Thursday, November 22, 2018

Riding the Eastbound Empire Builder up the Columbia River Gorge

Portland section of Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder in Vancouver, Washington, on July 23, 1999

On July 23, 1999, I boarded the eastbound Portland section of Amtrak's Empire Builder at Vancouver, Washington, on a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Here are the pictures I took the first day, as the train traveled up the north bank of the Columbia River Gorge. Unfortunately, most of them are blurry, because my camera's autofocus tried to focus on the reflections and dirt on the window glass instead of the scenic views beyond.

Phoca Rock on July 23, 1999

Phoca Rock is a landslide remnant that sits in the middle of the Columbia River near Bridal Veil, Oregon, though it is closer to the Washington side of the river. It is about 30 feet tall and was named by William Clark after the Phoca vitulina harbor seals that were seen in the area.

Multnomah Falls on July 23, 1999

At a height of 620 feet, Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon and is one of the tallest year-round waterfalls in the United States.

Bonneville Dam Spillway on July 23, 1999

In the background is the spillway of the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The spillway was built from 1933 to 1937 along with the first powerhouse on the Oregon side of the river.

Bonneville Dam Spillway on July 23, 1999

The Bonneville Dam spillway is 1,450 feet long and has 18 gates. It typically maintains the reservoir on the upstream side at a height 59 feet above the river on the downstream side.

Bonneville Dam Second Powerhouse on July 23, 1999

The Bonneville Dam Second Powerhouse was built on the Washington side of the river from 1974 to 1982. The river had to be widened to provide space for it.

Bonneville Dam Second Powerhouse on July 23, 1999

The Second Powerhouse is 986 feet long with 8 generators producing a total of 558 megawatts of power. Combined with the first powerhouse, the entire Bonneville Dam can produce 1.2 gigawatts of electricity.

Stevenson Co-Ply Mill in Stevenson, Washington, on July 23, 1999

This is the Stevenson Co-Ply plywood mill in Stevenson, Washington. Stevenson Co-Ply, Incorporated, was incorporated on August 17, 1955, and purchased the Stevenson Plywood Corporation in March of 1956. This mill was one of Skamania County's largest employers, and the main building had an area of 130,000 square feet. Stevenson Co-Ply went into receivership on January 24, 1992. The mill was purchased by High Cascade International Corporation and was used a warehouse to store wood pellets. It would later be destroyed by arson on September 21, 2007.

View from near Cook, Washington, on July 23, 1999

Here is a view from near Cook, Washington, showing the Oregon bank of the Columbia River. Traffic can be seen on Interstate 84.

View from near Hood, Washington, on July 23, 1999

This is a view from near Hood, Washington, showing the Oregon side of the river.

Windsurfers near Hood, Washington, on July 23, 1999

These windsurfers on the Columbia River were near Hood, Washington, enjoying the strong winds in this part of the Columbia River Gorge.

View of Mount Hood from near Hood, Washington, on July 23, 1999

This is a view of Mount Hood from near Hood, Washington. At a height of 11,249 feet, Mount Hood is the tallest mountain in Oregon. Mount Hood was named on October 29, 1792 for British Admiral Samuel Hood by British Lieutenant William Broughton, a member of George Vancouver's worldwide expedition.

View of Mount Hood and Hood River, Oregon, from near Hood, Washington, on July 23, 1999

This is a view of Mount Hood and the town of Hood River, Oregon, from near Hood, Washington. The town of Hood River is named after the Hood River, which originates on Mount Hood and flows into the Columbia River here.

View of Mount Hood and Hood River, Oregon, from near Hood, Washington, on July 23, 1999

The name Hood River appeared on maps as early as 1856, and the Hood River post office was established on September 20, 1858. The railroad opened through Hood River in 1882, and the city of Hood River was incorporated in July 1895. Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, which was separated from Wasco County on June 23, 1908. The Columbia River Highway opened from Portland to Hood River in 1916.

