The restored historic Southern Pacific 4449 steam locomotive on the reinstalled Brooklyn Turntable outside the Oregon Rail Heritage Center before the dedication ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 14. The replica operator's shack is visible just left of the front of the locomotive.
An overhead view from the Southeast MLK Jr. Viaduct shows just how large the Brooklyn Turntable holding the Southern Pacific 4449 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center is. Material Transfer Car
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation President Rick Franklin speaks to more than 100 supporters and rail enthusiasts at the dedication of the Brooklyn Turntable project on Saturday, Oct. 14.
The restored Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is one of three historic steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center near OMSI.
Oregon Rail Heritage Center volunteer Dale Burkholz inside the replica operator's shack built by volunteer woodworker Phil Barney to run the Brooklyn Turntable.
The restored historic Southern Pacific 4449 steam locomotive on the reinstalled Brooklyn Turntable outside the Oregon Rail Heritage Center before the dedication ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 14. The replica operator's shack is visible just left of the front of the locomotive.
An overhead view from the Southeast MLK Jr. Viaduct shows just how large the Brooklyn Turntable holding the Southern Pacific 4449 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center is.
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation President Rick Franklin speaks to more than 100 supporters and rail enthusiasts at the dedication of the Brooklyn Turntable project on Saturday, Oct. 14.
The restored Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is one of three historic steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center near OMSI.
Oregon Rail Heritage Center volunteer Dale Burkholz inside the replica operator's shack built by volunteer woodworker Phil Barney to run the Brooklyn Turntable.
Portland train history was remade outside the Oregon Rail Heritage Center near OMSI on Saturday, Oct. 14. The massive historic Southern Pacific 4449 steam locomotive rotated on the nearly 100-year-old Brooklyn Turntable for the first time in 11 years, thanks to a $4 million restoration project largely driven by local volunteer train enthusiasts.
In train terminology, a turntable is a large, in-ground device for turning steam locomotives around in one spot so they can go back the way they came or on to adjoining rail lines because they cannot back up. The SP 4449 was last on the turntable in 2012, when it was driven out of the Brooklyn Yard Roundhouse maintenance building in Southeast Portland on the way to its new home. The turntable was then dismantled, moved to the center, stored, restored, and, finally, installed in front of the nonprofit center.
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Jim Redden is a reporter based in Portland, Ore.
The project at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Southeast Portland is on track for September dedication.
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