My son is completely nuts over trains. He has t-shirts with trains, wooden trains, plastic trains, a train rug, a train hat, DVDs about trains, and at times he wakes up in the night talking about his dreams of trains. And so, I did what any responsible father would do, I took him to the newly opened Oregon Rail Heritage Center where they have several locomotives on display.
When we stepped through the doors of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, we could hear the sounds of the volunteer staff restoring their oldest locomotive, the OR&N 197. The two operating steam locomotives were at the front of the room and several volunteers were sharing details about the trains with visitors. It was neat to see the restoration taking place and to get up and close with the gigantic engines. You really have to see them in person to appreciate just how huge the trains are and to appreciate the engineering that went into their creation.
When we visited, there were four locomotives inside and two outside the building. The trains get moved around the property as the restorations progress, so be sure to walk around inside and outside to see everything. Near the edge of the property, we found the train set that is used during the annual holiday train rides. My son had fun checking out the cars and walking along the train rails.
The Oregon Rail Heritage Center is in a great location because of its proximity to OMSI and the Portland Streetcar. The Union Pacific’s rail lines (which Amtrak also uses) run right past the building, so you often hear the trains and their horns. During our visit, one of Union Pacific trains honked at the diesel engine warming up outside. The volunteer honked right back at him, much to the delight of my son.
The Oregon Rail Heritage Center is located near OMSI at 2250 SE Water Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97214. There is a small parking lot under the 99E viaduct at SE Caruthers St. and SE Grand Ave. There is a lot of construction nearby for the new light rail, so be careful when driving in the area. Admission is free, but donations are greatly appreciated since that is what keeps the lights on. It is typically open Thursday – Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.
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Little boys and their trains seem to go together. My son is completely nuts about trains too. It looks like this was a lot of fun! I take my son to the museum here in town so he can look at an old train (and get to climb all over it….) Truthfully, I think I like looking at the trains as much as he does….
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders
It is fair to say we both had a lot of fun looking at the trains. It was really neat to see the restorations in process and to take my son up to the train’s cab for a look.