Wednesday, August 19, 2015

World Forestry Center Discovery Museum at Washington Park in Portland, OR

…Continued from Les AuCoin Plaza.

IMG_9386 World Forestry Center Discovery Museum in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, September 24, 2009

The World Forestry Center was formed in 1964 as the Western Forestry Center in the aftermath of the August 17, 1964 fire that destroyed the Forestry Building in Northwest Portland that was originally built for the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition. The Western Forestry Center museum was designed by Oregon architect John Storrs and opened on June 5, 1971. The name changed to the World Forestry Center in 1986.

IMG_9418 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

This locomotive is a 42-ton 2-truck Shay built by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio on May 3, 1909.

IMG_9414 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

Shay locomotives are named after their inventor Ephraim Shay (1839-1916) who built a log tramway in Michigan in 1873, but found that horses weren't strong enough to control the logs on hills.

IMG_9408 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

His wooden rails were too weak to support a conventional locomotive, so he mounted a steam engine on a flat car and used gears to transfer the power to the wheels.

IMG_9405 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

Shay convinced the Lima Machine Works of Lima, Ohio to build locomotives based on his design, which he soon patented.

IMG_9379 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

The Lima Machine Works became the Lima Locomotive Works, building over 2,700 Shays of various sizes between 1880 and 1945 (by which time heavy-duty log trucks were replacing logging railroads) and becoming one of the major steam locomotive builders in the United States.

IMG_9403 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

Shay locomotives use vertical steam cylinders with gears to deliver equal torque directly to all the wheels on both sides of the engine at the same time.

IMG_9378 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

The axles are mounted in pairs called trucks that pivot independently to follow the curve of the track.

IMG_9401 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

This design makes them very powerful but very slow and well suited to the poorly constructed tracks with sharp curves and steep grades found on logging railroads.

IMG_9387 Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

This 1909 42-ton standard-gauge Shay is a mid-sized Shay.

IMG_9388 Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

It has a 42-inch diameter horizontal fire tube boiler rated for 125 pounds of pressure and three 10-inch diameter cylinders with 12-inch stroke that deliver power through a 2.05 gear ratio to the 29.5-inch wheels.

IMG_9390 Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

It has an empty weight of 67,100 pounds and carried 1,560 gallons of water and 1.5 cords of wood for fuel.

IMG_9392 Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

This locomotive was shipped around Cape Horn to dealer Hofius Steel & Equipment Company in Seattle, Washington and sold to the Gig Harbor Timber Company of Gig Harbor, Washington as their #1.

IMG_9393  Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

In 1913 it was sold to the Stimson Lumber Company and was used first at Belfair, Washington and then at Gaston, Oregon. While at Stimson it was converted to burn oil and was given the name "Peggy."

IMG_9397 Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

In 1933, Peggy was trapped in the Tillamook Forest during a forest fire and all her wood was burned off, but she was rebuilt and returned to service. By the time she was retired in 1950, Peggy had hauled an estimated one-billion feet of logs.

IMG_9395 Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

The Stimson Lumber Company donated Peggy to the City of Portland in 1950 she was put on display outside the Forestry Building in Northwest Portland. She was damaged in the 1964 fire that destroyed the Forestry Building, and was moved to Oaks Amusement Park in Southeast Portland for storage.

IMG_9396 View from the Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

From 1969 to 1971, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society rebuilt her cab and sills and in 1972 she was moved by truck against traffic up Highway 26 and placed on display behind Cheatham Hall at the new Forestry Center. She remained there in the weather for 30 years, slowly deteriorating.

IMG_9394 Cab of Lima 2-Truck Shay Steam Locomotive 'Peggy' at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Lima 2-Truck Shay Locomotive “Peggy” on September 24, 2009

In 2003, the Theodore and Joanne Lilley Foundation donated the funds to restore Peggy and place her under a shelter in a prominent location, just as she is today.

IMG_9410 Disconnect Logging Trucks & Logs at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Disconnect Log Cars on September 24, 2009

Behind Peggy is a pair of Disconnect Log Cars. They are each basically a railroad truck with a coupler at each end, allowing them to be coupled together when empty. When carrying logs, they are separated only by their load with no frame between them, hence the "disconnect" name.

IMG_9374 Disconnect Logging Trucks & Logs at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
Disconnect Log Cars on September 24, 2009

The logs they carry were a gift from the Stimson Lumber Company.

IMG_9373 David Douglas Monument at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on September 24, 2009
David Douglas Monument on September 24, 2009

This monument in honor of David Douglas was placed by the David Douglas Society of Western North America on December 7, 1992. David Douglas (1799-1834) was a Scottish-born botanist sent to Fort Vancouver by the Royal Horticulture Society to collect plant and seed specimens from Western North America for European gardens from 1825 to 1833. The Douglas Fir Tree is named after him.

IMG_0593 Harry A. Merlo Hall at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon on November 10, 2009
Harry A. Merlo Hall on November 10, 2009

One of the other buildings on the World Forestry Center campus is Harry A. Merlo Hall, pictured here.

Continue to Portland Children’s Museum

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