Oregon Rail Heritage Center facts for kids
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The Oregon Rail Heritage Center in 2016
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| Established | 2012 |
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| Location | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Type | Railway museum |
| Owner | Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation |
| Public transit access |
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The Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC) is a cool railway museum located in Portland, Oregon. It's home to several amazing trains, including three giant steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland. These are the Southern Pacific 4449, the Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700, and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. 197. The first two are even restored and can still run! The center first opened its doors to visitors on September 22, 2012. A non-profit group called the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) worked hard to make this museum happen.
Why the Museum Was Built
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For a long time, the city's historic steam locomotives lived in a place called the Brooklyn Roundhouse. This was a special building where trains were kept and worked on. However, the Union Pacific Railroad needed to make changes to their rail yard. This meant the locomotives had to find a new home.
The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) stepped in to help. This group includes different organizations that love trains and want to save them. They also work with the city's Parks & Recreation department. Their big job was to find a new place for these important trains.
At first, they just wanted to build a new enginehouse for the trains. But then they had a bigger idea! Why not create a place where people could visit and learn about trains? So, the plan grew to include a visitor area and an interpretive center. After looking at different spots, ORHF found a great location near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in 2009. This new home covers about 3 acres.
Building the Center
Work on the new enginehouse began in October 2011. This building is about 20,000 square feet! The three big steam locomotives were carefully moved to the new site on June 26, 2012. They stayed outside for a short time while their new home was being finished. By July 28, they were safely moved inside the new enginehouse.
Some old passenger train cars were also moved to the center. They are kept outdoors, just like they were before. Building the first part of the center cost about $5.9 million. Most of this money came from donations, but the City of Portland also loaned $1 million.
The old Brooklyn Roundhouse was taken down in September 2012. But a very important part of it, a turntable built in 1924, was saved! A turntable is like a giant spinning platform that helps turn trains around. This turntable was put into storage. Now, thanks to a big fundraising effort, it has been fixed up and is being installed at the ORHC. As of October 2023, it's almost ready to use!
The Oregon Rail Heritage Center officially opened to the public on September 22, 2012. If you want to visit, it's usually open Thursday through Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. There's no charge to get in, but donations are always welcome to help keep the trains running!
Amazing Train Collection
The main stars at the ORHC are the three steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland: the Southern Pacific 4449, the Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700, and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. 197. These impressive machines were given to the city in 1958. For many years, they were on display near Oaks Amusement Park.
The No. 4449 locomotive became super famous across the country! In 1974, it was moved to be restored. Then, in 1975–76, it pulled the special American Freedom Train all over the United States to celebrate the country's 200th birthday. After that, it was kept at the Brooklyn Roundhouse between its special trips. The SP&S 700 moved to the roundhouse in 1986, and the OR&N 197 followed in 1996. The SP&S 700 is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a very important historical item.
The center also has other cool trains. In 2016, the Union Pacific Railroad donated a diesel switcher locomotive, No. 96. This type of train is used to move other train cars around. It arrived at the ORHC in 2017. Another diesel switcher, No. 3613, was given to ORHF by the BNSF Railway in 2022. It was fixed up and moved to the center in October 2023.
In May 2023, a small, 20-ton gas mechanical switcher locomotive, SPMW No. 570, joined the collection. It used to work at the nearby Southern Pacific's Brooklyn yard. It is currently being restored. The newest steam locomotive to arrive is the Mount Emily Lumber Company Shay 1. It was donated in September 2022 and moved to the ORHC in February 2024.
Besides these, other old passenger and freight cars are also kept at the center. These belong to private groups or other non-profit organizations. One famous locomotive, the Nickel Plate Road 190, used to be here but was sold in 2023.
The ORHC currently has some exhibits and a special area where you can watch people working to restore the trains. The ORHF plans to build a full interpretive center on a future second floor of the building.
The steam locomotives that can still run sometimes go on special trips, like the yearly Holiday Express. The museum was built so that these trips can continue. The tracks at the center connect to other train tracks, which allows the locomotives to move on and off the main lines. However, since Fall 2022, the bigger steam locomotives like SP 4449 and SP&S 700 are too heavy for some tracks. So, smaller logging steam locomotives are now used for the Holiday Express trips.
See also
