Trackside Guide to Portland

[Anonymous]

Port your comments, updates, and changes to TRAINS Magazine's Trackside Guide to Portland here! Here's one to start, from a November 4 post in Railroading forum:

The Portland Trackside Guide in the December 2002 issue of Trains is excellent and very comprehensive. I would like to add some comments:

1. The map on pages 2-3 shows the P&W line over Cornelius Pass as being out of service. This line is actually used daily and has been since the P&W re-opened it in 1998. In addition to serving as the link between the Astoria District and the rest of the P&W system, it has also hosted several railfan trips, both steam (SP&S #700) and diesel.

2. On page 4, the description of the UP Kenton Line mentions that it is under Track Warrant control, but the notes underneath the small map indicate (correctly) that it is CTC.

3. As of late October 2002, the UP Brooklyn Sub is now two-main-track CTC from East Portland Junction to Willsburg Junction. UP performed the changeover Oct. 17-28.

Also, as a result of the project, the crossovers from the Steel Bridge to the Graham Line were removed. Trains coming off the bridge can go to Albina yard on the north wye leg or south on the main Brooklyn Sub, but cannot go east on the Graham Line without reversing direction on the east and north legs of the wye.

4. Amtrak actually operates three, not four Cascades trains between Portland and Seattle. Two of these do operate to and from Eugene, Ore. Two other daily Cascades trains run north of Seattle: one to Vancouver, B.C. and one to Bellingham, Wash.

Four Talgos in the Cascades color scheme cover the three trains south of Seattle and the Bellingham train, operating on a four-day cycle in which each Talgo covers every train and spends a night in the Talgo maintenance facility in Seattle before starting the cycle over again. A fifth Talgo set in the Pacific Surfliner scheme, originally planned for L.A.-Las Vegas service, covers the Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. train.

5. The East Portland Traction line through southeast Portland to Milwaukie is an interesting operation on its own. It is actually now part of the larger Oregon Pacific operation owned by the Samuels family, which includes a former SP branch from Canby (on the Brooklyn Sub south of Oregon City) to Molalla.

The Oregon Pacific shops off Ochoco Street and McBrod Avenue in Milwaukie host an eclectic collection of motive power that rivals anything found in the late Ward Kimball's backyard. You are likely to find an ex-EPTC SW1 in orange, an ex-Alaska RR GP7u in OP red and white, an ex-SP GE 70-tonner in its original colors, an ex-GN NW5, an ex-SP yard slug from Eugene yard, and several other small diesels.

6. The large area map on pages 8-9 shows the TriMet MAX Red Line as having a loop at the Portland International Airport. This line actually terminates at a two-track, stub-end platform at the main terminal complex.

7. You can still travel the old Oregon Electric and SP Red Electric rights-of-way across the West Hills southwest of Portland. Barbur Boulevard and Bertha Boulevard follow the old SP alignment, while Interstate 5 and Multnomah Boulevard follow the old OE alignment.

8. In addition to the new MAX line through North Portland, plans are now underway to extend the Portland Stretcar from its present southern terminus to the RiverPlace marina complex. Future extensions could take this service all the way to Lake Oswego on the ex-SP Red Electric line now used for the seasonal Willamette Shore Trolley. The WST route also has operating wigwags at three grade crossings.

Discussions are also underway to extend MAX into northern Clackamas County south of Portland. Trimet and local governments are looking at two different alignments: along the Interstate 205 corridor from Gateway Transit Center to Clackamas Town Center, and from downtown Portland to Milwaukie.

9. The old Brooklyn roundhouse, in addition to the locomotives mentioned on page 15, also has several others currently in residence: an ex-GN F7 in the road's classic orange and green; and an ex-SP&S FA1, the last one built, that most recently served as a push-pull cab on the Long Island RR.

10. As of October 2002, the P&W leased the BNSF, ex-Oregon Electric line from Salem to Eugene for 15 years. BNSF's daily local from Portland to Albany, Ore., which now uses the UP Brooklyn Sub to Salem, is likely to return to its old OE routing across Cornelius Pass (but now by way of Banks and P&W's ex-SP Tillamook branch line, since the old OE line south of Bowers Junction was removed to make way for MAX light rail between Beaverton and Hillsboro.

11. Several former Portland-area interurban lines are now rail trails. The Springwater Trail follows the old Cazadero Line right-of-way through southeast Portland to Gresham and Boring; an extension of this trail, paralleling the existing East Portland Traction line from Sellwood to downtown Portland is scheduled to open in 2003; the City of Gresham is working on a trail along the old Troutdale branch from a connection with the Springwater Trail at the site of the old Linneman Junctionstation; and a Milwaukie to Gladstone segment of the old East Side Railway right-of-way to Oregon City, the first interurban in the U.S. (1893), was recently purchased by Metro, the Portland-area regional government organization, for future improvements as the Trolley Trail linear park.

