The ''Oregon Pony'' was the first steam locomotive to be built on the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

and the first to be used in the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

. The locomotive, a gauge gear-driven locomotive with cylinders and drivers, was used in the early 1860s to portage steamboat passengers and goods past the

Cascades Rapids The Cascades Rapids (sometimes called Cascade Falls or Cascades of the Columbia) were an area of rapids along North America's Columbia River, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Through a stretch approximately wide, the river dr ...

, a dangerous stretch of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

now drowned by the

Bonneville Dam Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Ore ...

. Steamboats provided transportation on the Columbia between

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and mining areas in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and the

Columbia Plateau The Columbia Plateau is an important geology, geologic and geography, geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington (state), Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range a ...

. Portage was also necessary at other Columbia River navigation obstructions, including

Celilo Falls Celilo Falls (; , meaning "echo of falling water" or "sound of water upon the rocks," in several native languages) was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Range, Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border bet ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Vulcan Iron Works Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several Ironworks, iron foundries in both England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and, in one case, lasting until the mid-20th century. Vulcan (mythology), Vulcan, the Roman god of fir ...

built the wood-burning engine in 1861 for $4,000. The design of the Oregon portage locomotives (three were ordered at the time) used a return flue boiler (with the stack projecting up from the cab roof), an outside frame, and four coupled driving wheels. At least one of the engines of the Market Street Railroad used a near-identical design. Weighing only and only long, the ''Oregon Pony'' arrived in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in 1862 on the steamer ''Pacific'', and made its initial run on May 10, 1862, with engineer Theodore A. Goffe at the throttle, who had supervised her construction and assembly. It replaced flat cars running on rails, equipped with benches for passengers and pulled by mules for over iron-reinforced wooden rails for the

Oregon Portage Railroad The Oregon Portage Railroad was the first railroad in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was located on the south bank of the Cascades canal of the Columbia River. The railroad originally ran from Tanner Creek (near where Bonneville Dam was later bu ...

. Shortly after the ''Oregon Pony'' was put into service, canopies were added to protect the passengers and their goods from the smoke emitted down as the locomotive operated. The engine moved nearly 200 tons a day on the rail route between the Cascades and Bonneville. Portage owners Ruckel and Olmstead received $20 per ton for transporting freight from one end of their portage to the other. Forty cubic feet by measurement counted as one ton. There is no record of when the two larger Oregon Ponies built by the Vulcan Iron Works arrived, or which of the three portage railroads they were initially assigned to, the Oregon side at The Cascades, the Washington side at The Cascades, or the section on the Oregon side upriver, between The Dalles and Celilo Falls. It is believed these two locomotives were named "Ann" and "Betsy". The various accounts all show April 1863 as the completion date for all three portage railroads. The railway was bought by

Oregon Steam Navigation Company The Oregon Steam Navigation Company (O.S.N.) was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen. It was incorporated in Washington because of a lack of corporate laws in ...

(OSN). April 20, 1863 was the date the “Oregon Pony” made its last run on the Cascades portage. The company consolidated its Cascades rail portage monopoly on the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

side of the Columbia River and moved the ''Oregon Pony'' on May 11, 1863, to

The Dalles The Dalles ( ;) formally the City of the Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port, the county seat of and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the large ...

, where it may have been used for portages around

. There is no evidence that the “Pony” ever actually operated on the Celilo portage. In 1866, OSN sold the locomotive (for $2,000) to the Steam Paddy Company and it was shipped out of Portland on the Steamship Montana on October 18, 1866. It was returned to San Francisco for work filling and grading the streets of that city. It worked there until 1873, thereafter being stored in a warehouse. After the ''Oregon Pony'' was damaged in a 1904 warehouse fire, the owner, David Hewes, partially restored it and donated it to the

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the State of Oregon, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, pres ...

in Portland, Oregon. Col. Henry Dosch of Portland worked as a timekeeper for Hewes in San Francisco and discovered the “Oregon Pony” in use there. He was instrumental in having it brought to Portland for exhibition at the Lewis and Clark Fair in 1905. It was displayed at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition and afterward at the Albina Railyard. In 1931, the ''Oregon Pony'' was moved to Portland

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

when a suitable pedestal was erected in front of the recently remodeled station. It was repainted, and displayed outside. It was borrowed by the Cenaqua Celebration at Vancouver, Wash. From August 7 to 13, 1950. It was returned to

Cascade Locks Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city got its name from Cascade Locks and Canal, a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U. ...

in 1970. The Port of

funded a 1981 restoration (back to its 1905 appearance; restored by Gales Creek Enterprises) and built a permanent, covered display. This restoration replaced the 1904 wooden timber frame and canopy, and was thorough and complete, but did not result in an operating artifact. The ''Oregon Pony'' is currently owned by the

State of Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and is preserved in a climate controlled exhibition chamber next to the Cascade Locks Historical Museum at the Marine Park, Cascade Locks. In February 2016, ''

Trains Magazine ''Trains'' is a monthly magazine about trains and railroads aimed at railroad enthusiasts and railroad industry employees. The magazine primarily covers railroad happenings in the United States and Canada, but has some articles on railroading e ...

'' reported that the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

donated $10,000 for shelter restoration for the ''Oregon Pony''.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline Oregon Territory History of Washington (state) Columbia River Columbia River Gorge Vulcan Iron Works locomotives Preserved steam locomotives of Oregon Individual locomotives of the United States

References

Further reading

External links