Western Railroad Discussion > Visiting Portland, OR

My soon-to-be wife and I will be visiting Portland, Oregon and possibly Seattle during our honeymoon in August. That being said, we have allotted the better part of one day to trains and railfanning.

So, what are some of the must-see railfan locations around Portland? What shortlines do I need to hit? Obviously I need to hit up the engine house where the Daylight and the 700 live, along with Union Station, but we were also looking to possibly hit up the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad as well one day.

What else can we do with a somewhat reasonable drive (2 hours or so). We will be in the area for basically 6 days.

Thanks for your help. Neither of us have ever been to the Pacific Northwest, so this will be new territory for us.

Pump

The ORHF (Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation) is open Thursday - Sunday afternoons, from 1PM to 5PM. Definitely worth a visit.

For maximum number of trains, the Vancouver Amtrak depot cant be beat. Free/safe parking, easy access to platform, imposing bridge for an excellent backdrop.

A train ride up to Seattle and back would be a romantic way to pass the day. The train travels along Puget Sound for nearly an hour, the views are fantastic.

Having said all that, I personally think that one CANNOT visit the Portland area without going to the gorge. The Columbia Gorge is unparalled in beauty, and the trains are usually frequent. Would suggest drive east on HWY 14 from the Skamania area up to Wishram. Check out the Celilo Bridge crossing and the quaint old railroad town, then backtrack WB to cross the river and go EB on I84 back up to the bridge area on the Oregon side. This is where the rail line to the Oregon Trunk begins by carving a path along the cliffs above the Gorge. Admittedly this will be a full day, but Hood River and The Dalles offer excellent watering holes just to keep the fun factor high. I say with confidence that your fondest memories will come from visiting this area.

Nickatnight

Greetings,

Well not directly in the rail fan arena but still worth the trip are a few thing is in the Columbia Gorge. First would be Multnomah Falls ( http://www.oregon.com/attractions/multnomah_falls ) and if you are lucky the UP will give you a show. There is a public access walking path that goes directly under the UP tracks you are that close to the tracks. The food is good at the lodge there and the prices were not to bad there the last time I was there. From there take the old Columbia Gorge highway back to Crown Point ( http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=108 ) the views up and down the gorge are out of this world.

Now for just train watching the Amtrak depot in Vancouver Washington cant be beat. You are in the middle of a wye, one leg comes from Portland and south, and continues straight past the front of the depot to Seattle, Amtrak, UP and BNSF use these two legs and sometimes you will get a transfer run from the P&W. The third leg goes out the gorge to Wishram, Pasco and east, this leg is only used by Amtrak and BNSF. You have already mentioned the engine house, this is best done on a Thursday or Friday as the house is not open earlier in the week.

If you go to the coast and ride the train, a stop at the Tilamook Cheese factory on the way back to Portland is not a bad place to stop, the Ice Cream is great! I wish the Greenbrier would have factory tours as this is something all rail fans would like to see.

You did not mention if you were a model railroader but we have three pretty good hobby shops in the area, Whistle Stop Trains on the east side, The Hobby Smith in the middle and Tammie's Hobbies on the west, we just lost our fourth good store Mainline Trains in Forest Grove. If you need address and phone numbers let me know.

I will try to think of other places to go and see.

Andre
Portland Oregon

PS I see some one else beat me to the punch, His idea of going out Highway 14 is great also.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/14 20:30 by Andre.

Oregon Pacific operates an excursion train on Saturday afternoons between the ORHF facility and Oaks Park using rare GMD1 #1413 and the Santa Rosa business car.

Round trip takes 40 minutes and costs 5 bucks.

Dick Samuels

Based on all of the suggestions, I think you will need a longer honeymoon.

I haven't checked recently but you could swing by the Chelatchie Prarie RR northeast of Battle Ground. There's the former Weyerhaeuser woods line that Patriot operates near Longview. Always check the Mt. Hood RR. As mentioned, you might get some surprises at Vancouver. If you care to shoot industrials, the Columbia Business Park op in Vancouver and Peninsula Terminal are reliably accessible.

Posted from Android

ORHF is very difficult to get to due to all of the construction going on all around it (not to mention all the train tracks). It's pretty much a warehouse containing four or five locomotives, and not much else. That being said, it's not as if I'm not recommending it: it has the SP 4449 as well as several other mint-condition steam locos.

If you like yard action, a great spot is Overlook Park in North Portland, easy to get to via the MAX Yellow Line. Overlook Park is a beautiful little neighborhood park, on the edge of a cliff overlooking Albina Yard, Union Pacific's main Portland headquarters. From Overlook Park, you can see the entire working classification yard and it is truly not to be missed.

Another place you can go for yard action is Brooklyn Yard, which is Portland's main intermodal center. It is just down the line from ORHF and can be seen splendidly via a footbridge over the yard.

Portland is a great place for a honeymoon, but just a cautionary warning: you being from Kansas (correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you from Kansas or that vicinity?), taking a honeymoon to the world's most beautiful city, you may never leave. And I would be all right with that: I'm just down the valley in Eugene (a great place for a daytrip from Portland).

"You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave..."

Tor in Eugene

Agree with most of everybodies comment, mine would be to check out the Columbia Gorge, a little bit past Multanomah falls for example, the Dams and Fisheries or the boat ride. For simplicity and train volume the Vancouver Amtrak Station is pretty hard to beat. Enjoy and expect traffic jams because it's a nice place to be.

Also, you can go south to Brooks and the Antique Powerland Museum. Trains, Trolleys, tractors, 1/8 scale ride-on RR etc. See a recent post elsewhere on TO.

We visited ORHF in June and thought it was a nice afternoon. When we go to PDX we rarely have a car. Not sure where you are staying but if you can take the CL streetcar loop to block away. Or it is a nice walk or bike ride from downtown along the river.