Oregon Pacific Railroad

11/25/2024

This is a fitting Happy Birthday picture for Richard A Samuels (RIP) who was born today in 1943. Richard passed away a few years ago and was the owner of the Oregon Pacific Railroad.

This photo was taken on his birthday, 2 years ago at the ORHF museum. None of what you see in this photo would exist if not for him. The former Portland Traction Company railroad, it's original No. 100 diesel engine (in the background), the ORHF facility and Polson No. 2 getting ready to run a Holiday Express train 2 years ago today.

All of this exists because Richard decided to take a HUGE chance, and purchase the remains of the Portland Traction Company in 1991 and built a successful short line operation. He was also a true rail fan at heart and supported operating the ORHF steam trains on his railroad, something that his sons continue to support today as the current owners of the Oregon Pacific Railroad.

So Happy Birthday to Richard and job well done to his son's Tim, Brian and Craig Samuels.

03/06/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po28ppPlBTQ

My friend Dick Samuels would have loved this song. I'm sure he knew all about it....from 1982. He would also say..."But I wave!...LOL"

UGH....Rest in Peace my friend.

05/05/2023

Canby hauler this morning in front of Lampros Steel. A brand new OPR customer on the Molalla Branch. Photo by OPR co-owner: Tim Samuels.

04/01/2023

It's a few hours early but....

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘....𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃!!!

Once again, congratulations on a job well done, Tim, Brian and Craig Samuels and continuing your Dad's legacy.

April 1, 1991 is the OPR's Official Birthday because that's the day, Richard Samuels East Portland Traction Company took over the operations of the Portland Traction Company and his new common carrier railroad was born.

In 1993, Mr. Samuels purchased the Southern Pacific Molalla Branch, and operated it as the Molalla Western Railroad. In 1996, the two companies were combined and renamed the Oregon Pacific Railroad as everyone knows it today.

Richard "Dick" Samuels passed away on May 28th, last year at age 77. The OPR was left in the capable hands of his three sons, Tim, Brian and Craig who have been operating and running it since and plan to continue operations into the future. All three have decades of experience, operating the OPR with their Dad since the beginning.

2022 and 2023 have been a challenging year with many changes but include lots of good news. The OPR has a new customer on the Molalla Branch with a brand new spur to new customer, Lampros Steel, which located near American Steel. Also the OPR company is now focusing exclusively on freight operations, but has allowed the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation to take over passenger train operations on it’s track through an agreement. ORHF will eventually be able to offer a more extensive schedule and including a wider variety of trains, including steam power, so this will be a mutually beneficial arrangement for everyone involved.

So once again, HAPPY COMPANY BIRTHDAY and looking forward to many more years.


Richard “Dick” Samuels…we miss you very much!

-Brian McCamish and OPR friends.

04/01/2023

Reposting for OPR owner Tim Samuels to the main page.....

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Exciting day on the OPR Monday. Spotted our first 3 cars at our new customer, Lampros Steel. They broke ground in July of last year and are just finishing up the landscaping. They will be getting structural steel of all kinds, but mostly I beams. Pretty exciting!

03/11/2023

As most of you are aware, the OPR is no longer offering regular Saturday Train Rides going forward and has instead granted access to the Oregon Rail Rail Foundation to operate it's own excursions out of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. Some of these excursions are now being scheduled and will involve steam train rides starting next weekend and into the summer, roughly once a month or so.

However, future plans may include addition dates and will be announced as those plans are determined. But for now, the first ORHF exersion run on the OPR (same track and route as our past OPR excursions) will be on St. Patrick's Day weekend on Saturday, March 18th. Click the below link for details.

https://orhf.org/events/ -rides

Hope to see you there!

-Brian McCamish

12/19/2022

I made this video about the 2017 Holiday Express, several years ago and I think it's worth reposting today in particular, as a dedication to all of the prior ORHF Holiday Express events and the grand history of this exceptional operation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAccBjonwVw

2022 was a major water shed year for the annual ORHF Holiday Express. This year had a lot of changes. From my perspective as an OPR volunteer, our crew was integrated with ORHF this year, working directly with and for the ORHF crews. The event is now being held out of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center and involved different locomotives and a very different operation. Change, especially this significant, can be hard, but I was beyond impressed, how well everything worked out and how happy the customers were and how full the trains. I don't know the numbers, but I can't imagine this wasn't a record year.

Being able to run the Holiday Express directly out of ORHF's facility was a milestone that many have dreamed of for years. And the facility has so much history to share for the public that it was critical that the general public be introduced to it on this level.

I'm very proud to have been able to be a part of this year's events and being able to work with ORHF and all of the volunteers there. I'm extremely excited to see what the future will bring for this organization and the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in the coming years. ORHF will now exclusively be operating passenger trains on the OPR going forward. The details, consists and schedules for next year have not been finalized, but stay tuned to their website. OPR volunteer crews have been welcomed into ORHF operations with open arms and will continue to be a part of this new endeavor.