[Anonymous]

The following is from an email I sent to the editor:

It was a pleasant surprise that Portland was the locale for your second Trackside guide. However, it would have been a far better guide if it had taken just a bit longer to produce as it is rife with errors. Here are the ones that stand out the most on a casual read through.

Map on pages 2 & 3:

1. To my knowledge, the Cornelius Pass line has not been taken back out of service since the P&W/W&P put it back into service several years ago.

2. The black dotted line identified as (SP) running from the vicinity of VC tower to Beaverton has been out of service for over 60 years, there are many other lines of similar and newer vintage that should also have been shown, or this line should not have been shown.

3. The Max line to the Airport starts south out of the Gateway Transit Center and then loops back north, it does not separate from the line to Gresham west of Gateway.

4. The line to Goble and Astoria, while originally built by the NP was SP&S since the Columbia River Bridge at Vancouver was completed.

BNSF Seattle Sub on Page 6:

1. The Portland-Chicago Empire Builder does not use the Seattle Sub.

BNSF Fallbridge Sub on Page 7:

1. Amtrak and the Portland-Chicago Empire Builder are omitted from the Train Information.

2. All of the Amtrak trains listed for the Seattle Sup use the Fallbridge Sub from Portland to Vancouver.

Map on pages 8 & 9:

1. The Max line through downtown is along SW 1st Ave from the west end of the Steel Bridge to Morrison (wb) and Yamhill (eb). The main map show the north/south portion several blocks too far west, and the east/west couplet several blocks too far south. The Albina detail should show Max making a sharp turn to the south at the west end of the bridge to south along 1st Ave.

2. In the Albina detail, the UP tracks at East Portland (the area around the east end of the Steel Bridge) are not shown correctly.

3. In the Albina detail, the Max line east of the Rose Quarter Transit Center is double track.

4. In the main map, the UP track shown heading east parallel to the Max track from the Steel Bridge to the “S” in Sullivan Gulch does not exist.

5. Max and the UP are on the north side of I-84, Max crosses I-84 on it bridge into Gateway, the UP stays on the north side of I-84 until Rockwood.

6. At Rockwood, where the UP crosses below I-84, the (eb) track swings north, then southeast under the freeway and then east, the freeway does not make the jog shown.

7. The UP trackage at Rockwood is not correct.

8. As noted above, the MAX line to the Airport runs through the Gateway Transit Center, then makes a 180 degree turn to run back north, west of the Transit Center, beside and then in the median of I-205. The MAX is in the median of the freeway much farther north than shown. There is not a loop on the MAX at the Airport.

9. At Fir, the UP bridge over the I-205 freeway is no more than two tracks in width, the tracks shown north of the main line all occur west of I-205.

10. The UP trackage shown at Graham is not correct, the siding is mostly gone, and the spur north across Halsey has been gone for more than a decade.

11. In the Peninsula detail, there is a crossover missing at North Portland Junction.

12. In the Peninsula detail, the BNSF line is identified as “Seattle Sub to Vancouver, Seattle, Wash.” while it is, in fact, the Fallbridge Sub to Vancouver and Wishram.

13. The dashed SP and OE lines roughly parallel to I-5 are not in the correct locations. The SP line is generally too far east and the OE line is generally too far west.

Tri-Met Light Rail on Page 14:

1. The Method of Operation description includes “‘driver-sight’ control is used at all but the busiest junctions”. This is not correct, the vast majority of the total route is controlled by Absolute Automatic Block Signals. The 5 miles of the Burnside segment is the longest stretch of ‘driver-sight’ operation, with Lloyd Center to Goose Hollow and Washington Street in Hillsboro also being ‘driver-sight’.

2. Train frequency during rush hour, particularly between downtown and Gateway, is 5 minutes or less.

Brooklyn Roundhouse on Page 15:

1. The City of Portland owns all three steam locomotives at the Brooklyn Roundhouse.

Vintage Trolley:

1. The Vintage Trolley operation is completely omitted.

2. The Willamette Shore Trolley is nearly completely omitted.

[Anonymous]

One addition to keep in mind, and one important note.

On additions, the PNWR line from Beaverton to Wilsonville will host commuter rail DMU service beginning 2004.

Also, PLEASE NOTE: Brooklyn roundhouse is NOT open to the public. You can occasionally see some interesting stuff from the Holgate viaduct, but that is about as close as you can get.

[Anonymous]

Willamette Shore Trolley
1- Map on page 2-3, The trolley line in Lake Oswego parallels the P&W for 1/2 mile but no physical connection exists.
2- The trolley line extends 1/2 mile north of the I-5 bridge, map on page 8 is in error. The proposed extension of the Portland Streetcar line would be built on SW Moody St. eastward and require that the WST tracks be cut back by one-block.
P&W
1- The map on page 2-3 does not show the correct trackage at Cook as there is a complete wye with a siding on the north wye where cars are set out, read details on page 11.
Tri-Met
1-There isn't any indication on the map on page 8-9 that the Interstate MAX line is under construction and will open in 2004.
This was an excellent article and I enjoyed reading it. Keep up the good writing.

[mccannt]

Some additional notes:

The area map on pages 2 and 3 could also show the former OE alignment from downtown Portland through the west hills, the same as it does for the old SP "Red Electric" alignment.

The Peninsula detail map on page 9 does not show the connection from the BNSF Fallbridge Sub to the UP Kenton Line. This track leaves the BNSF main at East St. Johns and crosses North Portland Road, joining the UP line just east of Barnes Yard.

The Albina detail map on page 9 shows separate BNSf and Portland Terminal mains from the Fremont Bridge to Union Station, with a siding along the PT alignment. This alignment is actually one two-main-track segment.

It was extensively rebuilt and realigned after the closure of the BNSF Hoyt Street engine terminal in 1996. The new alignent included 2MT CTC; a significant reduction in the S-curve at NW 14th Avenue; and power switches at the north end of the Union Station trackage.

The P&W, ex-UR/BN line from Bowers Junction to Merle (see map on page 2) actually ends at Bendemeer. The line was severed at the U.S. Highway 26 (Sunset Highway) overcrossing in 1998 when the line over Cornelius Pass was re-opened.

To fill in a washout between United Junction and Burlington, P&W took one of the Hwy. 26 overpass spans and transplanted it over the washout. This was in addition to constructing an entire new concrete and steel bridge at Burlington that replaced one destroyed in a 1994 fire caused by sparks from a passing train.

In the same area map on page 2, the line segment from Beaverton to Greton that is labeled as former OE is actually the former SP Tillamook Branch.

The OE track to Eugene crossed the SP at Greton on a different alignment, which diverged from the east-west OE line just east of Beaverton. Through Tigard, the northern track is former SP and the southern track is former OE.

A short segment of the former east-west OE line still exists on the east side of Beaverton, where it serves as an industrial park lead. The stub end is currently used to store rolling stock belonging to the Pacific NW Chapter NRHS.

The TriMet section on page 14 indicates that MAX rolling stock includes 46 Siemens low-floor cars. the number is actually 52. Six additional cars were ordered to increase the fleet for the 2001 opening of the Red Line to the airport.

For the 2004 opening of the Interstate Avenue (Yellow Line) route, TriMet has ordered 17 more Siemens cars. The 1986 Bombardier cars carry the 100 series (101-126); the 1997-2000 Siemens cars are the 200 series (201-252); and the new cars are supposed to carry 300-series numbers.

Portland Streetcar actually inaugurated service July 20, 2001, not April 4. The first Skoda "Astra" streetcar didn't arrive on the property until April 9. Line testing did begin in January 2001, using one of the four Gomaco-built "Council Crest" replica cars operated by Portland Vintage Trolley. A round trip around the "loop" actually takes about 45 minutes.

The Port of Tillamook Bay RR also operates seasonal "Oregon Coast Explorer" excursion service between Garibaldi and Wheeler on the Oregon Coast, using a pair of former NJ Transit/CNJ RDC-1s. It also hosts excursion trains operated by Sunset Coast Excursions between Banks and the coast. The line hosted earlier excursion trains, as well the "Spirit of Oregon" dinner train until the mid-1990s, when that operation closed down and the rolling stock was purchased by the Mount Hood RR.

Schefflin, the east end of the POTB, is actually east, not west of Banks.

In the description of the UP Brooklyn Sub, the interchange with East Portland Traction not at East Portland Junction. The team track is actually just south of Clay Street, adjacent to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. EPTC's seasonal "Samtrak" excursion trains terminated at a platform across the parking lot from OMSI, and operated from there south to the Oaks amusement park in the city's Sellwood neighborhood.

In the Vancouver detail map on page 9, the BNSF Vancouver Yard is shown to the west of the main tracks. The main yard (former SP&S) is actually east of the mains. The smaller yard on the west is former NP (the "NP side" described in the switch crew assignments for the BNSF Seattle Sub on page 6).

The yard lead into the Port of Vancouver actually comes off the "middle lead" from the Fallbridge sub into Vancouver Yard, not the "Boise Cascade" lead. It is north, not east of the yard office.

The old "Boise Cascade" lead is actually west of the yard office, along the east edge of the depot parking lot. The yard office is actually situated in the triangle formed by the "Middle Lead", the "Boise Cascade" lead and the Fallbridge Sub.

[Anonymous]

In studying the maps on pages 2-3 and pages 8-9, I find errors on pages 8-9 that are correctly shown on on the inset, e.g.Willbridge Jct. the inset is correct as the track north to the P&W was built after the merger of GN,NP,SPS et-al.

Pages 2-3, Forest Grove Jct., the OE (BN) line was the main line from Salem to Portland for freights and the track is reversed from actual. The track from Merle to Forest Hct. actually curved to the South East. Many sidings are not shown on the map on 2-3.

The map on pages 8-9. There are at least 4 tracks at Union Station to load/unload passengers to/from trains. The bridge is Fremont Bridge. I-405 doesn't extend beyond I-5. Albina is actually the district just south of Albina Yard. On this same insert map, the area marked as Downtown Portland is actually the Pearl District, an area where the old Hoyt Yards were located and now being turned into atownhouse area. The yards have been removed.

[Anonymous]

The public can visit the roundhouse, if they do so respectfully. From 17th Ave. turn east onto Center St. Cross the tracks, turn right past the truck depot, go straight, when you get to the roundhouse you'll be in the "employee parking" area. Park your car, and, assuming there is someone there (hence the doors are open) go inside, introduce yourself, say hello, and ask questions.

[mccannt]

What are the possibilities of maing the trackside guides available online as part of the Trains web site? As a web site developer myself, I would be happy to help on such a project.

I live in the Portland, Ore. area and would like to see the recent Portland guide on line, particularly with the NRHS planning its 2005 convention for the city. It would be in ideal tool for the conventioneer or the casual railfan planning to visit the area during the event.

[Anonymous]

Really? Is this new? Because last time I called the NWRM line, you still get the "the roundhouse is not open to the public" (paraphrasing.)

If you're right then you'll probably see me down there sometime this spring, when I get some time off work! ;-)

[Anonymous]

I agree with Thomas, it would really boost your numbers even more. If there was a concern about inroading into the magazine, just don't make them available until a couple of months after the printed version.

The maps could esily be made into .gif (ala USGS downloadable maps,) or .pdf files (ala BNSF's downloadable division maps).

An added plus: being on the web, it'd be updateable, so as things change, so too could the trackside guide be changed to reflect them.

[Anonymous]

I've just started reafding this issue but was very surprised to see the second guide dedicated to Portland. I think the wye, in which the Vancouver Amtrak depot is located, is one of the best train-watching spots around.

I've read other comments and can't resist mine...While nearly all of the comments perain to local standard-gauge railroads, I'd like to put a plug in for the 30-inch gauge Washington Park & Zoo Railway that runs in Portland's west hills between the Oregon Zoo and the International Rose Test Gardens. It features a four-mile, 35 minute round-trip on grades up to 3.5%. It has two diesel trains, the primary train called the "Zooliner". (Some refer to the Amtrak Talgo train as the "Zooliner" noting the "tail fins" resemble the sloped back of the Zooliner's turret cab. It has also been referred to as the "Baby Aerotrain."

The most popular train is a replica of the V&T's 4-4-0 "Reno". It is an oil-burning, live steam engine named the "Oregon" since it was built for the 1959 Oregon Centennial celebration. It has a nice bark pulling a loaded train back up to the zoo.

I think the zoo railway is respectable enough to be included in the guide.

[Anonymous]

Outstanding. I have spent limited time in the Portland area, and the next time I'm there I'll be much more informed.

[Anonymous]

At the end of the line at Hillsboro, the map shows a crossing and connections between Tri-Met light rail and the P&W. There are no connections at that point. The light rail tracks swing north out of the street into the terminal which is along side the P&W. The P&W has a connection to the former BNSF line in the northwest quadrant of that intersection only.

[auburnrails]

Does anybody know if the UP has/had interchange rights with any of the owners of the Lewis & Clark Rail line from Vancouver Jct - Chelatchie? UP obviously serves customers up and down the line on BNSF trackage rights, but I don't know if they have ever included this branch/shortline as an interchange partner.

Thank you in advance.

Dave