*** Welcome to piglix ***

Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation


The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) is a registered non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Composed of several all-volunteer groups dedicated to maintaining vintage railroad equipment, the ORHF is committed "to secure a permanent home for the City of Portland’s steam locomotives, preserve the Brooklyn Roundhouse, and establish a Rail and Industrial Heritage Museum.”

At present, the ORHF is constructing a new restoration shop for the city's steam locomotives, the first of a multi-phase project aimed at housing them permanently. When the new Oregon Rail Heritage Center is completed, this will permit the ORHF to continue operating steam-powered excursions while openly displaying the locomotives to the public. Access to the locomotives is currently limited as the equipment is stored on the private property of the Union Pacific Railroad, out of visitors' reach. The ORHF is tasked with completing the construction of the engine house and moving the locomotives before UP razes its current roundhouse in mid-2012.

The ORHF oversees the preservation of three city-owned steam locomotives: Southern Pacific 4449 (SP 4449), Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 (SP&S 700), and Oregon Railroad & Navigation 197 (OR&N 197). All three engines were donated to the city in 1958 and displayed in Oaks Park in Southeast Portland until restored to operation (the 197's restoration is a work in progress). Each engine has its own cadre of volunteers dedicated to its upkeep. They also give Portland the distinction of being the only city in the United States to own operating mainline steam locomotives.

In addition to these engines, several vintage passenger cars, formerly owned and operated by the Great Northern Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad, are owned and maintained by Northwest Rail Museum and the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.


...
Wikipedia

...