View from near Dallesport, Washington, on July 23, 1999

This is a view from near Dallesport, Washington, which sits across the Columbia River from The Dalles, Oregon.

View from near Maryhill, Washington, on July 23, 1999

In this view from near Maryhill, Washington, a Union Pacific freight train can be seen on the other side of the Columbia River. By this time it was beginning to get dark, so this was the last picture from this part of the trip.

Trains in Vancouver on July 23, 1999

Amtrak Cascades NPCU #90253 in Vancouver, Washington on July 23, 1999

I took these pictures at the Amtrak station in Vancouver, Washington, on July 23, 1999, while waiting to catch the eastbound Empire Builder to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to attend the Milwaukee School of Engineering's summer program. First was this southbound Amtrak Cascades Train #753, led by Amtrak Cascades #90253, a Non-Powered Cab Unit, or NPCU, which had been recently rebuilt from Amtrak #253, a 3,000-horsepower F40PH that was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1977. This was the first NPCU I had an opportunity to photograph; they had been added after the Amtrak Cascades service was inaugurated in January 1999.

Union Pacific SD60 #5964 in Vancouver, Washington on July 23, 1999

In the middle of the motive power consist of a Union Pacific freight train was Union Pacific #5964, a 3,800-horsepower SD60 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in October 1986 as Chicago & North Western #8043. Chicago & North Western SD60s #8001-8055 came from a canceled order by the Soo Line, and were built to Soo Line specifications. Following the merger of the Chicago & North Western into the Union Pacific on April 24, 1995, this locomotive became Union Pacific #5964 on November 14, 1996, and was repainted into Union Pacific colors with the short-lived "We will deliver" slogan that was only applied during 1996.

Amtrak F40PH #322 in Vancouver, Washington on July 23, 1999

Leading the eastbound Portland section of the Empire Builder is Amtrak #322, a 3,000-horsepower F40PH that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in September 1979. I boarded this train for my trip east to Milwaukee.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Railfanning in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

Amtrak F59PHI #458 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

These pictures were taken while railfanning at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, in July of 1999. The first I saw was a southbound Amtrak Cascades train with an interesting locomotive on the head end.

Amtrak F59PHI #458 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

Amtrak #458 is a 3,200-horsepower F59PHI that was built in 1998 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors with final assembly by Super Steel Schenectady of Schenectady, Pennsylvania. The Amtrak Cascades trains are usually powered by F59PHIs that are painted to match the green, brown, and white colors of the train, but this one is silver and blue.

Amtrak F59PHI #458 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

This particular F59PHI is painted in Amtrak's Surfliner colors for service in California. The Surfliner locomotives occasionally substituted on the Cascades when one of the Cascades F59PHIs had to go south to California for maintenance.

Amtrak F40PH #354 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

Leading the eastbound Portland section of the Empire Builder is Amtrak #354, a 3,000-horsepower F40PH that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1980. It is painted in the colors of the Florida Fun Train, a short-lived venture that briefly leased three F40PHs (#354, #358, & #374) from Amtrak.

Amtrak F40PH #354 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

The six-car Florida Fun Train made its inaugural run on October 15, 1997, on a 200-mile route between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. On the inaugural run of a new route between Tampa and central Florida on August 1, 1998, the train was involved in a fatal collision with a tow truck. After losing $9.9 million in the first half of 1998, the Florida Fun Train shut down on September 16, 1998. The three locomotives were returned to Amtrak and were put back in regular service without being repainted.

BNSF C44-9W #739 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

As we left Vancouver, we found a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train was waiting on the Sixth Street Viaduct. This train had just come westbound down the north bank of the Columbia River Gorge with a lot of motive power.

