Oregon Rail Heritage Center seeks funds to complete turntable project

PORTLAND, Ore.  — The Oregon Rail Heritage Center, home of three significant steam locomotives, is seeking funding to complete restoration of the nearly century-old Brooklyn Turntable, rescued from the former Brooklyn yard in southeast Portland. The roundhouse at that yard was the home of the center’s locomotives — Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449, the former Freedom Train locomotive; Spokane, Portland & Seattle 4-8-4 No. 700; and Oregon Railway & Navigation 4-6-2 No. 197 — until the Center opened in 2012.

Restoration of the turntable began last year, led by legendary rail preservationist Doyle McCormack. Built in 1924 by the American Bridge Company, the turntable is getting new bracing, trucks, and motors, and has been sandblasted back to its original luster. The 100-foot-long steel bridge, sunken track and pivot base will span a structurally reinforced pit in the Center’s front yard.

Generous donors have contributed more than $2 million, nearly 70% of the $3.05 million project. When complete, the Brooklyn Turntable will be one of only a few operating turntables available for public viewing and inspection. It will become the focal point of the Center’s entrance and the crown jewel of the intersection of past and present at the Center’s location—a triangular site bordered by mainline Union Pacific tracks, Portland’s MAX light rail and streetcar lines, and a bicycle/pedestrian connection to the city’s newest Willamette River bridge, the transit/bike/walking-only Tilikum Crossing.

The restored Brooklyn Turntable will make it easier for volunteer railroaders at ORHC’s working museum to move locomotives and rail cars around the property. It will also eliminate the need, and considerable cost, of steaming up the engines and running them to North Portland to be turned around.

The project is slated for completion in 2022. The Oregon Rail Heritage Center, about $1 million away from realizing its dream, continues reaching out to potential donors nationwide.Donations to the turntable project can be made online at www.orhf.org or by sending a check to the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, Turntable Project, 2250 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR, 97214. All donations are tax deductible.