I’m thinking about going to Portland for the weekend sometime in June and what would be the places to where you recommend watching the trains go by?
Yes I was their las May. Their is a street about 1 mile south of where the bridge that goes between Washington & Oregon is. If you can believe it right their is the junction point where the split occurs for the UPRR going down the I5 corridor or coming or going to Idaho or coming & going from the Portland Terminal area. There is plenty of places to park and get good shots safely. The I line crosses the street then passes into or out of a tunnel. I was lucky to get headon shots on a northbounder exiting the tunnel. I found the spot by using Mapquest I started at Vancouver Wa then found the crossing point over the rive then moved south & located the juncture point. Good luck & enjoy. It about 1 hours time I saw 8 trains going in all different directions. one word of caution if you like speed this is not the place.
Okay, thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check it out, about what is the average length of cars in that area? I would say anywhere from 75-100+ cars.
The ones I saw were long mainline trains. In fact the I southbounder was so long that when it stopped it blocked the street for about 20 minutes. Naturally it is very hard to determine lenght but I would use the phrase “full size” fits. I saw auto rackers/doublestacks/ intermodal/garbage trains coming & going. The tracks are at street level & except for some weeds to contend with it is a good place to train watch IMHO. Also you may wi***o consider Hinkle Ore. where the UPRR has a loco servicing shop & the line splits there to go north towards Canada. If you want a scenic place goto the falls about 30 miles east of Portland I believe on old route 30. It is the 5th largest waterfall in the world. The UPRR mainline goes right by their & you can catch a train as it goes by with the waterfall in the background. another few miles down the road going east is a passing siding that you can access also. The signals are right their so you can prepare yourself knowing when they lite up the train is only about about 5/10 minutes away. If you are their an a eastbounder is coming the shot is great as it has the cliffs/river & trees. Good hunting I wish I was going back again this year but I am going elsewhere. Another place I would recommend is south Tacoma. There is a foot bridge over the tracks a lagoon/marina with boats paked their & lots of BNSF & UPRR action which you can see from overhead. It also has lots of interlocking action. I caught a BNSF train being made up & then on the most outside track came a southbound UPRR auto racker came around it as their is a curve their. So I had a headon shot of both the UPRR & BNSF head ends at the same time. I saw Amtrak their as well.
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QUOTE: Originally posted by UnionPacificRR6737
Okay, thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check it out, about what is the average length of cars in that area? I would say anywhere from 75-100+ cars.
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QUOTE: Originally posted by spbed
Yes I was their las May.
The Vancouver WA Amtrak station is also a good spot to watch trains.You get anything running between Portland and Seattle, and also any train heading to or from the east . The station is inside a big wye, with a lot of action.
Thanks for the suggestion it sounds very similar to the south Tacoma situation I mentioned. I guess their are just so many places it maybe very difficult to get to them all. I feel certain after my Idaho, WY & Utah trip this spring I will be saying that is the best area to go to. Next time I get to the PNW though you can bet I will eyeball it.
You know the Washington DOT runs a webcam at the train station in Centralia. It only refreshes every 90 secs. But when I went out there I stop at the station to see what it was really like & got lucky & saw 2 UPRR go trundling by.
Here is the juncture point site I posted for you.
http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=M7tNO.p_0TqT&csz=vancouver+wa&country=us&new=1&name=&qty=
Oops the site did not come off to well. Switch to street & follow 1-5 south till you reach Columbia Blvd then go west just a little bit & you will see the 3 way juncture on the map. Sorry about that.
One additional factor about the Columbia River site is that the ships have priority over the trains. The Coast Starlight from time to time gets stuck here because of it.
Isn’t there also the BNSF/UP tracks merger?
As mentioned, the Vancouver Amtrak station is a good place. There is a beautiful steel bridge there.
A bunch of us foamed the gorge between Vancouver, and Maryhill last weekend. It’s a VERY scenic route. We posted it here:
http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5027
Rosco
Everett Wa.
Thanks I put Vancouver on my list of spots to see. Also thanks for the report. [:o)]
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Originally posted by TracksideFoamer
Sorry I miss this before. Yes there is a merge point between UPRR/BNSF in No. Portland just before the bridge that crosses the Columbia that takes the RRs between Oregon & Washington. The problem is it is up on abutment about 12/15 feet high. There are steps that can get you from the street to the track buuuuuuuuuut there is sign posted there that says that this is private propery of the BNSFRR. I was to chicken to try going up the steps as to me the sign was very menacing[;)]
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Originally posted by TheS.P.caboose
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Another good spot is just a little way east of Portland, I think it is Hwy 84 along the Columbia there is a waterfall with a great pull-off/parking area and you can see trains on both sides of the river.
Funny you should mention Portland (albeit a couple months ago, originally). I’m headed there in a few weeks for a conference, then plan to fan for a few days. Specifically, I’ll probably spend a day in the Columbia River Gorge, as some have already mentioned, and at least part of another day in the Willamette Valley chasing Portland & Western and whatever else I might find.
Give a holler when you get back and we’ll compare notes. [:D]
Kathi
Its on North Columbia Blvd (Ave?) It is a 3 way split of UPRR routes. Just Mapquest North Columbia & you will find it in several clicks. It is very easily accessable & on a public property as well. It is about 2 miles south of the bridge that crosses the river between OR & WA. Kennco knows a ton of places in this area so maybe you may want to post something in the general forum. [8D][8D][:o)]
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Originally posted by UnionPacificRR6737
As sugested the Vancouver Amtrak station is a good spot. Also you might want to go up the george. There are good spots on both sides throughout. Cascade locks has a nice park trackside and across the river (Bridge of the gods is right there) Stevenson has a trackside park on the river. Up a few miles more is Home Valley where the Amtrak wrecked a couple weeks ago. There is a nice park there too. From Home Valley east the tracks and road hug eachother for 35 miles or so. Some places the road is so close to the tracks you can almost reach out and touch them (not recommended). You could drive east on the Wa. side and cross over to Hood river and check out the UP. Then follow the UP back to portland. The tracks are not as close on the Or./UP side. Also there is the Hood River Railroad in Hood River. There are also a few good places between Cascade Locks and Troutdale. Like Multnomah Falls.
Yes I had suggested he post in the general forum to get your input.[:o)][:D]
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Originally posted by chad thomas
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