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The Oregon Pony

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The Oregon Pony steam locomotive was the first of its kind to be built on the Pacific Coast and the first to be used in the Oregon Territory. Until the Oregon Pony went to work in 1862, the conveyances were flat cars running on rails, equipped with benches for passengers and pulled by mules.

Shortly after the Pony was put into service, canopies were added to protect the passengers and their goods from the hot, sooty water that rained down on everything as the little locomotive steamed along.

The little Oregon Pony engine moved nearly 200 tons a day between the Cascades and Bonneville, until it was transferred to the The Dalles , where it was put to work on the portage around Celilo Falls . The Oregon Pony is now owned by the State of Oregon and is kept in a climate controlled exhibition chamber next to the Cascade Locks Historical Museum.

The Oregon Encyclopedia: Oregon Pony

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