POWERGRAMS

42 engine for that," HDRM President and CEO Jim Garne said of the train rides that resume March 17. The locomotive – a "center cab" with a diesel engine on each end – will be perfect, Garne said, for moving equipment around the rail yard, much like at Wilsonville. "The center cab design has beer visibility" than the museum's other two working engines, Garne said. One of the 107's new duties will be hauling brush-cuing machinery along the rail line to maintain the right-of-way. What Garne is most excited about is having a third locomotive for passenger excursions to the field next to Ozan Vineyard & Winery, where seasonal events are held, including the Coontail Express in March; Pumpkin Patch Express in fall; and the popular North Pole Express around Christmas. "When you have two vintage engines, technically, both could fail at the same time," he said, noting they were built in the early 1950s. "If that happens during our North Pole Express, we would be in serious trouble. We would have to issue refunds for that particular event, which provides a huge part of our annual funding." A third locomotive will give the other two engines more time off, allowing them to go longer between federally-required inspections. Engine 107, built by General Electric in 1959, is called a "diesel electric." The two diesel engines don't propel the train; instead, they turn a generator providing electricity for traction motors that turn the wheels.

• Cover