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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.
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