Gallery
Excursions and Public Displays of the SP&S 700
| 2015 – | Chris McLarney Memorial Train The Oregon Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association organized the Chris McLarney Memorial Train on the afternoon of Sunday, November 29, at 2:00 pm in honor of the late PRPA founder. As is only fitting, the SP&S 700 led the train from the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, current home of the Lady, to Oaks Park, in which she rested when Chris first started dreaming of restoring her to service. Chris's family and close personal friends aboard the train along with trackside members of the public shared in this celebration of Chris's life and accomplishments. Portland, OR November 29 |
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| 2014 – | BNSF Holiday Celebration at Vancouver Terminal The SP&S 700 posed as Santa Claus's 5000 horsepower sleigh again this year, to the delight of the throngs of children (of all ages) waiting in the rain at BNSF's Holiday Celebration. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December 20 |
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| 2014 – | ORHF Holiday Express For the second year in a row, the SP&S 700 pulled ORHF's Holiday Express train for all three weekends of the event. Thousands of visitors enjoyed rides with Santa on the Oregon Pacific line along the Willamette River. Portland, OR November 28-30 and December 5-7 & 12-14 |
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| 2014 – | Lerro Productions Photo Shoot Lerro Productions chartered a photo shoot with the PRPA in the Oregon Pacific yard adjacent to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. PRPA crew led by Engineer Abney put on quite a snappy show for the happily clicking photographers in attendence. Portland, OR October 14 |
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| 2014 – | National Train Day For the second year in a row, the SP&S 700 was the star attraction at Amtrak's National Train Day celebration at Portland Union Station. The Friends of the SP 4449's Traveller's Rest joined us in the consist, and Amtrak, BNSF, and UP all contributed equipment to show off to the public at this popular free event. Unfortunately, in 2015 Train Day was first moved to Salem and then cancelled altogether. Portland, OR May 10 |
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| 2013 – | BNSF Holiday Celebration at Vancouver Terminal The 700 delivered Santa to hundreds of waiting kids at the BNSF Holiday Celebration in Vancouver. The crew was a little worried about burn-out since we were operating the engine for four consecutive weekends for the first time (and during the busy holiday season), but the engine performed admirably and the weather was so fine that the December sun burned away all doubts. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December 21 |
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| 2013 – | ORHF Holiday Express ORHF's Holiday Express excursions returned to the Oregon Pacific for three weekends in November and December. The SP&S 700 lead all the trains on all three weekends, filling in for SP 4449, with which the 700 usually shares this job, while 4449 undergoes its 15 year boiler rebuild. We know that SP 4449 will be returning the favor shortly when the 700 boiler comes due for inspection and rebuild in 2015! Portland, OR Nov 29-30, Dec 1, 6-8, 13-15 |
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| 2013 – | National Train Day For the first time, the SP&S 700 was invited to attend Amtrak's National Train Day celebration at Portland Union Station. The Lady properly wowed the crowd with blasts of the whistle and peaks inside the cab from the Friends of the SP 4449's staircase and view platform. Portland, OR May 11 |
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| 2012 – | BNSF Holiday Celebration at Vancouver Terminal The SP&S 700 brought Santa Claus to BNSF Railway's Holiday Celebration held next to the Amtrak station in Vancouver, WA. The event, formerly held for BNSF employees and their families was opened to the public, resulting in many more attendees. Visitors helped spread the holiday cheer by bringing toys to donate to the USMC's "Toys for Tots" program. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December 15 |
