Steam & Excursion > Recent happenings at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center

Things have been kinda quiet here in Portland in terms of railroading, so I thought I'd give a little update.

The crew of SP&S 700 is doing some extensive work on their auxiliary tender, especially on the trucks and brake rigging. The white patch is where a Great Northern logo will eventually be painted.

Apparently, Mr. McCormack is getting very close to having his Alco PA up and running. Some painting needs to be completed on the roof as well as the trucks. There is also a fair bit of electrical work to do. Not sure what else needs to be done exactly, but the locomotive should hopefully be operational in the not-too-distant future.

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A couple of our passenger cars will be going down to Eugene within the next few weeks for an event on the recently-opened Coos Bay Rail Link. The UP will shipping them down there, meaning the cars need to undergo a thorough inspection. Myself and some other ORHF volunteers were hard at work yesterday on the air brake system, including the pistons and reservoirs. Thus far, they look to be in quality condition.

As for the 4449........we're getting there.

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I remember seeing the PA hulks on flatcars in the BNSF's Phoenix, AZ Mobest Yard when they first arrived from Mexico. It's amazing what Doyle and his crew has accomplished to date.

JMW
http://waidephoto.smugmug.com/Trains

It's also nice to see that they're finally starting to get some grease stains on the floor! It'll be looking more and more like a roundhouse before ya know it! (considering the shape of the building.)

Is there ANY chance Doyle & Crew MIGHT have the PA completed in time to go to the Streamliner Fest next spring in Spencer? Could be the Belle of the Ball if 611 is unready to make an appearance!
Can someone refresh my memory as to which number this engine wore on the Delaware & Hudson - and what here original Santa Fe number was?

Doyle and crew have come a long way since 2002. This shot taken after trucks were installed, not much else done to the "as received from Mexico" condition. Nice work, folks.

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patd3985 Wrote:
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> It's also nice to see that they're finally
> starting to get some grease stains on the floor!
> It'll be looking more and more like a roundhouse
> before ya know it! (considering the shape of the
> building.)

Actually, no it is NOT nice to see the oil/grease stains on the shop floor! The guys have gone to great lengths to keep the floor as pristine as possible so that visitors AND workers don't step in snot and then track it all over the place. Any drips under the running gear will be cleaned up in pretty short order. Remember, the new facility is supposed to be a visitor show place, and NOT an "old roundhouse".

HotWater Wrote:
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> patd3985 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It's also nice to see that they're finally
> > starting to get some grease stains on the
> floor!
> > It'll be looking more and more like a
> roundhouse
> > before ya know it! (considering the shape of
> the
> > building.)
>
> Actually, no it is NOT nice to see the oil/grease
> stains on the shop floor! The guys have gone to
> great lengths to keep the floor as pristine as
> possible so that visitors AND workers don't step
> in snot and then track it all over the place. Any
> drips under the running gear will be cleaned up in
> pretty short order. Remember, the new facility is
> supposed to be a visitor show place, and NOT an
> "old roundhouse".

HotWater is correct. Doyle has been a big enforcer of cleanliness at the new facility. It hasn't been that big of an issue thus far. But once we move the '49, we're gonna have some serious cleaning to do.

Great Northern logo on the tender? Tell us more!

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com

Oh wow... I just noticed that Doyle's got the cab doors fabricated and installed on the PA. That's been a long time coming! Once he gets grilles installed on the sides, it's going to look pretty much complete.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/13 13:15 by davew833.

YG Wrote:
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> Great Northern logo on the tender? Tell us more!
>
> Steve Mitchell
> http://www.yardgoatimages.com


According to the PRPA (700 crew) website, the aux tender was originally a primary tender for the Great Northern's S2 class 4-8-4 #2575 from the 1930s to the 1950s. Then when steam went under, it was used as a fire protection car in the Klamath Falls area. The tender was donated by the Burlington Northern to the PRPA in 1985. It's made a few trips with the 700 in its early years after restoration, such as the trip to Washington Steam Fest in 1990. But extensive work on the trucks, bearings and other things have kept it in the shop most of the time. The tender shall be back in service soon, sporting its original GN logo!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/13 13:17 by pdxsteam.

Thanks for filling in the details about the tender. That will be nice to see!

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com

arrow611 Wrote:

> Can someone refresh my memory as to which number
> this engine wore on the Delaware & Hudson - and
> what here original Santa Fe number was?

D&H 18, originally Santa Fe 62L. It's ironic that the work to turn 62L into something it never was is nearly done, while the work to cosmetically restore sister 59L (D&H 16) back to its original Santa Fe appearance is only just getting started. If only I had money or lived in Texas...

Doyle is a extraordinary mechanic. I remember me and Doyle were walking around his PA unit and I was complimenting him on how nice and straight his rivet line was around the bottom of the frame. I said "you did a hell of a job on those rivets. How did you do it"? He told me how he drilled each hole by hand! Anyone who has done hard riveting knows that is a very tough job and drilling hundreds of holes by hand and having the rivets line up in a straight line is extremely difficult. He really deserves a lifetime achievement award for all his great accomplishments.

Tomas Wrote:
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I remember me
and Doyle were walking around his PA unit and I
was complimenting him on how nice and straight his
rivet line was around the bottom of the frame.

Interesting. Just where all all these "rivets" located on a PA, and what are they for?

Doyle's obviously had to fabricate a lot of missing parts for his PA-- I wonder if he'll make his plans available to the group in Texas for when they restore the other one.