Steam & Excursion > SP&S 700 on the Holiday Express last Saturday

Last Saturday, I went with friends to ride the 4pm departure from Oaks Park in Portland, OR. We showed up a bit early to get some photos of the previous departure an hour before. It was a mostly rainy day, but thankfully we got a couple of mostly dry hours soon after we parked.

Here's some pics from the boarding area.

1-3) Getting ready, including the much anticipated steam spray for the crowd.

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4-5) After pulling the train south down near the crossing, the train backed up for it's run north to the Ross Island bridge.

6) The trio of speeders that offered rides for $5 a head. We went for a ride in the reindeer-powerd one closest to the camera after our ride on the Holiday Express. It was a nice long trip while the SP&S 700 took a dinner break, and we went all the way to the new Oregon Rail Heritage Center up by OMSI.

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7-8) The 3pm train returns to Oaks Park, much closer to dark with the exterior lights now starting to take effect.

Thanks for the views,

Rich

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Any chance that those cars were being heated by steam?

The HE carman crew is very proud that the consist is steam heated; certainly adds
to the ambianence(sp). Arlen

What's the length of the run each way?

Frisco1522 Wrote:
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> What's the length of the run each way?

Others here can probably say with more accuracy, but in looking at a map it appears about 2000' to the south of the boarding area, and then approximately 3 miles to the north.

Distance sounds right.....about a 40 minute run, perfect for our target audience.
Arlen

PasadenaSub Wrote:
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> Frisco1522 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What's the length of the run each way?
>
> Others here can probably say with more accuracy,
> but in looking at a map it appears about 2000' to
> the south of the boarding area, and then
> approximately 3 miles to the north.

Total trackage traveled per trip is approximately 5.46 miles assuming train length 506 feet

Dick Samuels

asheldrake Wrote:
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> The HE carman crew is very proud that the consist is
> steam heated; certainly adds to the ambiance. Arlen


The 700's engineers are very appreciative of the manner in which Holiday Express carmen George, Pete, Forrest and others maintain the trainset. Not only are their steam joints tight but also the air brake lines. The initial terminal air brake test for Sunday in which I participated was even better than indicated by the air test slip. Forrest happened to write down the second part of my leakage report. The 1½ pounds was actually the loss for the entire time of the set while the train was being walked. The actual minute test period was almost imperceptible, perhaps ¼ pound.

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