The Oregon Pony

The Oregon Pony, designed and built in 1861 by the Vulcan Iron Works in San Francisco, was the first locomotive built on the west coast and the first locomotive to operate in the Pacific Northwest. On May 10, 1862, the Oregon Portage Railroad first began operating the Oregon Pony along the south side of the Columbia River on a 4½-mile strap-rail portage between river traffic above and below the Cascade Rapids. Later that same year, the Oregon Portage Railroad was purchased by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. The plaque on the side of the cab states the following information. “The first locomotive on the Pacific Coast, donated to the Oregon Historical Society in trust for the State of Oregon by David Hewes of San Francisco, California”. The other plaque, in the foreground, states the following information. “The Oregon Pony, First Locomotive in the Pacific Northwest. This engine operated in 1862 and 1863 in freight and passenger service on the first Oregon railroad, on the southern bank of the Columbia River between Bonneville and Cascade Locks”. When the above scene was photographed about 1942, the Oregon Pony was on display at Union Station in Portland, Oregon. The Oregon Pony is now on display inside a weatherproof glassed enclosure by the Cascade Locks Historical Museum.

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Andrew Craig Magnuson
Forks, Washington
March 20, 2008