No. 4449 was built by Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio for the Southern Pacific Railroad in May 1941; it received SP's signature red-and-orange Daylight paint scheme for the passenger trains of the same name which it hauled for most of its service career. No. 4449 was retired from revenue service in 1956 and donated to the City of Portland, Oregon in 1958. The city then put the locomotive on static display near Oaks Amusement Park at "Oaks Pioneer Park", where it remained until 1974.
The locomotive's operations are now based at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, Oregon where it is maintained by a non-profit group of volunteers named "The Friends of SP 4449". In 1983, a poll of Trains magazine readers selected No. 4449 as being the most popular locomotive in the United States.[3]
History
Revenue service
No. 4449's replica builder's plate and American Freedom Train plaque
No. 4449 was the last member of the Southern Pacific Railroad's (SP) first order of GS-4 locomotives. No. 4449 was placed into service on May 30, 1941, and spent its early career assigned to the Coast Daylight, Southern Pacific's premier passenger train between San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, but it also pulled many other of the SP's named passenger trains.
After the arrival of newer GS-4s and GS-5s, No. 4449 was assigned to Golden State Route and Sunset Route passenger trains. 4449 was reassigned to the Coast Division in the early 1950s.
On October 17, 1954, No. 4449 and sister locomotive No. 4447 pulled a special Railway and Locomotive Historical Society excursion from Los Angeles to Owenyo, California, and return.[4] In late 1955, after being one of the last few Daylight steam engines in Daylight livery, No. 4449 was painted black and silver and its side skirting (a streamlining feature of the Daylight steam engines) was removed, as no longer needed due to dieselization of the Coast Daylight in January of that year.[5]
No. 4449 was then assigned to Southern Pacific's San Joaquin Valley line, occasionally pulling passenger trains such as the San Joaquin Daylight between Oakland and Bakersfield as well as fast freight and helper service.[6] No. 4449 was semi-retired from service on September 24, 1956, and was kept as an emergency back-up locomotive until it was officially retired on October 2, 1957, and was stored along with several other GS-class engines at Southern Pacific's Bakersfield roundhouse.[5]
On display
In 1958, when most of the GS class engines had already been scrapped, No. 4449 was removed from storage and donated to the City of Portland, Oregon on April 24, 1958, where it was placed on outdoor public display near Oaks Park at "Oaks Pioneer Park".[7] No. 4449 was not specifically chosen for static display, rather, it was picked only because it was one of the desired 4000 series locomotives and the first in the deadline and could be removed with the fewest switching moves.[citation needed]
While on display at "Oaks Pioneer Park", No. 4449 was repeatedly vandalized and had many of its external parts stolen, including its builder's plates and whistle.[8] As a result, the locomotive quickly deteriorated. However, Jack Holst, a Southern Pacific employee and member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, looked after SP No. 4449 along with two other steam locomotives, Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 and Oregon Railroad and Navigation 197. Holst kept the engines' bearings and rods oiled in case they were ever to move again. Holst passed away in 1972 and did not get to see his efforts come to fruition with No. 4449 returning to operation three years later in the spring of 1975.[9]
American Freedom Train
In 1974, No. 4449 was evaluated for restoration after becoming a candidate to pull the American Freedom Train, as its size, power and streamlining made it a good fit for that Bicentennial train. After the evaluators determined that 4449's bearings and rods remained in good condition, they selected the locomotive for that task.
No. 4449 was removed from display on December 13, 1974, and restored at the Burlington Northern Railroad's Hoyt Street roundhouse in Portland. The locomotive returned to operation on April 21, 1975, wearing a special paint scheme of red, white and blue.[10]
As part of the 1975-1976 bicentennial American Freedom Train, No. 4449 pulled the display train through most of the contiguous United States.[10][11] The 4449 only pulled the Freedom Train in the Western portions of the country, whereas in the Eastern portions of the train were pulled by Reading 2101, which had recently been restored by Ross Rowland, and in Texas the train was pulled by Texas and Pacific 610. The 4449 pulled the American Freedom train for a total of 82 of 138 stops, in 38 states, for the bicentennial event.
