PlacesPages: Portland General Electric Bull Run Flume Work Train

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Portland General Electric Bull Run Flume Work Train

Flume Train Speeder at Antique Powerland on July 31, 2010

For almost 100 years, a wooden flume carried water from the Little Sandy River to the Bull Run Powerhouse to provide power to the city of Portland. The story begins in 1906, when the Mount Hood Company began building a dam on the Little Sandy River to divert water into a wooden flume that would carry that water to a powerhouse. Except for concrete footings and metal hardware, the flume was otherwise made entirely of wood, lined with replaceable fir wear boards due to the sediment of the river, and was built by hand, with as many as 315 laborers on the project at one time. Measuring 14 feet wide and 9 feet deep, the flume had a capacity for moving 900 cubic feet of water per second. The flume led the water to the artificial Roslyn Lake over three miles away, created in 1911 as a reservoir for the new Bull Run Powerhouse. The Powerhouse was completed and opened in 1912, the same year that the Mount Hood Company was purchased by the Portland Railway Light & Power Company, which would eventually become Portland General Electric. In 1913, the Marmot Dam was built on the Big Sandy River to divert more water into the flume.

Flume Train Speeder at Antique Powerland on August 1, 2009

On top of the flume, rails were laid for a light railway to allow workers to transport materials and equipment for making repairs to the flume. The railway used speeders as locomotives to pull small freight cars. The speeders were originally powered by Ford Model T engines and transmissions but were eventually rebuilt with diesel engines with automatic transmissions and aluminum-sided bodies that could seat six workers. There were two trains, each typically consisting of a powered speeder, an electric crane car and two flat cars. One train also included a lunch car with a restroom. There were also a couple of boxcar-like cars.

Flume Train Cars at Antique Powerland on July 31, 2010

The Bull Run Powerhouse, which had four turbines producing a total of 110,000 megawatt-hours every year, was closed in 2007. The Marmot Dam was removed in the summer of 2007 and the Little Sandy Dam was removed in the summer of 2008. The flume was dismantled in November 2008. Without the water from the flume, Roslyn Lake disappeared. After they were used in the initial dismantling of the flume, Portland General Electric donated the work trains to the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society in October, 2008.

Here are some pictures of the two speeders during the 2009 Great Oregon Steam-Up. One was inside the OERHS carbarn and the other was parked just outside the carbarn.

Flume Train Speeder at Antique Powerland on August 1, 2009

Here are some pictures of the lunchroom car. During the 2009 Great Oregon Steam-Up, it was coupled to the speeder that was outside the carbarn.

Flume Train Lunch Car at Antique Powerland on August 1, 2009

During the 2010 Great Oregon Steam-Up the lunchroom car was located on the siding near the Antique Powerland gazebo with some of the freight cars from the flume train.

Flume Train Lunch Car at Antique Powerland on July 31, 2010

On the track near the gazebo were three of the flat cars and an electric crane car. Two of the flat cars had a small boxcar on them. These cars are shown below.

Flume Train Work Cars at Antique Powerland on August 1, 2009