Dec 5th, 2013 Holiday Express

[xoxoxoBruce]

Christmas spirit in the northwest.

The SP&S 700 engine (a 4-8-4 Baldwin) leads the Holiday Express in Portland, Oregon for all three weekends this year. I took this Saturday night. Normally there is a lot of people standing by the fence but it had begun raining and most had left.

[Lamplighter]

If that is the steam engine that lives in PDX, we know well.

The rail yards are on the other side of downtown, about 8 miles away,
and the sound of the steam whistle carries all the way out to us.

Very nice pic...

[xoxoxoBruce]

It is, retired in 1956 and donated to the city of Portland.

Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is the only surviving example of the E-1 class 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive. Nearly identical to the A-3 class Northerns built for Northern Pacific Railway, but burning oil instead of coal.

[Lamplighter]

OK. But "retired" doesn't mean "inactive"

We moved to PDX in '75, and saw the train cross the Willamette River on a bridge visible from our house.
I remembered it as being painted in somewhat dark colors.
Wikipedia says that in 1975, it went cross-country as the "Freedom Train", looking like this in red/white/blue:



Then we have seen (and heard it) it several more times on the North/South tracks
across the river after it had been painted to these brighter colors:



Maybe it is the way sound moves on the river, but quite honestly that is one LOUD beast.

We hear regular diesels daily, and I guess they are required to sound
their horns as they approach each road crossing.
But those horns are puny compared with the steam/whistle horn.

... plus the sound of the steam engine... makes for an exciting sight.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Hmm, according to Wiki...

After retirement from service in 1956, the SP&S 700 was donated to the City of Portland, Oregon, in 1958. It was on static public display at Oaks Amusement Park until 1987, then moved to private quarters for the continuation of work to restore it to operating condition. It began making occasional excursion runs in 1990.[2] In 2012, the 700 was moved to a new facility where it can again be viewed by the public, the Oregon Rail Heritage Center.

Both the red/white/blue and the orange locomotives have different headlights.

A second freedom train, the American Freedom Train, toured the country in 1975–1976 to commemorate the United States Bicentennial. This 26-car train was powered by three newly restored steam locomotives. The first to pull the train was former Reading Company 4-8-4 #2101. The second was former Southern Pacific 4449, a large 4-8-4 steam locomotive that is still operating in special excursion service today. The third was former Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 #610, which pulled the train in Texas.

[Lamplighter]

Both the red/white/blue and the orange locomotives have different headlights.

I noticed that in the pics and thought mirror images (reversed negatives)

But you're right, I may well have seen different locomotives.