Last Saturday, on May 10, 2014, I went on a ride based on the idea of celebrating the US National Train Day.
One of the joys of living in Portland is that I have come to know many great people by simply riding my bicycle. All one has to do is to go on bike rides organized by various people in the city, and one is treated to a wealth of knowledge from well informed people– and one gets free exercise while is going about it. This website has a calendar with a list of rides : http://www.shift2bikes.org/cal/
This year's ride was lead by Shawn Granton, Sir Andrew and Dan Haneckow . Shawn has been leading the annual ride for the past seven years. Shawn is the co-author of the The Zinester's Guide to Portland (2007): A Low/No Budget Guide to Visiting and Living in Portland, Oregon. Dan Haneckow is a local history buff, who is working on writing his first book on Portland history. He was an insightful and informed speaker on the ride- I cannot wait to read his book when it comes out.
The ride involved riding to various places and discussing the particularities of the history of the place- with the ride leaders Shawn, Dan and Sir Andrew talking to us. They answered any questions we had, and Dan also had printouts of old 19th century photographs which were passed around- from the wooden trestle Vista bridge to the train tracks on the West End of the Hawthorne Bridge.
The starting point was Union Station- which is the passenger terminal for Amtrak in Portland. From Union Station we went to Montgomery Ward, which used to be a big warehouse where box freight cars used to be unloaded- now there are no tracks leading to the building. The building is serviced by semi-trucks and has a few office spaces.
We went to see the superstructure of the Thurman bridge- the oldest bridge, on which street cars used to run- the road/pedestrian access on the bridge is being redone. We chanced upon a rivet on the ground- which was analyzed by Sir Andrew.
Stopped by palm trees at Northrup and 20th to hear about Street cars and Palm Trees. Ride took a break for food and drinks at Goose Hollow Inn. Discussed trestles and cable cars in the Goose Hollow neighbourhood, and answered trivia questions on Bud Clark- Portland's former mayor, who used to ride his bike to work in the 80s. Took the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" to PSU and Gibbs Street bridge, and talked about how the aerial tram is a "cable car", access to the neighbourhood provided by the Gibbs Pedestrian Bridge, and siting of OHSU. Inter-urban trains and street cars using Hawthorne Bridge (Madison Street Bridge), and ended up at the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum.
For me, coming from India, the interesting thing is that like so many things in the US, the train companies were started and maintained by private companies- hence the name Union Station; a common place decided by the different train companies to locate a terminal. This is unlike the picture I have in India, where barring a few private toy railroads of the Maharajas, the railroads were built and maintained by the British government. That is my assumption, and to do this day, the Indian Railways is a government agency.
The truth about passenger trains all over the world, and in fact about passenger travel in any form, air or by cars on road, is that they depend on government subsidies to run. Early in the 20th century, after the First World War, trains and streetcars gave way to cars. This was due a number of factors; the love of cars by the general public - an affair that continues unabated today, collusion of car companies and the oil industry in shutting down public transport in some major US cities, and even local elected officials who elected to remove street car lines as they were considered old, and that "progress and future" meant cars. Given the dominance of cars in the US, it is even surprising that there are people who love all things rail.
Among the things, I learnt
- most of the bus lines operated by the city of Portland, including some of the bus lines, I use on a daily basis, 15 and 20, were former street-car lines.
- Montgomery Park warehouse in the NW- before trucks, most transportation was by rail in box cars, which involved a lot of people in loading and unloading. Now trains carry bulk, and little "un-boxing" takes place in the city.
Modern Street car:
- Do not stop in the center of the street- people disembark directly onto the sidewalk
- First Street Car in the US reintroduced in Portland in the 90s, after most street cars removed in the 1950s,
Old Street Car:
- First woman mayor of Portland, Dorothy McCullough Lee advocated for removing streetcars, and bringing in the future- aka cars in the 1950s
Ride description from the Shift calendar.
NATIONAL TRAIN DAY 2014 RIDE 
Shawn Granton:
old site: http://urbanadventureleague.blogspot.com/
new site: http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
Dan Haneckow of Cafe Unknown: portland Oregon history.
http://www.cafeunknown.com/
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation: http://www.orhf.org/
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| Ride Leaders: Shawn Granton, Sir Andrew and Dan Haneckow @ Montgomery Ward. |
This year's ride was lead by Shawn Granton, Sir Andrew and Dan Haneckow . Shawn has been leading the annual ride for the past seven years. Shawn is the co-author of the The Zinester's Guide to Portland (2007): A Low/No Budget Guide to Visiting and Living in Portland, Oregon. Dan Haneckow is a local history buff, who is working on writing his first book on Portland history. He was an insightful and informed speaker on the ride- I cannot wait to read his book when it comes out.
