Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company

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This page was last updated on July 12, 2015.

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Steam Locomotive Roster Notes

These rosters are based on material compiled by Gordon McCulloh, Allen Copeland, and Greg Davies.

Timeline

ORy&N - ORR&N - OWRR&N Timeline

Date Vacated

The Union Pacific System used the term "vacated" when referring to the date a locomotive was dropped from the active roster for disposal, usually by scrapping by the railroad itself. In later years some locomotives were sold for scrap. If a locomotive was sold for further use, that term is shown and the new owner indicated, along with whatever information is known on the later history of the locomotive.

Specifications

Specifications for locomotives still in service after 1926 are taken from Locomotive and Tender Diagrams, Oregon-Washington Railroad And Navigation Company, updated through February 1929, and from Oregon And Washington Railroad, updated through 1928. (Collection of Gordon McCulloh)

Numbering, Renumbering, and Relettering

ORy&N and its successor companies ORR&N and O-WRR&N, had at least two semi-independent numbering schemes. The first was ORy&N's initial scheme dating from 1879 when the company was organized. In 1887 ORy&N was leased to UP subsidiary OSL for operation, but the locomotive numbering system remained unchanged.

Union Pacific purchased controlling interest of ORy&N in 1889 and in 1890 all ORy&N locomotives were renumbered into UP's 1885 system-wide numbering pattern. This numbering pattern remained in effect until 1894 when as part of UP's 1893 restructuring and receivership, ORy&N was released and became an independent company under its own control, including a new numbering pattern for its locomotives.

In July 1894 the ORy&N entered its own receivership, with the intention of the road being independent from Union Pacific, along with releasing it from its lease to Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern. The OSL&UN entered into its own receivership, also indpendent from Union Pacific in June 1895

In 1896 Oregon Railway & Navigation was reorganized as the Oregon Railroad & Navigation. The new company was controlled by UP, GN, and NP as a compromise to the cut-throat competition for railroad traffic in the Pacific Northwest. In 1899 UP purchased the interests of its two rivals in ORy&N, but the road's locomotives continued to be numbered in the 1894 numbering pattern.

By 1910 Harriman and his Union Pacific empire had control and ownership of several railroads in the states of Oregon and Washington, and December 1910 all of them were consolidated as the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company. The 1894 numbering pattern remained in place, with the smaller roads joining. The OWRR&N locomotive fleet continued to grow as new locomotives were purchased under Harriman's Associated Roads Common Standard designs.

In March 1915 Union Pacific put in place a new numbering plan that was meant to bring all of its controlled and leased railroads into a common numbering pattern. OWRR&N was included and most of the companies locomotives were renumbered into, in most cases, their final road numbers that would be used through to steam's last days in the late 1950s.

ORy&N - ORR&N - OWRR&N Shops

OWRR&N had roundhouses and shops at the following locations (east to west):

Huntington, Oregon - 16 stalls (9 stalls 120 feet long, 7 stalls 97 feet long), with 100-foot turntable

LaGrande, Oregon - 29 stalls (11 stalls 110 feet long, 5 stalls 96 feet long, 13 stalls 85 feet long), with 100-foot turntable

Umatilla, Oregon - 8 stalls, 96 feet long, with 80-foot turntable

Rieth, Oregon - 10 stalls (4 stalls 114 feet long, 6 stalls 97 feet long), with 92-foot turntable

The Dalles, Oregon - 12 stalls, 97 feet long, with 92-foot turntable

Albina (Portland), Oregon - 42 stalls (22 stalls 88 feet long, 20 stalls 66 feet long), with 92-foot turntable

Argo (Seattle), Washington - 9 stalls, 74 feet long, with 80-foot turntable

Walla Walla, Washington - 10 stalls, 84 feet long, with 80-foot turntable

Tekoa, Washington - 6 stalls, 64 feet long, with 80-foot turntable

Spokane, Washington - 11 stalls, 82 feet long, with 110-foot turntable

OSL shared OWRR&N's roundhouse and turntable at Huntington, Oregon

There were also small roundhouses (less than 5 stalls, with turntables 80 feet long or less) at Bend and Heppner in Oregon, and Yakima and Wallace in Washington.

ORy&N - ORR&N - OWRR&N Shop Locomotives

OWRR&N Shop Locomotives -- A separate roster listing of OWRR&N shop locomotives assigned at Abina in Portland, Oregon.

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