After the Freedom Tour ended, No. 4449 pulled an Amtrak special, the Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursion during 1977. After nearly two years on the road, 4449 was returned to storage in Portland, this time under protective cover and not exposed to the elements.[12]
1980s
In 1981, SP 4449 was returned to its original "Daylight" colors for Railfair '81 and the opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, along with UP 8444 and UP 3985.[12] Prior to this trip, a Southern Pacific 6 chime whistle from a Cab forward type locomotive was mounted on the fireman's side and would remain on the locomotive throughout most trips in the 1980s. In 1984, 4449 pulled an all-Daylight-painted train from Portland via Los Angeles to New Orleans, Louisiana and back, to publicize the World's Fair, with UP 8444 there too. The 7,477-mile (12,033km) round trip was the longest steam train excursion in the history of the United States.[13] However, this trip was not flawless. On June 11, No. 4449 was approaching Del Rio, Texas, still on its way to New Orleans, when the retention plate that holds the draw-bar pin in place somehow disconnected and fell in between the ties, allowing the tender and the entire consist to uncouple, while the locomotive accelerated all by itself. Fortunately, Doyle noticed this after checking the rear-view mirror and quickly applied the brakes. The locomotive backed-up, the fallen parts were recovered, the connections were quickly repaired, and No. 4449 and its consist proceeded to run only slightly behind schedule.
In 1986, No. 4449 went to Hollywood to appear in Tough Guys and pulled business trains for the Southern Pacific.[14] 4449 had a notable moment in 1989 when it and another famed locomotive, Union Pacific 844, made a side-by-side entrance into Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in 1989 for the station's 50th-anniversary celebrations.[15] The two locomotives then ran side by side on Santa Fe's and Southern Pacific's parallel main lines through Cajon Pass,[15] although 4449 eventually had to stop due to an axle hot box.
1990s
On April 26, 1991, No. 4449 returned to Railfair '91 in Sacramento, again with UP 844 and UP 3985 and the newly restored Southern Pacific 2472. It attended the next year's NRHS Convention in San Jose with No. 2472 and Union Pacific 3985.[16] On this trip, 4449 carried a member's Star Brass 5 chime whistle off a CB&Q M-4 class locomotive on the fireman's side.
The locomotive would return to Railfair once again in 1999, co-starring with Santa Fe 3751 and Union Pacific's 844 and 3985. This was the last time she traversed the route of the Shasta Daylight, whose tracks are now owned by the Union Pacific.
2000s
In 2000, No. 4449 was repainted black and silver for a Burlington Northern Santa Fe employee appreciation special. It was traditional for Southern Pacific to paint freight locomotives in black, and 4449 and other GS locomotives received this treatment when the diesels took over their passenger assignments. In the case of BNSF, a Class 1 freight carrier, No. 4449 was given old historical treatment. BNSF C44-9W No.4449 was lashed in to provide dynamic brakes when descending down grades. Many railfans agree it was rather humorous for BNSF to choose C44-9W No. 4449 as the dynamic brake unit given its shared cab number with the 4-8-4. Following the BNSF special, the BNSF emblems were removed and "Southern Pacific Lines" was added to the tender, a reminder of when No. 4449 was repainted to black with SP lettering in late 1955. No. 4449 was originally planned to remain in the black scheme for a few years. However, plans changed following the 9/11 attacks.
No. 4449 was repainted into the American Freedom Train paint scheme again in early 2002, after the events of the September 11 attacks.[17] In the fall of 2004, No. 4449 returned to the classic Daylight paint scheme, this time in its "as-delivered" appearance.[18] It appeared in the autumn of 2004 with the then-extant Montana Rockies Rail Tours company, pulling (with a diesel helper behind it) two summer excursion trips between Sandpoint, Idaho and Billings, Montana, including stops at the Livingston Depot.
SP 4449 with UP 844 on the Puget Sound Steam Special in 2007
On May 18 and May 19, 2007, SP 4449 made another appearance with UP 844 in the Pacific Northwest for the "Puget Sound Excursion", on BNSF Railway tracks from Tacoma to Everett, Washington, round-trip.
On March 24, 2009, it was announced that No. 4449 would attend Trainfestival 2009 in Owosso, Michigan from July 23–26 with an all-day excursion planned on the 23rd and 24th and a photo run-by planned for each trip. The engine was then placed on display for the rest of the event.
The historic 2,500-mile move from Portland to Owosso was arranged by the Friends of the 4449, Amtrak, Steam Railroading Institute of Owosso and the Friends of the 261. The Milwaukee Road 261 organization loaned some of its first-class passenger cars, including the former Milwaukee Road Super Dome #53 and the Cedar Rapids Skytop Lounge to join the 4449 and for other excursion trains at the festival.