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| 2012 – | ORHF Holiday Express The SP&S 700 supported the primary fundraising event for the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation by taking head end duty on the first of the three weekends of the Holiday Express Trains. Santa, his helpers, and thousands of riders of all ages enjoyed trips aboard vintage railcars along the Willamette River from Oaks Park to near the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland. SP 4449, the 700's stablemate at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, did the honors on the second and third weekends of the event. Portland, OR Nov. 30, Dec. 1 & 2 |
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| 2008 – | BNSF Vancouver Terminal We went to BNSF's yard in Vancouver Friday evening Dec 12 and moved on to the terminal headquarters the next day for their annual holiday celebration. The BNSF Santa Claus arrived in the 700, and then entered the tent to visit with BNSF employees' children. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December 12–13 |
 Matt Baccitich Photo |
| 2008 – | Steaming Through History Train rides out of Oaks Park hosted by the Oregon Pacific Railroad were offered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the completion of the SP&S North Bank Road and the 70th anniversary of the delivery of the SP&S 700. Sellwood neighborhood, Portland, OR June 26–29 |
 Matt Baccitich Photo |
| 2007 – | BNSF Vancouver Terminal We participated in BNSF's annual holiday celebration by once again delivering Santa Claus to the Vancouver terminal headquarters. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December 14–15 |
 David Thompson Photo |
| 2007 – | Outing on the OPR The SP&S 700 headed up 45-minute excursions for Lionel Operating Train Society (LOTS) conventioneers on the Oregon Pacific Railroad from Oaks Park and continued with excursions open to the general public. Sellwood neighborhood, Portland, OR July 12–14 |
 David Thompson Photo |
| 2006 – | Winter Steam The PRPA was asked to pull a short series of excursions for the Oregon Pacific Railroad including a VIP run each day for OPR's shippers and other interested persons. Portland, OR December 22–23 |
 David Thompson Photo |
| 2006 – | BNSF Vancouver Terminal We participated in BNSF's annual holiday celebration again, delivering Santa Claus to the Vancouver terminal headquarters and spreading cheer at Union Station on the way home. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December 15–16 |
 David Thompson Photo |
| 2006 – | Holiday Express ORHF's Holiday Express was pulled by the 700 for one of the two weekends of the event over the Oregon Pacific Railroad from Oaks Amusement Park Station to the Springwater Trail Gateway near OMSI and back. Sellwood neighborhood, Portland, OR December 8–10 |
 David Thompson Photo |
| 2006 – | Salem Safety Faire The SP&S 700 was the featured attraction at the 2006 Salem Safety Faire, with public cab tours available with tickets from the on-site Oregon Operation Lifesaver trailer. The faire took place at Riverfront Park on the tracks of the Portland & Western Railroad. Salem, OR September 2 |
 David Thompson Photo |
| 2006 – | Celebration Excursion at Oaks Park The SP&S 700 lead excursions on the Oregon Pacific from Oaks Park to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its last regular service train, the 'Farewell to Steam' excursion of 1956. Sellwood neighborhood, Portland, OR June 10 |
 Terry Thompson Photo |
| 2005 – | Holiday Express The 1st Holiday Express Train, principal fundraising event for the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) and now an annual tradition for many Portland-area families, was and still is a series of excursions on the Oregon Pacific Railroad between Oaks Park and OMSI along the Springwater Corridor. This first year, the SP&S 700 kicked off the event by pulling trains on the 9th and 10th, with the SP 4449 powering the excursion on the 11th and 16th-18th. Sellwood neighborhood, Portland, OR December 9–10 |
 Terry Thompson Photo |
| 2005 – | NRHS Night Photo Shoot and Roundhouse Tour The National Railroad Historical Society's National Convention was held in Portland and hosted by the Pacific Northwest Chapter. A night photo shoot of the SP 4449 and SP&S 700 was staged from 10pm to 2am, and roundhouse tours were given the following day. Brooklyn roundhouse, Portland, OR July 7 |
 Terry Thompson Photo |
| 2005 – | NRHS Western Star Excursion: Part 1, Part 2 The SP 4449 and SP&S 700 team up to power the NRHS's double-headed, mainline excursion up the Columbia River Gorge to Wishram and back. Portland, OR – Wishram, WA July 6 |
