Farewell is not Forever - Pt. 19: Riding the Train

Here is the Plum Creek boarding. The woman is a PRPA volunteer who was taking tickets.

This is the interior of the Plum Creek. The original coach seats were removed by Burlington Northern in 1977, so these fairly common tables and chairs are used to make the former coach into a parlor car of sorts. Aside from the missing seats, the interior of the car looks very close to how it looked originally, complete with overhead luggage racks and reading lights.

A number of sights can be seen from the train as it travels along the Springwater Trail.

Oaks Park is near milepost 3 of the Springwater Trail.

There is a short siding at Oaks Park. The speeders would wait on this siding until #700 was on its way before heading in the other direction. The switchstand is quite old, and even includes a cast iron sign that reads "IMPAIRED CLEARANCE."

A portable derail was sitting near the switch.

This pond is part of the 140-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. On the other side is the huge Portland Memorial Mausoleum.

The Crystal Dolphin is a small cruise boat owned by American Waterways, Inc., operators of the Portland Spirit, Willamette Star, Outrageous Jetboat and sternwheeler Columbia Gorge. These boats are used for Portland-based day cruises on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Aside from the jetboat, Crystal Dolphin is the smallest. It is seen here on the Willamette near Oaks Park.

Here is a view of the trail looking out the window of the Plum Creek. #700 is barely visible along the left edge of the window.

Here is another view of the trail from the train.

Some old docks can be seen from the train or the trail.

Downtown Portland is beginning to come into view. Visible are the Wells Fargo Center (the tallest building in Oregon), the KOIN Center and the Ross Island Bridge.

A glimpse of the Oregon Health & Science University campus on Marquam Hill, and the buildings for the new OHSU River Campus under construction. Eventually an aerial cable tram will connect them.

Here is a better view of the Ross Island Bridge. It was designed by Gustav Lindenthal and built by Booth & Pomeroy at a cost of $1.9 million. It opened on December 21, 1926 and is the only cantilever deck truss bridge in Oregon. The cantilever truss is 1,819 feet long, with a main span of 535 feet. Including the approaches, the bridge is over 3,700 feet long. It carries U.S. Highway 26 across the Willamette River. Though originally owned by Multnomah County, since 1976 it has been owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Continue to The Other End of the Line…