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Spokane, Portland & Seattle, Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 6, 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Columbia River Gorge, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, 2005 ...
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On July 6, 2005, two steam engines, the Spokane, Portland & Seattle's 700 (SP&S 700) and the Southern Pacific's 4449 (SP 4449), pulled 17 vintage cars on an excursion up the Columbia River Gorge, from
Portland, Oregon, to
Wishram, Washington.
Known as the "Western Star", the SP&S 700 pulled the outbound journey on the Washington side of the Columbia River, while the SP 4449 took the journey home.
Since the journey operated as an Amtrak special, an Amtrak P42 was in the lineup as well.
The excursion was chartered for the National Railway Historical Society's 2005 convention being held in Portland. The Columbia River's first steam engine was the "Oregon Pony" which arrived in 1862 and used to help portage goods around the trecherous Cascade Rapids.
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Views ...
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Through the Gorge.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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SP&S 700 followed by the SP 4449.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
Third in line is an Amtrak P42.
View from Dog Creek, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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Rounding the Bend.
SP&S 700 Steam Engine, Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Columbia River Gorge, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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SP&S 700 Steam Engine.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Columbia River Gorge, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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Steam.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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Passenger Cars.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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The Milwaukee Road's "Cedar Rapid" Car.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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Leaving.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge, July 2005.
View from Dog Creek, Washington.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 ...
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The Spokane, Portland & Seattle's 700 (SP&S 700) steam engine is the largest steam locomotive still operating in North America. The SP&S 700 was built in 1938 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and was delivered to the SP&S on June 21, 1938. The 700 originally pulled passenger trains between Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, including the famous "Empire Builder", In 1947 the "Empire Builder" went to diesel. Once diesel took over the SP&S 700 hauled freight. In 1955 the SP&S 700 was mothballed and in 1956 she was retired. In 1958, sparing the scrapheap, the SP&S 700 was donated to the City of Portland for a porposed rail museum. The engine was displayed at Portland's "Oaks Park" for nearly 20 years, along with two other stream engines, the Southern Pacific 4449, and the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company's 197. Today the three engines reside at Portland's Brooklyn Roundhouse, a four-stall roundhouse built in the 1940s to accommodate the larger size of the newer more powerful steam locomotives. The Roundhouse sits in the former Southern Pacific Brooklyn Yard in Portland.
From the Oregon Heritage Foundation Website (2006):
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"... Built in 1938 as a 4-8-4 Northern Pacific Class A design, she is close to 111' long, 10' wide and almost 17' tall. With locomotive and tender weighing almost 440 tons and a boiler pressure of 260 psi, her 77" diameter drivers can apply 5,000 horsepower to the rails and exceed 80 mph. It's oil fired, and features design specified roller bearings throughout which was quite advanced for the era.
This beautiful example of the latter years of steam locomotive development pulled the famous Empire Builder until that train was dieselized in 1947. She continued to faithfully provide passenger service from Portland up the Columbia River Gorge to Spokane until 1954. In 1945 she was honored to pull a "special" of United Nation Delegates. One of the largest steam locomotives still operable today, she is lovingly operated and maintained by the all-volunteer Pacific Railroad Preservation Association. ..."
On January 25, 2006, the SP&S 700 locomotive and tender was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The SP&S 700 was listed as a working example of the peak of steam and rail technology of its era.
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Southern Pacific 4449 ...
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The Southern Pacific's 4449 is the only remaining example of twenty-eight GS-4 Daylight Class steam engines constructed in 1941, designed to pull the Southern Pacific's famous "Daylight" trains between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The SP 4449 escaped the scrap pile and became famous as it pulled the Bicentennial American Freedom Train around the United States in 1975 and 1976. During its two-year tour of duty it was seen by an estimated 30 million people and traveled through 41 states on 28 different railroads from Washington State to Florida, making it arguably the country's most famous locomotive. Today, 4449 is the only operating streamlined steam locomotive in the country.
From the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation Website (2006):
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Built in 1941 as a 4-8-4 GS-4 "Northern" type locomotive, she is 110' long, 10' wide and 16' tall. With locomotive and tender weighing 433 tons and a boiler pressure of 300 psi, her eight 80" diameter drivers and unique firebox truck booster can apply 5,500 horsepower to the rails and exceed 100 mph. Retired to Oaks Park in 1958 for display only, in 1974 she was completely restored specifically to pull the 1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train throughout the United States to the delight of over 30 million people.
The only remaining operable "streamlined" steam locomotive of the Art Deco era, this grand Lady of the High Iron pulled Southern Pacific "Daylight" coaches from Los Angeles to San Francisco over the scenic Coast Route and then on to Portland until 1955. She is arguably one of the most beautiful locomotives ever built -- and kept that way by the all-volunteer Friends of the SP 4449.
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In September 1999, the Southern Pacific "Daylight," the train 4449 was built to
pull, was commemorated on a U.S. Postage Stamp.
[More images]
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The Viewpoint ...
The pullout on Washington State Highway 14 at Dog Creek, just east of Dog Mountain, provided a SPECTACULAR view of the "Western Star". Dog Creek and Dog Mountain are located at Columbia River Mile (RM) 160, approximately 60 miles east of Vancouver, Washington.
Lewis and Clark camped near Dog Mountain on April 13, 1806, on their return home.
[More]
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"Western Star" Excursion Train with Dog Mountain, Washington.
Dog Mountain rises above a special excursion train, the "Western Star", July 6, 2005.
View from Washington State Highway 14, at the Dog Creek Pullout.
Image taken July 6, 2005.
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MORE ...
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SP 4449 Excursion, September 16, 2006, view from Wind River, Washington. Northwest Rail Museum sponsored round-trip from Portland to Bend.
More Railroads and Trains; Amtrak, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Cascade Portage, Kalama Railroad Ferry, Oregon Pony, North Bank Road, SP&S, and many more.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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