Gallery
PNWR A-Line and Cornelius Pass Runs
The 700 left the Brooklyn Roundhouse on August 21 bound for Linnton (northwest of Portland on the Portland & Western Railroad's (PNWR)former BN "A-Line" to Astoria) to run some excursions. We bent a radius rod, however, and the engine had to be toed to a siding while we machined and installed a new one. This was accomplished after a great effort in under 8 days.
On the 29th, we steamed up the 700 and pulled a 31-car freight to St. Helens, making some set-outs en route. Then on the September 7 we ran the engine up over Cornelius Pass on the former United Railways line as far as Helvetia. Both the A-line and United Railways were operated by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle, so the tracks traversed would have been home rails for the 700 when she was in active service, though the Lady was a mainline engine and would not have been assigned to these branch lines.
The trestle over Dick Road, near Bowers Jct., is the highlight of the very rugged route over Cornelius Pass, which is easily one of the most scenic routes near Portland. Photo by Frances Matlock