Oh, the sweet anticipation when you hear that whistle!!
Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700
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Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700
SP&S 700 standing idle waiting to start Christmas excursion December 2005
|
| Type and origin |
| Power type |
Steam |
| Builder |
Baldwin Locomotive Works |
| Serial number |
62171 |
| Build date |
May 1938 |
| Specifications |
| Configuration |
4-8-4 |
| UIC classification |
2′D2′ h2 |
| Gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Driver diameter |
77 in (1,956 mm) |
| Length |
109 ft 2 in (33.27 m) |
| Weight on drivers |
290,200 lb (131,600 kg; 131.6 t) |
| Locomotive weight |
485,500 lb (220,200 kg; 220.2 t) |
Locomotive and tender
combined weight |
871,550 lb (395,330 kg; 395.33 t) |
| Fuel type |
Oil |
| Fuel capacity |
8,800 US gal (33,000 l; 7,300 imp gal) |
| Water capacity |
20,000 US gal (76,000 l; 17,000 imp gal) |
| Boiler pressure |
260 lbf/in2 (1.79 MPa) |
| Firegrate area |
115 sq ft (10.7 m2) |
| Superheater area |
2,095 sq ft (194.6 m2) |
| Cylinders |
Two |
| Cylinder size |
28 in × 31 in (711 mm × 787 mm) |
| Valve gear |
Walschaerts |
| Valve type |
Piston valves |
| Performance figures |
| Power output |
5,000 hp (3,700 kW) |
| Tractive effort |
69,756 lbf (310.29 kN) |
Factor of
adhesion |
4.16 |
| Career |
| Operator(s) |
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway |
| Class |
E-1 |
| Number(s) |
700 |
| Nicknames |
"The Lady" and "The Queen of Steam" |
| Delivered |
June 21, 1938 |
| First run |
May 1938 |
| Retired |
May 20, 1956 |
| Restored |
1990 |
| Current owner |
City of Portland, Oregon |
| Disposition |
Runs in occasional excursion service; based in Portland, Oregon, at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center |
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Steam Locomotive
|
|
|
| Coordinates |
 45°30′26″N 122°39′43″WCoordinates: 45°30′26″N 122°39′43″W |
| NRHP Reference # |
05001557 | | |
| Added to NRHP |
January 25, 2006 |
Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is the only surviving example of the
E-1 class
4-8-4 Northern type
steam locomotive. Nearly identical to the
A-3 class Northerns built for
Northern Pacific Railway, it burns oil instead of coal.
After years of running second-hand equipment, the
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S) was allowed by its parent companies,
Great Northern Railway
and Northern Pacific Railway, to purchase its first new locomotives.
These included three Northern E-1 class locomotives (700, 701 and 702)
for passenger service and 6
Z-6 class Challengers (
4-6-6-4s) for freight service.
After retirement from service in 1956, the SP&S 700 was donated to the City of
Portland, Oregon, in 1958. It was on static public display at
Oaks Amusement Park until 1987, then moved to private quarters for the continuation of work to restore it to operating condition. It began making occasional excursion runs in 1990.
[2] In 2012, the 700 was moved to a new facility where it can again be viewed by the public, the
Oregon Rail Heritage Center.
Revenue service years
700 was delivered on June 21, 1938, joining the 702 pulling overnight passenger trains between
Spokane and
Vancouver, Washington, along the north shore of the
Columbia River, with the 701 providing backup and pulling freight. Owing to an undersized
turntable, the Northerns didn't reach
Portland, Oregon, until 1943.
By 1947, the
Great Northern Railway had begun to streamline its premier passenger train, The
Empire Builder, and had started adding
diesels
to the locomotive mix. SP&S also started purchasing diesels at this
time, but they arrived after the streamlined cars were brought into
service and for a few months, the 700s pulled the Portland section of
Great Northern's
Empire Builder and Northern Pacific's
North Coast Limited.
Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, the E-1s continued to pull
secondary passenger trains, but by 1954, the diesels had completely
replaced steam for passenger service and the E-1s were relegated to
pulling freight trains until 1955.
Finally, on May 20, 1956, a spruced-up 700, with its normally grey
smokebox painted silver, pulled its last passenger train. The
Farewell To Steam run had a total of 21 cars carrying 1,400 passengers from Portland, Oregon, to
Wishram, Washington, in the heart of the
Columbia Gorge, and back again.
After the trip, the 700, 701, 702, Challengers and other SP&S
locomotives were sent to the scrap line. At the same time, however,
Union Pacific Railroad was offering to donate a steam locomotive to the city of
Portland, Oregon, and not to be outdone, the SP&S offered the 700. The two locomotives (SP&S 700 and
OR&N 197) were moved into
Oaks Park along the
Willamette River in 1958 and were soon joined by
SP 4449 where they sat for nearly 20 years.
Display at Oaks Park
In 1978, No. 700 was still on long-term static display at
Oaks Park.
For nearly 20 years the 700, along with the other two locomotives,
sat behind chain link fences, slowly fading and rusting away. Only the
attention of a single
Southern Pacific Railroad
employee, Jack Holst, saved the locomotives from complete uselessness.
Mr. Holst regularly visited the locomotives and kept the bearings and
rods well greased and oiled. Unfortunately, Mr. Holst died in 1972,
before the first locomotive (SP 4449) was removed from Oaks Park and
restored. In 1975, 15-year-old Chris McLarney started working on the
700, cleaning and oiling various parts. He founded the PRPA (
Pacific Railroad Preservation Association) in 1977 to provide support for the preservation work.
In November 1987, the SP&S 700 was moved from Oaks Park to the Southern Pacific's
Brooklyn Roundhouse, in southeast Portland, for the continuation of restoration work.
[2] With the support of many individuals and
Burlington Northern Railroad, the 700 returned to operation in 1990.
1990 to present
Although it's the third largest
steam locomotive
still in operation and expensive to run and insure, the 700 has managed
a number of excursions since its restoration in 1990, including an
historic double header with SP 4449 from Portland, Oregon, to Wishram,
Washington, and back during the 2005
National Railway Historical Society national convention, and a 2002 "Steam across Montana" from
Sandpoint, Idaho, to
Billings, Montana, and back.
The 700 was added to the
National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 2006, as the
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Steam Locomotive.
Disposition and maintenance
Until June 2012, the 700 and its two companions resided at the
Brooklyn Roundhouse. The City of Portland was leasing the roundhouse from its owner,
Union Pacific Railroad (UP), but after the railroad announced plans to demolish the
roundhouse to allow expansion of the
yard, the engines needed to find a new home. The
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, with significant support from the City of Portland, raised funds for a new restoration and visitor center adjacent to the
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, to provide the city's steam locomotives with a permanent and publicly accessible home before the closure of the roundhouse.
Construction of the new
Oregon Rail Heritage Center began in October 2011
and the 700 and the other two locomotives were moved to the site of the new enginehouse and heritage center on June 26, 2012.
They were moved indoors on July 28, once the enginehouse was enclosed. The ORHC opened to the public on September 22, 2012.
Maintenance of the 700 continues to be carried out by the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association and a team of volunteers
.