Western Railroad Discussion > Columbia River Gorge (Oregon and Washington)

Day after Winterail, SCUfoamer invited me to ride along for some train hunting on both sides of the Columbia River Gorge. We went east as far as Maryhill on the Washington side, and Biggs Junction on the Oregon side.

Here's his report:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5835526

The video is 4:39 minutes long, but we covered 6 locations. There are 8+ different trains in there, including a Warbonnet, Grinstein, SD75I (repainted H3), NS, and MRL (none leading) besides the typical Armor Yellows and Pumpkins. So people with short attention span will lose out. :-)

I say 8+ because the 9th train was a local with a H1 GP60 stopped at Home Valley. SCUfoamer had hoped to catch it on its return trip with the nose leading, but the crew tied it down with the GP60 still long hood forward. Oh well.

- Mt. Hood view (looking west) at Avery.
- Westbound baretables near Rowland Lake.
- Video with lots of trains.
 

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The 2nd video here shows the entire Pasco to Everett manifest... H-PASEVE1?? We were at Rowland Lake atop a rock outcrop, sharing the location with 2 other railfans and watching several westbounds go by.

As mentioned by SCUfoamer in his report, we were hoping to catch a train crossing the Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge west of Wishram, but it wasn't meant to be. I've caught the 4449 cross the bridge back in 2012, but shot into the sun, and train going the other way (geographical north). Another oh well.

- Forgot the name of these old well cars.
- Westbound coal with MRL meeting the tied-down Fresno-bound manifest.
- Video of the entire westbound BNSF manifest.

That's it for the slightly belated report.

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Wow, you got some great clips! Thanks for sharing....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Thanks for sharing your nice videos!  Looks like a great place to railfan.

texchief1

Great video and pictures.....a rare day in our Gorge....the wind surfers are taking a break and downing a brew.  Arlen

 

Need some thoughts on crusing the Columbia River as my wife and I are considering a river cruise on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  Any and all thoughts will be appreciated.

Marty Harrison
Knob Noster, MO

Marthy, we did the Northwest Explorer last fall...absolutey great trip.  while I grew up in the Gorge and live in Portland,,,the river view is great.  ACL has done a very good job with their land excursions...ALL worthwhile!   Do the Kalama History Museum in the Port offices...Neon Museum in The Dalles, WAARM in Hood River....the Astor Column in Astoria....etc, etc.....staff was GREAT as was the food.  and yes, lots of trains, both sides. As one who has done many road trips in Geoge,, the river view is way different and enjoyable.   we took the builder home from spokane.....the 4am boarding call is a bit gim but doable.   Arlen
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Awesome post!   I'm looking forward to my first visit of this area this summer!


-Tom



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/24 09:50 by zchcsse.

Nice views and videos.
—Mac

Excellent images and great videos!
GK

cchan006 Wrote:
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> - Forgot the name of these old well cars.

Twin-Stacks!

Nice video accompaniment to SCUfoamer's photos.  Thanks for the RVPT video too, I moved out of the area a while ago so I appreciate seeing the entire train make up since I can't be trackside.  

Excellent series and very enjoyable videos!

Larry

Agreed on the excellent videos!

Great report Charles! I feel like my photographs from the early morning Mt. Hood shots on each side of the river were spectacular, but your videos really shine at all of the other locations. Especially that Bluff we hiked up to. As always, appreciate the steady hand :)

livesteamer Wrote:
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> Need some thoughts on crusing the Columbia River
> as my wife and I are considering a river cruise on
> the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  Any and all
> thoughts will be appreciated.


I've not taken the cruise but it looks very nice.   The price is steep.   I would suggest taking the Empire Builder EB to Spokane, then driving back westbound a day or two later.  Much cheaper,  and more freedom to explore.   IMHO.  Either way,  safe travels.

Nickatnight 








 

Thanks for the post...

asheldrake Wrote:
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> Great video and pictures.....a rare day in our
> Gorge....the wind surfers are taking a break and
> downing a brew.  Arlen
>
>  So true re the wind . . not many days are as calm as that . . well done!
Craig
mcmrailvideos.com