At the Oregon Pacific Railroad, owners Tim, Brian and Craig are working hard to continue their Dad's legacy by focusing on their core business of operating and maintaining a freight railroad and will continue to support ORHF's mission to preserve and share Oregon's railroad history and operating future passenger trains on the world's best short line railroad.

I will also continue to focus on preserving Richard Samuel's legacy and the history of the OPR and Portland Traction Company that he loved so much.

This older video that I made, from 2017, is dedicated to the memory of all prior Holiday Express trains and to all of the wonderful volunteers, both past and present and is also dedicated to looking into a very bright future for all the organizations and people involved.

It's also dedicated to the memory of Richard "Dick" Samuels, owner of the Oregon Pacific Railroad, who passed away in 2021.

If not for Richard going against the advise of everyone he knew and buying a financially failed railroad that nobody wanted in 1991...NONE of what we see today would be remotely possible. That is unless one could figure out how to operate a steam train down a concrete bike path with no rails.

Richard lived to see his dream celebrate it's 30th anniversary and grow into what it is today.

To Richard and your boys....this one is for you.....your legacy will remain forever.

To everyone else at ORHF and all the people who worked so hard and continue to do so to make these events happen...a very special thank you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAccBjonwVw

- Brian P McCamish

A full feature movie that we just finished featuring the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation's Holiday Express and their Southern Pacific 4449 steam engine. Ple...

11/25/2022

OPR's Brian McCamish moved the No. 100 from the OPR shops to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center earlier on Thanksgiving day to have it ready to go for the Holiday Express trains this weekend...starting on Friday (tomorrow).

The 100 will be used to put the train together early in the AM and then will be on the north of the Holiday Express Consist for this weekend only.

The Polson Number 2 steam engine is the star of the show, but the Holiday Express will be using a diesel engine on the opposite end of the train to make the return trip through the multiple road crossings and Trimet diamonds safer and easier.

See you all this weekend...starting tomorrow!

11/24/2022

For any OPR fans and especially fans of the Portland Traction Company No. 100...the 100 will be part of the 2022 ORHF Holiday Express consist for this weekend. Likely this weekend only as other diesel locomotives are planned to work helper duties the following weekends.

The consist will appear exactly as you see below, with the 100 on the north end of the train and the Polson No. 2 on the south end.

The No. 100 was originally purchased by the Portland Traction Company, directly from EMD in 1952 to replace their aging Electric locomotives. It has served on this railroad ever since and also worn the same style paint scheme and letter since it was designed by the Portland Traction Company painted by EMD.

The No. 100 is an EMD SW-1...the 2nd to last one ever produced by EMD. (The last EMD SW-1 produced was the PTC...No. 200, purchased a year later and the sister to the No. 100) Because the 100 was produced at the very tail end of SW-1 production, diesel locomotive aficionados will notice that this SW-1 shares a few original parts from the newer SW-8 and SW-9 series of locomotives such as headlights and cab and window lines.

Several years ago, the OPR did an extensive external restoration of this very rare and very historical locomotive, which included painstaking repairing any rust or damage and repainting and lettering the locomotive to exactly as it arrived from EMD to Portland in 1952.

The OPR also fabricated trolley polls and installed them on the locomotive to give it the exact appearance as it was used in the 1950s. When the 100 first arrived on the Portland Traction Company line, it was electrified and still used passenger trollies and electric locomotives that shunted the signals via their trolley polls. So the 100 had to had to trolley polls to shut these same signals. By 1959, trolley service had ended and the electric locomotives was scrapped or sold and the trolley polls were removed.

The Portland Traction Company used the 100 continuously through the mid 1980s when it decided to sell off both the 100 and 200 and lease EMD SW1500s from the Southern Pacific. Richard Samuels, who would later purchase the remains of the Portland Traction Company railroad in 1991, purchased the 100 in the mid 1980s and restored it. Ironicly, the Portland Traction Company would find the SW1500s to heavy to operate over some of their bridges and would lease the 100 from Mr. Samuels to operate the final years they were in business. When Mr. Samuels purchased the Portland Traction Company renamed the operation, the East Portland Traction Company, the 100 would be main locomotive for freight service. To this very day, the 100 is still the primary freight locomotive on the OPR's East Portland Branch, almost 70 years after EMD built and delivered her to this railroad.

Below are a few historical photos of the 100 (and sister 200) in operation on the Portland Traction Company line in the 1950s, as well as a photo of one of the electric locomotives it replaced.

Here is a short video showing Richard Samuels operating his favorite locomotive just after it was restored a few years ago...
https://fb.watch/g_KlQaUOuQ/