2250 SE Water Ave., Portland, Oregon. County/parish: Multnomah.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places January 25, 2006. NRIS 05001557.
1 contributing structure.Also known as:
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" (not purchased used from another railroad) Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway steam locomotive. It was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in May 1938. Nearly identical to the class "A-3" 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 six 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 near Oaks Amusement Park at Oaks Pioneer Park until 1987, then moved to private quarters (the Southern Pacific Roundhouse at Brooklyn Yard) for the continuation of work to restore it to operating condition. It began making occasional excursion runs in 1990. In 2012, the 700 was moved to a new facility where it can again be viewed by the public, the Oregon Rail Heritage Center.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77851209