The Oregon Pony
First Locomotive in the Pacific Northwest

The Oregon Pony, designed and built in 1861 by the Vulcan Iron Foundry 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 short line
strap-rail connection 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.
<< BACK
Andrew Craig Magnuson
Forks, Washington
March 20, 2008
|