Washington

BNSF freight heading west along the Columbia just past Wishram, WA. Shrouded in the clouds in the distance, you can barely see the base of Mt. Hood.

A placard near Wishram, WA explaining the role of trucks, trains, and barges in moving wheat and other freight through the Columbia Gorge.

Hidden by the freight behmoth, an Amtrak (Empire Builder) station in Wishram, WA.

Great Northern P-2 Mountain No. 2507, on exhibit in Wishram, WA. There was only one sign on WA-14 indicating that a historic steam locomotive might be down in Wishram, and when I got down to Wishram I saw no signs indicating where it was. But, it’s a tiny town, so it wasn’t hard to find it. Unfortunately, it’s preserved in a way that makes it impossible to photograph. The P-2, built in 1928, provided the power for the steep grades and harsh winter conditions experienced by the Great Northern’s Empire Builder passenger trains that ran from Chicago (via St. Paul) to Seattle and Portland. See: 1) www.steamlocomotive.info/F102003.cfm 2) www.gnrhs.org/75th_anniversary.htm

On the right is the BNSF yard in Wishram, WA, but what was most interesting to me here was the rail bridge across the Columbia. It’s a very long bridge and I first saw this bridge from I-84 on the Oregon shore, and then again here from WA-14; in neither place was there a way to get closer to the bridge. The bridge was built in 1912 for the Oregon Trunk Line of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. The bridge is near Celilo Falls, which were submerged by the lake created by The Dalles Dam. After the dam was completed, the entire bridge was raised by 5’ and it was changed from a swing span to a vertical lift. It is still used by BNSF for their line between Wishram, WA and Bend, OR. There’s more interesting detail and pictures on Wikipedia and Bridgehunter: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trunk_Rail_Bridge Bridgehunter: bridgehunter.com/or/wasco/celilo

In celebration of the president's rejection of the Paris Accord on Climate Change, a series of photos of oil trains on the Columbia. Oil train stopped on the east side of Bingen, WA; across from Hood River, OR

In celebration of the president's rejection of the Paris Accord on Climate Change, a series of photos of oil trains on the Columbia. Oil train stopped on the east side of Bingen, WA; across from Hood River, OR

A bulk transfer facility that apparently transfers between rail and barge/ocean shipping using silos as the intermediary storage facility. Updated 11/27/2016: Per an article in the 11/26/2016 Los Angeles Times, the owners of this terminal are seeking permits for storage and transfer of crude oil to be shipped by rail from the Bakken region of North Dakota/Montana. See also: Aberdeen WA railroad bridge (#1353)

Rotating bridge of the PSAP (Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad.) The PSAP is a very active shortline that uses this bridge to connect the Port of Grays Harbor with the main BNSF line in Centralia, WA. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puget_Sound_and_Pacific_Railroad Updated 11/27/2016: Per an article in the 11/26/2016 Los Angeles Times, there are plans for long trains of crude oil on this line. The oil would come from the Bakken region of North Dakota/Montana to be shipped to this terminal: Hoquiam WA waterfront (#1334)

Further downstream and not very visible, running across the center of the picture, the Columbia River railroad bridge. The bridge opened in 1908 and is still in use by both BNSF and Amtrak. The swing portion of the bridge, which opens for river traffic, is just off the Washington side of the bridge (on the right). I'll be in the Portland area in 2017 and hope to get better pictures of the bridge then.

A fascinating set of twin bridges, connecting Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. The first of the two bridges was built in 1917 as a single two-way bridge. Long before the Interstate highway system was named the bridge was named as the Interstate bridge simply for the fact that it connects two states, the bridges are now part of the Interstate system (I-5). Due to traffic demands, a second bridge that is a copy (more or less) of the first was opened in 1956 and each bridge was converted to being one-way. The first bridge was originally built as flat, but the new bridge was built with a hump so as to reduce the need for utilizing the lift section; after the new bridge was completed the old bridge was temporarily shut so as to be modified to have the same hump. Both bridges are now considered to be functionally obsolete, but attempts to replace them have been complicated by multiple factors including their proximity upriver to Portland International Airport and downriver to a railroad bridge. The Wikipedia on the bridge includes interesting details and photos: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Bridge Interesting photos of the construction of the original portion are in a Google Ebook: books.google.com/books?id=NdENAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

A fascinating set of twin bridges, connecting Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. The first of the two bridges was built in 1917 as a single two-way bridge. Long before the Interstate highway system was named the bridge was named as the Interstate bridge simply for the fact that it connects two states; the bridges are now part of the Interstate system (I-5). Due to traffic demands, a second bridge that is a copy (more or less) of the first was opened in 1956 and each bridge was converted to being one-way. The first bridge was originally built as flat, but the new bridge was built with a hump so as to reduce the need for utilizing the lift section; after the new bridge was completed the old bridge was temporarily shut so as to be modified to have the same hump. Both bridges are now considered to be functionally obsolete, but attempts to replace them have been complicated by multiple factors including their proximity upriver to Portland International Airport and downriver to a railroad bridge. The Wikipedia on the bridge includes interesting details and photos: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Bridge Interesting photos of the construction of the original portion are in a Google Ebook: books.google.com/books?id=NdENAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

From Kalama looking north, which is towards the mouth of the Columbia. The industrial area appears to be Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging in Longview, WA. In-between, pilings from the many abandoned piers that suggest various warehouses and factories that were apparently leveled since they are not visible in satellite views.

Ducks in a row...

If you look closely you can see that, behind the ship by quite some distance, is what looks like a buoy that appears to being dragged behind the ship.

A key theme of this trip was ports, so had to do what I could to find port traffic even inland. This is at a somewhat difficult to find beach on the Columbia at Kalama, WA.

At the Johnson Ridge Observatory at Mt St Helens, a very large model of the eruption and after effects. I thought the use of color lights to show distances and the travel of various flows to be quite good. In the background was a pad where it was possible to jump up and down and see one's impact on a seismometer. A few minutes in the display area became a quick reminder of why I typically avoid national park centers :)

More detailed view of the debris field at the base of the north side of Mt St Helens.This is much more interesting looking in the large (Lightbox) version.