In a few short months the SP 4449, SP&S 700 and OR&N 197 locomotives will be moved out of the Brooklyn Roundhouse in Southeast Portland. Today you can preserve our past for future generations by ensuring that Portland’s three heritage steam engines have a new place to call home.
Please Join the effort — All Aboard!
Union Pacific must expand its operations in its Southeast Portland railyard. This crisis for our locomotives is really a benefit. Why? Because the public will finally have access to the engines and learn how important rail is to our history. These machines made America, Portland and the Pacific Northwest what they are today.
ORHF is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which gives you the opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation. Donations go toward the efforts of building a permanent, publicly-accessible facility for the City of Portland’s locomotives and other historic railroad pieces.
Dear Rail Heritage Friends:
Portland is unique as America’s only city that owns two operating steam locomotives. Dozens of volunteers devoted thousands of hours in a labor of love to restore them, and the work continues to fully restore the OR&N 197. For every hour of running time it takes 100 hours of maintenance to keep the engines in good condition.
We thank the many people – like you – who have stepped forward to support our All Aboard capital campaign to move and save these community treasures. In 2009 we set out to raise $5.5 million to build a permanent home for the locomotives. We have raised enough money to start construction, but we still need $1 million to complete this phase of the project. This is where you come in.
Please join me to give what you can to the All Aboard campaign for the locomotives’ new home near OMSI. Our Enginehouse & Rail Heritage Center will provide direct public access in addition to space for locomotive maintenance and restoration.
When fully built, the Center will be a living workroom to celebrate the history of rail and be a focal point for the new rail-industry hub surrounding OMSI. The new Willamette Bridge will deliver streetcars, light rail, cyclists and pedestrians right to the Center’s front door.
Please donate today. (via our Donate form or by mail with this form).
We have a giving level that is just right for you. They range from $44.49 to $700. Plus, your contribution comes with a premium gift. Better yet, all donations received in 2011 will be matched 1:1 by a generous donor, doubling the value of your contribution!
All Aboard Portland’s heritage steam engines – save the past for future generations.
Can we count on you today?
Sincerely,
Doyle McCormack
ORHF Board President