Following a two-year hiatus needed to accommodate the locomotive's mandatory 15-year inspection and overhaul, SP 4449 returned to service on November 25, 2015.[19] From 2016 to 2019, SP 4449 pulled several excursion trains during each year.[20] In late 2019, the locomotive was scheduled to haul the annual 40-minute round-trip Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation "Holiday Express" fundraiser trains through the Springwater Corridor and along Portland's Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, along the Willamette River, during November and December of that year.[21]
Due to its long rigid wheelbase and heavy weight, which were determined to cause excessive wear to the Oregon Pacific Railroad tracks being used, No. 4449 and stablemate SP&S No. 700 no longer pull the annual Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation Holiday Express trains. Another locomotive was substituted in 2022, and the trains will be pulled by a smaller locomotive for the foreseeable future.[22][23] As of 2024, 4449 is usually housed inside the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, only fired up on occasion.[23]
Preservation and maintenance
Since 1991, the SP 4449 is maintained by the volunteer non-profit group "The Friends of SP 4449", including Doyle McCormack, a retired Union Pacific engineer and locomotive collector.[24] From 1981 to 2012, No. 4449 resided at Union Pacific's (formerly Southern Pacific) Brooklyn roundhouse in Portland, along with several other historic steam and diesel locomotives.[25] The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, a partnership of non-profit organizations that owned or maintained historic rolling stock at the roundhouse, began a campaign in late 2009 to construct a permanent, publicly-accessible engine house for the City of Portland's steam locomotives.
Upon the closing of the Brooklyn Roundhouse in June 2012, in order to make the yard larger, the 4449 was moved with its stablemates SP&S 700 and OR&N 197 to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC), a new restoration facility and public accessible center near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in southeast Portland. The ORHC opened to the public on September 22, 2012.[26][27]
Other surviving locomotives
Only one other true Southern Pacific GS-class steam engine survives: Southern Pacific 4460, a GS-6, which is on static display at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri.[28] It was built during World War II. The GS-6 locomotives were never painted in the Daylight scheme, and were nicknamed "War Babies" and "Black Daylights". In preservation, 4460 has been referred to as the "Forgotten Daylight", due to her not running since the 1950s and seemingly in the shadow of its sister engine.
Film appearances
4449 pulled the Gold Coast Flyer train for Tough Guys, a 1986 film starring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. The creators built a full-size wooden replica of the locomotive for the crash scene along with a scale model.[29]
4449's Daylight skirts (flat side panels) were removed again for its appearance in Come See the Paradise, a 1990 World War II film directed by Alan Parker. The locomotive and tender were given a coat of "false grime" to give the impression of coal soot when despite 4449 actually being an oil burner.
4449 was fitted with an IMAX camera in 2018, to be filmed for the IMAX film Train Time, directed by famed IMAX film director, Stephen Low.[30]
SP 4449 pulling the American Freedom Train in Georgia in 1976
SP 4449 stops in Georgia in 1976 while pulling the American Freedom Train
Ira Leamon Wilson, the engineer
SP 4449 in the Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursion crossing the Sacramento River bridge at Redding, CA, on April 29, 1977, while returning to Portland, Oregon
SP No. 4449 and Pere Marquette 1225 attending the Owosso Train Festival in 2009
The Southern Pacific was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Milwaukee Road (MILW). It was used for heavy mainline freight and passenger work until being retired by the MILW in 1956.
The Coast Daylight, originally known as the Daylight Limited, was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful passenger train in the world," carrying a particular red, orange, and black color scheme. The train operated from 1937 until 1974, being retained by Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak merged it with the Coast Starlight in 1974.
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 3751 is a class "3751" 4-8-4 "Heavy Mountain" type steam locomotive built in May 1927 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). No. 3751 was the first 4-8-4 steam locomotive built for the Santa Fe and was referenced in documentation as type: "Heavy Mountain", "New Mountain", or "Mountain 4-wheel trailer". No. 3751 served in passenger duties until being retired in 1953.
Union Pacific 844 is a class "FEF-3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad for its heritage fleet. Built in December 1944 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, No. 844 is one of four surviving FEF series locomotives and the only one in operation.
The Southern Pacific GS-4 is a class of semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1941 to 1958. A total of 28 locomotives were built by Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio, with the first batch of 20 built between March and May 1941, while the second batch of eight were built between March and April 1942. The initials GS stands for Golden State or General Service.
The GS-5 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1942 to 1958. A total of two were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4458 and 4459. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
The GS-3 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1938 to 1957. A total of fourteen were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4416 through 4429. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
The GS-2 was a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1937 to 1958. A total of six were built by the Lima Locomotive Works, numbered 4410 through 4415. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."
