Mmmmmmmmmmm.........Alcos............... Won't see any until I head north thru Ft. Smith to visit kids, grandkid, and shoot A&M power. Hopefully, they'll still have that ex-BCR engine in Ft. Smith as the switcher.
Gone. <sniff> <sob> Union Station is there. The Steel Bridge, which has the lower deck carrying trains across the river is there. The roundhouse, the PTRR tower, and most everything else rail oriented is gone in that particular area. Adam
"Might interfere with some work schedules..." You say that like it's a bad thing. I will be out of town August 19-24. Most evenings I could get away, and with a little prior planning I could probably also get lost earlier in the day. I am game for some group railfanning during part of your visit.
SteamDonkey... now with a programmed scanner Hey, One more tool for our railfanning when you get here - I have just programmed twenty railroad and railroad related frequencies into my scanner specific to the greater Portland/Vancouver area. I can scan just this bank of channels and even just sitting here right now I can get some sense of what is going on and who is where. Now I just need to get a railroad atlas... anyone have any recommendations? Adam
Railfanning Portland There are many areas in Portland to railfan. The BN(ex SP&S)Hoyt Street yare is gone as is the roundhouse. The area is now built up with condos. Union Pacific still has Albina Yard a very busy place. The RR Police are very active. The Brooklyn Roundhouse is a must see. To access it requires going through a trucking company's terminal.Most weekends find someone there working on something. There are many items there including the 700 4449 Doyle's PA a SP&S FA and so on......... Vancouver is a great place, the depot and surrounding area will provide many good spots for photos. Also both sides of the Columbia Gorge. BNSF on the Washington side and UP on the Oregon side. Just south of Kalama at exit 27 "Todd Road" there is an excellent spot where the mainline is easily accessed.
Welcome Aboard MR SP!! Thanks for the suggestions. Adam, I love the SPV Railroad Atlases. I have several different ones. Jeff and I are still goin over ideas on what, where and which day so for those interested in meeting, I'll get with ya closer to the dates. Tentatively it looks like the week starting the 13th in Aug. We'll probably be leaving a couple days before on Fri.
Definitely Vancouver, probably the hottest spot for railfan action in the NW in my opinion. John, for access to Brooklyn, I think it is Idaho Street that takes you into the yard, right through TP truck lines lot. Make a right as you pass their office, they are used to it, or at least in the ten plus years I've been going there they haven't said anything yet. Although its outside of Portland a bit, I really like Taylor Lake on the UP just west of The Dalles. The view of both tracks is good. Albina is my in town favorite, being able to sit underneath I405 and watch MP15s work their butts off. Plus Widmer Bros is on the east side of the yard, and have probably the best grilled REubens anywhere on the west coast.
Awesome! I think we're pretty settled on the Vancouver stop. Also the Brooklyn Roundhouse and the Oregon Pacific. Hopefully we will be able to hook up with Scott and Adam for some shooting and Cliff(Mr SP) in Rainier for some slides. Gonna be a blast! Cant wait! I'll definately be checking out the map for Idaho St. By the way, Welcome aboard 4441!! Probably be up Mon - Wed the 13th -15th. Gonna sit down and write out our plan in the next week or so. Gotta plot out stops and days.
Dang! I wish that I had looked for this thread earlier. I just returned from Portland, OR on Tuesday. I managed to stumble upon the Brooklyn Yard and some other areas too. I can upload a few images and post a few pics if anyone is interested. Ben
