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SP 4449 Steam Engine, at Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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Excursion Train, September 2006 ...
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On the weekend of September 16 and 17, 2006, the Northwest Rail Museum sponsored a round-trip excursion train from Portland, Oregon, to Bend, Oregon, via the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, turning south on the Oregon Trunk Line Bridge, and then up the Deschutes Canyon. The engine pulling this train was the historic steam engine, the Southern Pacific 4449.
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The Viewpoint ...
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All images were taken from just upstream of the railroad bridge crossing the mouth of Wind River, located on the Washington side of the Columbia at River Mile (RM) 154.5.
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Views ...
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SP 4449 Steam Engine approaching Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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SP 4449 Steam Engine approaching Wind River Bridge, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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SP 4449 Steam Engine on the Wind River Bridge, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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Click image to enlarge
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SP 4449 Steam Engine, at Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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Click image to enlarge
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SP 4449 Steam Engine, Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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Click image to enlarge
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SP 4449 Steam Engine, Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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Click image to enlarge
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"Super Chief" dome car "Plaza Santa Fe".
The "Plaza Santa Fe" (#503) was built by Pullman in 1950 for the Santa Fe's streamliner "Super Chief". Amtrak acquired the car in 1971 and it became Amtrak #9353. Based in Salinas, California, the car can carry 40, and features private dining and bar-lounge located under the dome.
On the SP 4449 Excursion Train, Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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"California Zephyr" dome car "Silver Solarium".
The "Silver Solarium" was built between 1948 and 1949, and has carried the numbers Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) #377, BN 377, and Amtrak #9252. The car can accomodate 40 passengers for day operations and 17 for the night, and has bedrooms, showers, dining, galley, bar, lounge, stero, TV, cellular and terminal phones. It is available for charter.
On the SP 4449 Excursion Train, Wind River, Washington, Columbia Gorge.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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Chasing the SP 4449 Excursion Train, Columbia Gorge.
"Railfans" running back to their cars to chase the train.
Image taken September 16, 2006.
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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 the most famous 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.
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MORE ...
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MORE Steam-train excursions photographed along the Columbia River, including the SP&S 700, SP 4449, and the UP 844.
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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