Southern Pacific 4460 is the only surviving class "GS-6" steam locomotive, together with "GS-4" class Southern Pacific 4449, which is operational in excursion service. The GS-6 is a semi-streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service". The locomotive was built by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1943. The GS-6 lacked side skirting and red and orange "Daylight" paint found on previous locomotives of the GS class and were painted black and silver instead. The War Production Board controlled locomotive manufacturers during World War II and had turned down Southern Pacific's order of fourteen new Daylight locomotives in 1942. Southern Pacific re-designed the new fleet based on the older GS-2s, only with 260 psi instead of 300 psi, an all-weather cab, and a new GS-4 style tender. The design was finally approved, but the War Production Board reassigned four to the smaller and power-starved Western Pacific Railroad. Their smaller size when compared to previous GS class locomotives and the fact that they were built during World War II earned them the nicknames "War Babies".
Texas and Pacific 610, also known as Will Rogers, is a historic steam locomotive. It is the only surviving example of the Texas and Pacific Railway's (T&P) class I-1AR 2-10-4 "Texas" type locomotives. Built by the Lima Locomotive Works in June 1927, No. 610 and its class were based on Lima's prototype "Super Power" 2-8-4 design, and the T&P rostered them to pull fast and heavy freight trains.
Southern Pacific 2472 is a P-8 Class 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1921. No. 2472 is one of three surviving Southern Pacific P-8 class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives, the other two being Nos. 2467 and 2479. The 4-6-2 designation means it has four leading wheels, six driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. The locomotive was used by the Southern Pacific Railroad to haul passenger trains until being retired in 1957. The locomotive was then donated to San Mateo County and placed on static display at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds. After being restored to operational condition in the early 1990s, the locomotive would pull excursion trains on the Niles Canyon Railway until being retired in 2015. The No. 2472 was then moved to the Northwest Pacific Railroad, where it is as of 2023, undergoing its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) mandated 1,472 day inspection and overhaul.
Southern Pacific 5021 is an SP-2 class 4-10-2 steam locomotive built in 1926 by ALCO at their Schenectady, New York, shops. It is the only member of this class of SP locomotives to be preserved, and it is one of only five three-cylinder locomotives preserved in North America.
Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is the oldest and only surviving example of the class "E-1" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive and the only surviving "original" Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway steam locomotive. It was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in May 1938. Nearly identical to the class "A-3" Northerns built for Northern Pacific Railway, it burns oil instead of coal.
Samtrak was a heritage railroad that operated in Oregon from 1993 to 2001.
Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co. 197 is a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1905 for the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N). Since the OR&N was controlled by E.H. Harriman at the time, this locomotive bears a strong resemblance to Southern Pacific locomotives of the same era, since the Southern Pacific was another E.H. Harriman controlled railroad. It has been owned by the City of Portland since 1958, and since mid-2012 it resides at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center where it can be viewed by the public.
The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) is a registered non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Composed of a partnership of several all-volunteer non-profit groups dedicated to maintaining regional vintage railroad equipment, the ORHF was initially formed "to secure a permanent home for the City of Portland's steam locomotives, preserve the Brooklyn Roundhouse, and establish a Rail and Industrial Heritage Museum.”
The Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC) is a railway museum in Portland, Oregon. Along with other rolling stock, the museum houses three steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland: Southern Pacific 4449, Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700, and Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. 197, the first two of which are restored and operable. The center opened to the public on September 22, 2012. The project to establish the center was led by the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF), a non-profit organization, which was renamed from the Oregon Heritage Steam Foundation in 2002. The non-profit Oregon Steam Heritage Foundation was formed in 2000. The museum site is in Southeast Portland.
The Southern California Railway Museum, formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before moving to the former Pinacate Station as the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum" in 1958. It was renamed "Orange Empire Railway Museum" in 1975 after merging with a museum then known as the California Southern Railroad Museum, and adopted its current name in 2019. The museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds and on a right of way into Downtown Perris, CA.
Mount Emily Lumber Company No. 1 is a three-truck or 'Class C' Shay steam locomotive that was originally owned by the Mount Emily Lumber Company. It was built in 1923 by the Lima Locomotive Works and delivered to Lima's Seattle dealer, Hofius Steel and Equipment Company of Seattle, Washington. It was later sold to the Independence Logging Company of Independence, Washington, and then it was later sold to the Mount Emily Lumber Company of La Grande, Oregon. When it was retired in 1955, it was donated to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Three years later, in 1958, it was donated to the Oregon Historical Society of Portland, Oregon. The engine was operational at Cass Scenic Railroad and the City of Prineville Railroad for many years. It was announced in 2022 that the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation would be the new owners of No. 1.
↑ "SP 4449 News and Recent Events". SP 4449. Portland, Oregon: Friends of SP 4449 Inc. 2019. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
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