The ride involved riding to various places and discussing the particularities of the history of the place- with the ride leaders Shawn, Dan and Sir Andrew talking to us. They answered any questions we had, and Dan also had printouts of old 19th century photographs which were passed around- from the wooden trestle Vista bridge to the train tracks on the West End of the Hawthorne Bridge.
The starting point was Union Station- which is the passenger terminal for Amtrak in Portland. From Union Station we went to Montgomery Ward, which used to be a big warehouse where box freight cars used to be unloaded- now there are no tracks leading to the building. The building is serviced by semi-trucks and has a few office spaces.
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| Thurman Street Bridge |
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| Sir Andrew examines a rivet found on the street. After filing and licking it with his tongue he proclaimed that it is a more recent rivet made of steel , and not iron. The original bridge had iron rivets. |
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| Steel Rivet from the Thurman Bridge |
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| Dan Haneckow talks about cable cars at the Goose Hollow Inn. He is talking about the round wheel found at 18th and Jefferson that guided the cable. |
For me, coming from India, the interesting thing is that like so many things in the US, the train companies were started and maintained by private companies- hence the name Union Station; a common place decided by the different train companies to locate a terminal. This is unlike the picture I have in India, where barring a few private toy railroads of the Maharajas, the railroads were built and maintained by the British government. That is my assumption, and to do this day, the Indian Railways is a government agency.
The truth about passenger trains all over the world, and in fact about passenger travel in any form, air or by cars on road, is that they depend on government subsidies to run. Early in the 20th century, after the First World War, trains and streetcars gave way to cars. This was due a number of factors; the love of cars by the general public - an affair that continues unabated today, collusion of car companies and the oil industry in shutting down public transport in some major US cities, and even local elected officials who elected to remove street car lines as they were considered old, and that "progress and future" meant cars. Given the dominance of cars in the US, it is even surprising that there are people who love all things rail.
Among the things, I learnt
- Union Station: Original bubblers donated by Benson. Some bubblers elsewhere in the city have fewer fountains to save water. can tell by the lettering below bubbler if it was the original one or not.
- Montgomery Park warehouse in the NW- before trucks, most transportation was by rail in box cars, which involved a lot of people in loading and unloading. Now trains carry bulk, and little "un-boxing" takes place in the city.
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| Gibbs Pedestrian Bridge with OHSU in the background |
Modern Street car:
- Do not stop in the center of the street- people disembark directly onto the sidewalk
- First Street Car in the US reintroduced in Portland in the 90s, after most street cars removed in the 1950s,
Old Street Car:
- First woman mayor of Portland, Dorothy McCullough Lee advocated for removing streetcars, and bringing in the future- aka cars in the 1950s
- Street cars could not work with one way streets. Many used the same track for travelling both ways in certain sections.
- Cable cars in Portland (like in SF). Wheel from cable car at 18th and Jefferson, somewhere in the city yard below the Fremont Bridge
- Street car on Vista to Council Crest:Amusement park, 2/3 size steamship, Band concerts, Magic Lantern Show
- Dog called "Buster", would travel with the kids to Ainsworth Elementary School, and ride the Street car back by himself- the conductors knew about him
- OHSU story. rail road company bought land without seeing it visually and did not consider the topography. later in the 20th cent got sold to OHSU and hospital built there.
- cable car could not go up after trestle built connecting the OHSU area to the waterfront.- the developer left town/went mad?
- cable car could not go up after trestle built connecting the OHSU area to the waterfront.- the developer left town/went mad?
- below hawthorne bridge, street car tracks. In the 1890s, a train from oregon city, travelling on a foggy morning, realized too late that the Hawthorne/Madison Street Bridge was up, the engine braked, but there was frost on the tracks, and the train skidded, and fell into the river, fog and frost, the people who were in the water were hit by the steamship coming by.
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| Below the Hawthorne bridge: Street Car Tracks that used to run to Oregon City, OR |
Ride description from the Shift calendar.
Union Station, 800 NW 6th Ave, Portland 
(Meet by stone obelisk in front of station, at corner of 6th & Irving)
11:00am - 3:00pm, Train Day festivities at the station start there at 10am, GET THERE EARLY if you want to check it out! (Meet by stone obelisk in front of station, at corner of 6th & Irving)
Experience how Portland history has been shaped by rails. This 10-15 mile ride is a joint project of Urban Adventure League, Dan Haneckow of Cafe Unknown, and Sir Andrew. This ride will start at Union Sta. and head to sites around the central city, ultimately ending at the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum near OMSI in SE. Ride not a loop. Train Day festivities start at Union Station at 10am, GET THERE EARLY if you want to check it out!
Links:
old site: http://urbanadventureleague.blogspot.com/
new site: http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
Dan Haneckow of Cafe Unknown: portland Oregon history.
http://www.cafeunknown.com/
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| Oregon Rail Heritage Museum, near OMSI |
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation: http://www.orhf.org/
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| Posing by a Steam Engine at the Oregon Rail Heritage Museum |
