OR&N 197

Oregon Railroad & Navigation 197
Power type	Steam
Builder	Baldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number	25717
Build date	May 1905
Configuration	4-6-2
UIC classification	2′C1′
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter	77 in (1,956 mm)
Length	79 ft (24.08 m)
Weight on drivers	142,740 lb (64.7 tonnes)
Locomotive weight	241,180 lb (109.4 tonnes)
Fuel type	Oil
Fuel capacity	2,940 US gal (11,100 l; 2,450 imp gal)
Water capacity	9,000 US gal (34,000 l; 7,500 imp gal)
Boiler pressure	200 lbf/in² (1.38 MPa)
Cylinder size	Originally: 17 × 28 in (432 × 711 mm) and 28 × 28 in (711 × 711 mm), As rebuilt: 22 × 28 in (559 × 711 mm) from 1923
Tractive effort	29,920 lbf (133,100 N)
Career	Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co., Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., Union Pacific Railroad
Class	UP: P-2
Number in class	4
Number	197 then 3203
First run	1905
Retired	1957
Disposition	under restoration

Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. 197 is a 4-6-2 Pacific type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1905.

History

OR&N 197 was built in 1905 for pulling passenger trains on E.H. Harriman's Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, a subsidiary to the Union Pacific Railroad in Oregon. It arrived from the builders just in time to celebrate the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. It continued to serve for Portland, Oregon, when in 1923, it was given heavy modifications, a new vanderbuilt type tender, and renumbered 3203; at that time it was owned by Union Pacific. The Union Pacific used the locomotive until its retirement sometime in the 1950s, when UP donated the locomotive to the City of Portland, Oregon. It was placed on display near Oaks Parks Amusements, where it was soon joined by the larger and more powerful 4-8-4 type locomotives Southern Pacific 4449 and Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700.

Restoration

In 1975, the SP 4449 was pulled out of the park to be restored to pull the American Freedom Train which would travel across the country during the United States Bicentennial. In 1990, SP&S 700 left the park to begin a restoration of its own, leaving the 197 the last engine in the park. Due to a parking lot expansion, the 197 was moved a short distance from her original 1950's resting place at Oaks Park. Otherwise she sat almost forgotten until late 1995, when a small group of individuals banded together to consider returning her to operation.

It took several months of negotiations and several more months of mechanical work to prepare the engine for movement, but by early February 1996 she was almost ready to move for the first time in nearly 40 years. On February 10, 1996, she was finally removed from Oaks Park. It was then moved to the Brooklyn Roundhouse where it once again joined SP 4449 and SP&S 700 to begin restoration. The day just happened to coencide with the height of severe flooding in the Portland area after a series of winter storms. The Willamette River was lapping at the embankment where the engine sat. The East Portland Traction Co. (now Oregon Pacific), owner of the nearby railroad right of way had to clear several mudslides the preceding day, but the engine was moved without incident. The 197 was taken to the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) Brooklyn Roundhouse in southeast Portland where she once again sat alongside the SP 4449 and SP&S 700

As of 2008, the restoration is about half complete and is expected to be completed by 2012. It is being restored by the all-volunteer "Friends of the OR&N 197".

Recent Updates: The most recent restoration accomplishments on the 197 are:

• fabrication of new cab
• new fuel tank enclosure
• painted the drivers
• installation of the side rods

Much work has been completed on the tender and plans for boiler work are already being discussed.

Disposition

OR&N 197 and Portland's other two steam locomotives are stored in the last remaining roundhouse in Portland which is located in an active Union Pacific freight yard. Despite being in a crumbling building and prone to damage and theft, plans call for the freight yard in Portland to be expanded to make way for increasing intermodal traffic. This means the roundhouse, turntable and nearby facilities would have to be torn down. Of the three steam locomotives in the roundhouse, the 197 is in the most danger because it is halfway through restoration and half taken apart. The volunteers of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation are committed to building a permanent home and restoration facility for Portland's three steam locomotives.

See also

• Southern Pacific 4449
• Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700

External links

• OR&N 197
• Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation