Trackside Guide -- Portland, Ore.

[mccannt]

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.

[eolafan]

NOW HERE'S A GUY IN THOMAS WHO REALLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT, AND OBVIOUSLY A REAL FOAMER WHO IS REALLY IN THE KNOW!

[Anonymous]

Thomas:

As a Portland resident, I was waiting "with bated breath" for this issue. I expected either it would say more about good fanning locations, and so I expected that I would either love it dearly or hate it very much.

In the end... neither. I was bored by it.

First I noticed the Cornelius Pass error. I asked someone who helped Carl & Co around town, adn they did take them to the pass, so the consensus is that the art department was working from older maps.

You picked up on some errors I had not. Kudos, sharp-eyes!

My overall review is that if you've never been here before, you might find something useful here. If you have been here before or are a local, you already know more than this guide can tell you.

Best,

Alexander

[mccannt]

I have lived in the Portland ara since 1993 and I guess I'm not your typical railfan.

I'm a contributor to web sites such as Altamont Press and Trains, and have also designed several railroad-themed sites, including a railfan site based on the Portland area.

I'm also a presenter for Operation Lifesaver and edit the Passenger/Transit Column in the regional magazine North/West Railfan.

[Anonymous]

Thomas:

I a younger Lifer, tho I have never had the privilidge of working for Trains.com or Altamont.

I am interested in the site you mentioned. Could you give us the URL? And info on North/West Railfan would be nice, never heard of it before.

Kudos on the OLS. You guys don't get enough credit for that.

[mccannt]

You can find the web site for the Rose City & NorthWestern RR (my cute name for it) at:

www.trainweb.org/mccann

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed the article by Thomas, and think that Alexander is being a bit hard in his response whether or not he is a resident of Portland or not. It appeared to me a very informative response by Thomas on the article published. Seems to me that any useful information should be appreciated rather than discounted b ecause one is a resident of any particuliar "town". Thomas keep up the good work.

[Anonymous]

Altough it's been 20 years since I've lived in Portland, the trackside guide reminds me of when i was there. I was just a kid, but I remember the 26 Tri-Met bus taking me over the Espee's Brooklyn Yard and seeing the roundhouse (how I wish I knew now how significant it would become). All the movable bridges and trains seemingly everywhere. Had I only been able to have a camera in my formative years. I do remember seeing SP 4449 in it's Freedom Train colors. Great article, and many thanks for the memories.

[Anonymous]

Hard? Thomas' crit raised far more points about the article than me.

In the end it's a basic overview of Portland rail lines, which, as I said before, is not going to open any eyes to those who are allready area railfans. It is only useful, really, to those who have not been here in a long while, or at all.

I don't discount the information because "I am a resident of any particular 'town'", but I *do* say that I was mildly disappointed that the art department did not double check their maps with the author, who had been to Cornelius Pass and knew it was in service.

I stand by my statements before. If you live here, this guide isn't of much use. If you don't, then it's a decent but not exceptional beginner's level overview. So it *is* recommended for newcommers, with the reservation that further research is advised.

[mccannt]

What goes around comes around. The 4449 is, in fact back in American Freedom train colors! It was repainted from basic black earlier this year, wore the AFT colors on a two-day Columbia River Gorge excursion in late March, and was on display for 10 days at this year's Oregon State Fair in Salem.

If you would like photographs of it in its various incarnations, you can visit the train photo pages on the Webshots web site. Several railfans have posted their own photos of this classic locomotive.

[mccannt]

Please understand that Alexander was not criticizing me personally. He was simply making an observation about the Trains article itself, not about me or my comments.

Trackside guides such as this are very often most useful to railfans from outside a particular area. They provide a good base of information for visitors who maybe cannot get to every good place for trainwatching or photography.

Guides like this can help them focus their available time and allow then to pick out the places where they can make the most of their hobby.

Granted, most serious railfans here in the Portland area, myself included, have probably visited the hot spots around town multiple times. There is still good information in this guide, items that even I did not know about. I'm happy that I was able to add more information about it.