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.

Sacramento Northern SW1 #402

Photo by Cliff West

Sacramento Northern locomotive #402 is pictured on the California State Railroad Museum’s turntable. It is an SW1 originally built by the Electro-Motive Corporation in 1939 as Western Pacific #502. Western Pacific sold it to its Sacramento Northern subsidiary in December 1965 and it became #402. It was retired in July 1981. When the Western Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific in 1983, the Sacramento Northern was merged along with it. The locomotive was donated to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, by Union Pacific in October 1983.

Portland Traction Company SW1 #100

Portland Traction #100 at Portland 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.

Portland Traction #100 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction #100 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction #100 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

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.

Portland Traction #100 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction #100 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

It was joined in March 1953 by another SW1: #200.

Portland Traction #100 at East Portland on July 13, 2007

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.

Portland Traction #100 at East Portland on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction #100 at East Portland on July 13, 2007

#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.

Portland Traction #100 in Milwaukie on September 6, 2007

#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.

Portland Traction #100 in Milwaukie on January 24, 2009

Continue to Former Pacific Lumber Company 80-Tonner #101…

Diesels of the Oregon Pacific Railroad

I originally posted Diesels of the Oregon Pacific Railroad on my website on November 25, 2007. I have updated it with new information and pictures.

 

The Oregon Pacific Railroad is owned by Dick Samuels and is operated by him and his family. It consists of two separate branches in the Portland area. The first is the East Portland Branch, which is the last remaining section of the once extensive Portland Traction Company streetcar and interurban line. The interurban lines were known as the Portland Railroad and Terminal Division of the Portland Traction Company. The electric interurbans stopped running in January of 1958. Replaced by two EMD SW1 diesel locomotives which were purchased in the early 1950s. In 1962, the Portland Traction Company was purchased jointly by the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. Portions of the line would be abandoned over the next 30 years, until 1991, when all that remained was the four miles from East Portland to Milwaukie, which were sold to Dick Samuels to become the East Portland Traction Company. In 1993, Samuels purchased the Southern Pacific Railroad's branch line from Canby to Molalla, naming it the Molalla Western Railroad. In 1997, Samuels combined the East Portland Traction Company and the Molalla Western into the Oregon Pacific Railroad. See The Rise and Fall of the Portland Traction Company by Craig Bass for more history, and Brian McCamish's Oregon Pacific for more information. This page also includes links to historical photographs from The Friends of SP 4449, Fallen Flag Railroad Photos, rrpicturearchives.net, Rob Jacox's Western Rails, Espee Modelers Home Page, Wikipedia, Western Shortline Rosters, Don's Depot, www.cprdieselroster.com, CNRphotos.com,  Yard Limit, McCloud Rails and alaskarails.org.

The Oregon Pacific has a large roster for a railroad of its size, due to the collection of eclectic locomotives acquired by owner Dick Samuels over the years. It is this collection of equipment that gives the Oregon Pacific much of its charm.

In July 2007, the Oregon Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association hosted a weekend of excursions from Oaks Park to East Portland using SP&S #700 and some of the diesels of the Oregon Pacific Railroad. This was the same route as on the Farewell to Steam 50th Anniversary weekend. SP&S #700 and the diesels ran public trips on July 13-14 to raise money for the PRPA. On the 15th, the diesels pulled private excursions for the PRPA members. There were speeders there as well.

Here is SP&S #700 at Oaks Park between runs on the afternoon of July 13.

SP&S #700 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

SP&S #700 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

SP&S #700 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

SP&S #700 at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

Here are some of the railroad speeders at Oaks Park. These speeders gave rides from Oaks Park to the Milwaukie shops, or to East Portland Junction.

Speeder at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Speeder at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Speeder at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Speeder at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

Here are SW1 #100 and 70-tonner #5100 pulling the excursion train at Oaks Park and Portland on the afternoon of July 13.

Portland Traction Co. SW1 #100 & Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100 with excursion train at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction Co. SW1 #100 & Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100 with excursion train at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction Co. SW1 #100 & Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100 with excursion train at Oaks Park on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction Co. SW1 #100 & Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100 with excursion train at East Portland on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction Co. SW1 #100 & Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100 with excursion train at East Portland on July 13, 2007

 

Portland Traction Co. SW1 #100 & Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100 with excursion train at East Portland on July 13, 2007

On July 15, I got photos of SW1200RSu #1202 and GP7U #1810 at Oaks Park.

Oregon Pacific GP7u #1810 & SW1200RSu #1202 at Oaks Park on July 15, 2007

 

Oregon Pacific GP7u #1810 & SW1200RSu #1202 at Oaks Park on July 15, 2007

Dick Samuels was at the controls of #1810.

Dick Samuels at the controls of Oregon Pacific GP7u #1810 at Oaks Park on July 15, 2007

 

After this event, I realized that I had photographs of nearly the entire Oregon Pacific Railroad locomotive roster. I even had earlier pictures of some of the locomotives on the Molalla branch, but I was missing one. So I went out to Liberal one day after work and found the four SW8s: #602, #801, #802 & #803.

 

SW8s #801, #802, #803 & #602 at Liberal on July 19, 2007

 

SW8s #801, #802, #803 & #602 at Liberal on July 19, 2007

After the trip to Liberal I had photographs of all the active locomotives, but there was one more I still wanted...the diminutive 25-tonner that was donated to the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society in Brooks, Oregon in 2005. In August I went to the Great Oregon Steam-Up at Antique Powerland in Brooks and got that picture as well. That gave me all the pictures I needed...until September when I discovered that the Oregon Pacific had purchased a new locomotive. I photographed it as it had arrived, but it wasn't until Thanksgiving that I found the new locomotive in shiny Oregon Pacific red and white, finally completing my photo collection.

Now, I present the Diesels of the Oregon Pacific Railroad. Each locomotive will be featured in its own post, in numerical order.

Samuels Pacific Industries 45-Tonner #45
Portland Traction Company SW1 #100
Former Pacific Lumber Company 80-Tonner #101
East Portland Traction Company NW5 #187
East Portland Traction Company 80-Tonner #500
Ex-Oregon Pacific & Eastern SW8 #602
Oregon Pacific SW8 #801
East Portland Traction Company SW8 #802
Oregon Pacific SW8 #803
Oregon Pacific SW900 #901
Former Southern Pacific SL-4B Slug #1010
Oregon Pacific SW1200RSu #1202
Oregon Pacific GMD-1 #1413
Oregon Pacific GP7u #1810
SamTrak 25-Tonner #2501
SamTrak 45-Tonner #4501
Southern Pacific 70-Tonner #5100
East Portland Traction Company Caboose #11
SamTrak Caboose #900
Ex-GN Business Car A-26, aka NCBX #826

Continue to Samuels Pacific Industries 45-Tonner #45…

Commonwealth Edison #15

Commonwealth Edison #15 is a 600 horsepower SW1 built by EMD in September 1950. Locomotives such as #15 replaced the electric locomotives on the Commonwealth Edison line in Chicago. They served until the power plant closed in the 1970s and the railroad shut down. The tracks remained until the mid 1980s, but almost all have now been removed.

Continue to Grand Trunk Western #1951…