Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co. 197 is a

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

" type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

in 1905 for the

Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...

(OR&N). It has been owned by the City of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

since 1958, and since mid-2012 it resides at the

Oregon Rail Heritage Center The Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC) is a railway museum in Portland, Oregon. Along with other rolling stock, the museum houses three steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland: Southern Pacific 4449, Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700, and ...

where it can be viewed by the public.

Revenue service (1905-1958)

OR&N 197 was built in 1905 for pulling passenger trains on E.H. Harriman's

, a subsidiary to the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

in Oregon. The locomotive was first built as a Vauclain Compound along with her four other classmates, those being 194, 195, and 196. 197 arrived from the builders just in time to celebrate the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. It continued to serve for

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, when in 1923, it and its classmates were given heavy modifications that included a new Vanderbilt-type tender. All four members were renumbered Union Pacific 3200-3203, with 197 becoming 3203; at that time, the OR&N was owned by Union Pacific. The

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

used the locomotive until its retirement in January 1958, when UP donated the locomotive to the City of

. It was placed on display near

Oaks Amusement Park Oaks Park is a small amusement park located south of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The park opened in May 1905 and is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the country. The park includes midway games, about tw ...

, where it was soon joined by the larger and more powerful

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type w ...

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

" type locomotives

Southern Pacific 4449 Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of Southern Pacific Railroad's " GS-4" class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives and one of only two GS-class locomotives surviving, the other being " GS-6 ...

and

Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is the oldest and only surviving example of the class " E-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive and the only surviving original Spokane, Portland and Seattle steam locomotive. It was built by the Baldwin Locomo ...

First retirement (1958-1995)

In 1975, the SP 4449 was pulled out of the park to be restored to pull the

American Freedom Train Two national Freedom Trains have toured the United States: the 1947–49 special exhibit Freedom Train and the 1975–76 American Freedom Train which celebrated the United States Bicentennial. Each train had its own special red, white and blue p ...

which would travel across the country during the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

. In 1987, SP&S 700 left the park to begin a restoration of its own, leaving the 197 the last engine in the park. The locomotive can be briefly seen in the 1993 movie

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures ...

, while it was sat on display near

. Due to a parking lot expansion, the 197 was moved a short distance from its original 1950s resting place at Oaks Park. Otherwise, it sat almost forgotten until late 1995, when a small group of individuals banded together to consider returning the locomotive to operation.

First restoration career (1996-present)

It took several months of negotiations and several more months of mechanical work to prepare the engine for movement, but by early February 1996 the 197 was almost ready to move for the first time in nearly 40 years. On February 10, 1996, it was finally removed from Oaks Park. It was then moved to the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

(now

) Brooklyn Roundhouse, where it once again joined SP 4449 and SP&S 700 to begin restoration. That day just happened to coincide 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 Railroad), owner of the nearby railroad right-of-way, had to clear several mudslides the preceding day, but the engine was moved without incident. As of 2008, the restoration was about half complete and was expected to be completed by 2012. It is being carried out by the all-volunteer "Friends of the OR&N 197". Until 2012, OR&N 197 and

's other two

s were stored in the last remaining roundhouse in

which was located in an active Union Pacific freight yard, the Brooklyn yard. After UP announced plans to close the Brooklyn Roundhouse, in order to expand the freight yard to facilitate increasing intermodal traffic, the non-profit

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 s ...

was formed to develop plans, and raise funds, to build a permanent home and restoration facility for

's three

s. Construction of the

(ORHC) began in October 2011. On June 26, 2012, Brooklyn Roundhouse ceased operations with three steam locomotives moving to the new site, and in early September the shelter was torn down and the turntable was removed. The ORHC opened to the public on September 22, 2012. As of 2022 OR&N 197 is still in the

being restored to operating condition.

References

External links

Friends of OR&N 197
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon Railroad and Navigation 0197 4-6-2 locomotives Baldwin locomotives 3203 Individual locomotives of the United States Rail transportation in Oregon Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1905 Preserved steam locomotives of Oregon