BNSF C44-9W #739 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

Leading this freight train was Burlington Northern Santa Fe #739, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in August 1997. It was painted in Burlington Northern Santa Fe's newest paint scheme.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe SD45-2u #5814 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

The second locomotive was Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe #5814, a 3,600-horsepower SD45-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May of 1972 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #5650. In May 1986, it was rebuilt at Santa Fe's shops in San Bernardino, California as an SD45-2u; at the time the Santa Fe was planning to merge with the Southern Pacific, so it was renumbered to 7214 in accordance with the proposed numbering system for the merged railroads, and was painted in the red-and-yellow "Kodachrome" merger paint scheme. After the merger was denied by the Interstate Commerce Commission, it was renumbered to 5814 and repainted in Santa Fe's standard blue-and-yellow paint scheme.

BNSF SDF40-2 #6976 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

The third locomotive was Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6976, which was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August 1974 as Amtrak #644, a 3,000-horsepower SDP40F passenger locomotive based on the popular SD40-2 freight engine. Amtrak found the SDP40Fs unsatisfactory, and in September 1984 Amtrak traded 18 of them to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe in exchange for 25 CF7s and 8 SSB1200s for use as terminal switchers. 

BNSF SDF40-2 #6976 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

In May 1985 the former Amtrak #644 was rebuilt at the Santa Fe's shops in San Bernardino, California, as SDF40-2 #5266. In April 1994, the maintenance of all the SDF40-2s was subcontracted to Morrison-Knudsen, of Boise, Idaho. After the Burlington Northern Santa Fe merger, ATSF #5266 was renumbered to BNSF #6976 in April 1998.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe SD45-2u #5814 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #5814 has MKM sublettering under the road number on the side of the cab, indicating that the maintenance for this locomotive had been subcontracted to Morrison-Knudsen of Boise, Idaho, in April 1994.

BNSF C44-9W #739 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

Here is another look an Burlington Northern Santa Fe #739.

BNSF C44-9W #739 in Vancouver, Washington, in July, 1999

This was one of the first locomotives to be painted in BNSF's new "Heritage II" paint scheme in 1997. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

SP&S #700 in Beaverton in July 1999

Willamette & Pacific GP39-2 #2317 "Tigard" in Beaverton, Oregon, in July 1999

In July 1999, my dad and I were in Beaverton, Oregon, trying to photograph an excursion train pulled by Spokane, Portland & Seattle steam locomotive #700 on the Willamette & Pacific line. While we waited for the steam train, a group of four Willamette & Pacific diesels passed through. The lead locomotive was Willamette & Pacific #2317, Tigard, a 2,300-horsepower GP39-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1974 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #3616. It is one of a group of 17 GP39-2s Willamette & Pacific acquired from the Santa Fe in 1993.

Spokane, Portland, & Seattle E-1 4-8-4 #700 in Beaverton, Oregon, in July 1999

Spokane, Portland & Seattle #700 is one of three 4-8-4s built for the SP&S in 1938 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These locomotives were identical to A-3 class locomotives then being delivered to SP&S's parent, the Northern Pacific Railway, except that the SP&S locomotives burned oil instead of coal. By 1955, the SP&S had completed dieselization and was ready to retire the last of its steam locomotives. After pulling 1,400 passengers on a 21-car Farewell to Steam Excursion between Portland and Wishram, Washington on May 20, 1956, #700 joined the rest of SP&S's steam locomotives in a scrap line. After the Union Pacific offered the City of Portland 4-6-2 Pacific #3203 to display in a park, SP&S donated #700 on January 13, 1958, and would be the only SP&S or NP Northern to survive; in fact only one other SP&S steam locomotive survived.

Spokane, Portland, & Seattle E-1 4-8-4 #700 in Beaverton, Oregon, in July 1999

SP&S #700 was put on static display at Oaks Amusement Park along with UP ##203 and SP #4449. After SP #4449's restoration to pull the American Freedom Train in 1976,15-year-old Chris McLarney founded the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association in 1977 to restore #700. The locomotive returned to operation in 1990.

Spokane, Portland, & Seattle E-1 4-8-4 #700 in Beaverton, Oregon, in July 1999

On this particular July weekend in 1999, SP&S #700 was pulling a series of short round-trip excursions out of Beaverton as part of the "Taste of Beaverton" festival.