard the ORHF Holiday Express on December 14, 2008

Aboard the ORHF Holiday Express on December 14, 2008

Aboard the ORHF Holiday Express on December 14, 2008

The following photos were taken from the Gordon N. Zimmerman baggage car heading back to Oaks Park.

View from the ORHF Holiday Express on December 14, 2008

Ross Island Bridge in Portland, Oregon on December 14, 2008

Willamette River in Portland, Oregon on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

The following pictures show #4449 departing Oaks Park on the second trip of the day.

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

PNWC Sleeper-Lounge #600 Mount Hood on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 #4449 on December 14, 2008

The video below was filmed on December 14, 2008. All the footage aboard the train was from the first run and the footage on the ground was from the second run.

ORHF Holiday Express with SP Daylight #4449 on December 14, 2008.