Portland museum lands historic train, plans to give rides soon

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation has acquired a 102-year-old steam engine from the Oregon Historical Society, which it hopes to use for future train rides between its museum in Southeast Portland and Oaks Amusement Park.

Portland museum lands historic train, plans to give rides soon© Provided by KOIN Portland ORHF President Roy Hemmingway announced Friday that “Mount Emily Shay” will be transferred to the foundation’s rail yard after nearly 30 years of service on the City of Prineville Railway.”The Mount Emily Shay will allow the Oregon Rail Heritage Center to show the public the important role logging railroads played in the development of the timber industry in Oregon,” Hemmingway said. “Specialty locomotives like the Shay, which could operate on steep and rough track, were able to access timber not available by other means Shays were key to bringing logs to the mills and developing Oregon’s timber economy.”

Mount Emily Shay still chugs along after more than 100 years of service. | Photo courtesy: Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation© Provided by KOIN Portland. The locomotive was a celebrated local asset in Prineville, where it was used for class field trips, the Crooked River Dinner Train and annual rides on the Fourth of July, the Central Oregonian reports. However, after several years of declining use, the City of Prineville decided to end its loan agreement with the Oregon Historical Society. Mount Emily Shay has changed hands many times in its rich history. Built at the Lima Locomotive Works in Ohio in the 1920s, the geared steam locomotive was originally purchased by the Hofus Steel & Equipment Company in Seattle, Washington. The train engine was then sold to the Independence Logging Company in Independence, Washington, before it was sold again to the Mount Emily Lumber Company, in La Grande, Oregon, which ultimately gave the engine its name.