23-09-08 PHOTOS: Portland MAX

Over the years I've managed to at least put a toe in all of the major West Coast population centers, many more than once and for significant periods of time, however I had never gotten the opportunity to visit Portland beyond a 20 minute train-to-bus transfer as part of a Coast Starlight bus bridge in 2014. This year I finally managed to put a real trip together with two solid chunks of railfanning. The first, featured here, involves the trip in from the airport via MAX light rail and wandering around Union Station before heading west of the city to my final destination. The second part will cover both ends of the city's iconic Steel Bridge as well as the return trip to the airport. You can view the first set of photos here ( mirror ).

Starting things off on Southwest Airlines, I encountered the Hawaiian and New Mexican heritage units at BWI and Chicago Midway respectively.

Unfortunately the MAX Airport Line was under reconstruction so my first experience with the light rail was boarding a TriMet shuttle bus to the Gateway Transportation Center.

To reach Union Station I would need to catch a Green Line train in from Gateway, as the Red and Blue line trains use a different alignment through downtown. While known for its boxy Siemens SD660 LRV's #236, in recent years TriMet has been ordering SD70 and SD700 LRV's like #402.

My train downtown would feature Portland 300-series SD660 #320. While the rolling stock is set up for a look ahead view, I later discovered that the default behavior by most operators was to deploy a curtain and block it.

With the first segments built in the late 1987, MAX is one of the few North American rail systems with left hand mounted signals. On the dedicated rights of way signaling is a basic ABS/ATS setup with speeds up to 55mph between stations.

MAX uses BNSF style speed restriction signs including a harsh 20mph through stations.

Encountering SD660 #225 as #320 enters street running at 11th Ave.

Here my LRV is crossing Portland's famed double deck steel lift bridge. The lower deck carries main line freight and can rise independently from the upper span that carries road traffic and MAX. At either end there is a flat MAX junction.

Approaching Union Station, southbound Amtrak Coast Starlight Train 11 was in the station with ALC-42 Chargers #305 and #325 leading.

Vintage 80's styled MAX SD660 #233 at the 5th Ave Union Station stop.

Opening in 1896, Portland Union Station hosts the Amtrak Cascades Service to Seattle and Eugene as well as the Coast Starlight and Empire Builder long distance trains. I had previously been here briefly in 2014 when taking the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles due to a bus bridge around a Union Pacific maintenance outage.

Outside ALC-42 #314 sat ready to depart with the eastbound Empire Builder Train 28 while a westbound Union Pacific freight movement with SD70M's #4044 and #3814.

Track side view of the station with the train shed, platform canopies and a Horizon equipped Cascades train.

Until 1996 the station's east end and nearby Steel Bridge were controlled by VC tower, which has continued to serve as a railroad crew base.

Amtrak Cascades painted SC44 #1407 and Cabbage F40PH #90252 at the opposite ends of the Horizon cars.

MAX SD70 #417 at VC tower.

MAX SD660 #211 at 5th St Union Station.

SD70 #406 at Everett St and #420 at Pioneer Sq.

My day would end traveling out to Willow Creek on the MAX western trunk line. Portland MAX Type 3 (SD660) LRV #328 departs the Willow Creek/Southwest 185th Avenue Transit Center westbound past the 1156 automatic signal displaying an Approach indication.

Willow Creek is where some of the extreme grades that are possible on the light rail system become evident.

That's all for now, next time tune back as I go for walk across Portland's Steel Bridge.