 Ken Storey Photo |
| 2005 – | Salem Safety Faire We were invited to bring the 700 down to Salem, as the magnet for a Safety Faire put on by the Salem Downtown Association. Besides the 700, we also brought the Operation Lifesaver trailer down to do our part of presenting a safety message. Salem, OR May 14 |
 Scott Dally Photo |
| 2004 – | Christmas Train: Part 1, Part 2 BNSF invited us to bring the SP&S 700 over to Vancouver Yard in Washington to add a heritage dimension (SP&S was one of the companies merged into BN in 1970) to their annual holiday employee celebration. This event has since become an almost-annual event for the Lady. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA December |
 Terry Thompson Photo |
| 2002 – | Montana by Steam:
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11 Montana Rockies Rail Tours runs diesel excursions several times a year on the Montana Rail Link (former Northern Pacific) line between Sandpoint, ID and Livingston, MT, but for this excursion they asked the PRPA to pull their train with the 700. The result was our longest excursion and one of our most scenic and successful. Portland, OR – Pasco, WA – Spokane, WA – Sandpoint, ID – Missoula, MT – Helena, MT – Bozeman, MT – Livingston, MT – Billings, MT October 8–23 View additional photos by Ted Curphey and Ed Hofmann as well as on these other sites:
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 Frances Matlock Photo |
| 2002 – | Three Ladies Peek Out of the Roundhouse The three steam engines owned by the City of Portland were pushed out of the Brooklyn roundhouse to help kick-off the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation. Brooklyn roundhouse, Portland, OR October 5 |
 Terry Thompson Photo |
| 2002 – | Test Run for coming Montana Excursion A quick shake-down test run to Hillsboro on the Portland & Western to verify that the major work performed on the 700 was successful. Portland, OR – Hillsboro, OR September 29 |
 Terry Thompson Photo |
| 2001 – | Homecoming Excursion Running the SP&S 700 on her "home rails"—the former Spokane, Portland, & Seattle mainline between Vancouver and Spokane now owned by BNSF—was a re-enactment of scenes repeated daily more than 50 years earlier when the Lady powered the varnish between Portland/Vancouver and Spokane. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA – Pasco, WA – Spokane, WA April 20–23 See additional photos by Yoshitaka Matsuo |
 Ted Curphey Photo |
| 2001 – | Longview Test Run Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA – Longview, WA February 26 |
 Frances Matlock Photo |
| 1999 – | OMSI Holiday Junction A run and display on the Oregon Pacific Railroad near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Portland, OR December 17–23 |
 Matt Baccitich Photo |
| 1999 – | "Taste of Steam" The SP&S 700 ran over the Portland & Western to attend the City of Beaverton's "Taste of Beaverton" Festival. Portland, OR – Beaverton, OR July 17 |
 Matt Baccitich Photo |
| 1999 – | "Rock Train" The Willamette & Pacific railroad invited us to help them in a celebration by pulling a train of VIP coaches from Reed pit to Tonquin pit. Portland, OR – Sherwood, OR May |
 Kyrian Gray Photo |
| 1998 – | PNWR A-Line and Cornelius Pass Runs After bending a radius rod, we repaired the engine and ran a freight test on the A-line and a series of photo run-bys over Portland & Western's Cornelius Pass. Portland, OR – St. Helens, OR – Helvetia, OR September 6-7 |
 Frances Matlock Photo |
| 1998 – | Tualatin Valley Excursions We attended the Tigard train days event, introduced grade schoolers to Operation Lifesaver, and ran a series of two-hour excursions on the Portland & Western between the St. Mary's yard in Hillsboro and Cook Junction in Tigard. Portland, OR – Tigard, OR – Hillsboro, OR September 24-29 |
 Frances Matlock Photo |
| 1991 – | Oregon State Fair Portland, OR – Salem, OR September |
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| 1990 – | Washington Steamfest Portland, OR – Pasco, WA – Kennewick, WA – Yakima, WA – Cle Elum, WA – Prosser, WA October A DVD of this trip is available as item #2 in concessions. View the description here. |
 Randal O'Toole Photo |
| 1990 – | "Return to Steam" The Lady's first publicized run since her restoration. Portland, OR – Vancouver, WA – Wishram, WA June |
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