Travel — Page 4

June 6, 1935: Streamliner “City of Portland” Makes Inaugural Trip

June 6, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The City of Portland, the last word in modern train equipment, made its inaugural run on June 6, 1935 (Morning Oregonian, 7-June-1935).

First stop? Pendleton:

A yellow bullet sped on through the rolling hills, plains and mountains of eastern Oregon tonight bent on hanging up the world’s fastest long-distance passenger run.

This hurtling projectile, the last word in modern train equipment, reached Pendleton on time at 7:50 P.M., marking the fasted regular passenger run of record over the Union Pacific’s tracks from Portland.

The streamliner made its first stop here to pick up an entirely new crew of five men. The stop occupied only a few seconds and then the pride of the U. P. resumed its mile-eating journey to Chicago.

The City of Portland operated until the mid-50s.

Popina Swimwear Boutique Travel Showcase First Thursday (2-June-2011)

May 31, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Popina Travel Showcase Popina Swimwear Boutique in the Pearl District (318 NW 11th) is hosting a series of travel events with the help of experts from the travel site BootsnAll.

The latest Popina Swimwear Boutique Travel Showcase takes place this First Thursday, June 2, 2011 from 6:30pm until 8:30pm:

Sherry Ott and Michaela Potter, creators of the career break movement and Meet, Plan, Go!, will be stopping in Portland on their West Coast Career Break Road Trip. Ever dreamed of quitting your job to travel the world? Meet, Plan, Go! will share how you can make taking a one year break from your career, a reality. This event is free, in preparation for the October 18 Meet, Plan, Go! nationwide event, and will include saving & budget, where to go, how to quit your job, making the decision, and creating your own journey. If you have ever dreamed of escaping your cubicle to strike out and discover the world on your own terms, then don’t miss out on this event.

Learn how to escape the cubicle, chat travel with the BootsnAll Travel crew, plan your next getaway with Popina’s retro-inspired swimwear, and enjoy a free beer, courtesy of Kona Brewing! Oh, and don’t forget the giveaways, which this month include two first class upgrades on Alaska Airlines, Alaska Airline travel vouchers, and an Ellington travel bag.

For more details visit the Popina Swimwear website. RSVP on the Facebook Event page.

May 20, 1956: Spokane, Portland & Seattle #700 Bids Farewell to Steam

May 20, 2011 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

The Spokane, Portland & Seattle (SP&S) steam locomotive #700 made its final, official run, on May 20, 1956.

The Farewell to Steam Excursion attracted 1375 passenger who piled into 21 cars in Portland for a trip to Wishram, Washington and back (The Oregonian, 21-May-1956).

The train’s engineer, J. T. Craine, Vancouver, Wash., whose 38 years of railroading included service as fireman on No. 700 that morning in 1938 when it made its maiden run over SP&S tracks, was definite in his opinions. A loving hand on 700’s controls, he grieved.

“I still like this old girl. You feel like you’ve got something to work with in a steam engine. Handling a diesel is just like sitting in a streetcar.”

The 700 was placed on the scrap line after the trip . . . but that was not the end of her. The SP&S 700 is now owned by the City of Portland, and is maintained by the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation. The locomotive was declared a “historic place” in 2006, and is still occasionally enlisted for special occasions, like the annual Holiday Express

May 16, 1898: Astoria And Columbia River Railroad Connects Portland and Coast

May 16, 2011 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

Astorians celebrated the completion of the Astoria and Columbia River Railroad, connecting Astoria to Portland via a route following the Columbia River, on April 4, 1898. The first train from Portland arrived, carrying 700 people, on May 16, 1898.

Astoria and Seaside had been connected by railroad since 1890. With the completion of the Portland link, tourists began arriving on the coast in droves. Seaside became a resort town, expanding from hundreds of residents to thousands during the summer months. Astoria became an important hub for the timber industry, which with the arrival of the railroad had access to the forests of the Coast Range.

National Train Day (7-May-2011)

May 2, 2011 by Dave Knows 1 Comment

National Train Day 2011 takes place this Saturday, May 7th from 10am to 4pm – the Portland event is at Union Station (800 NW 6th).

National Train Day marks 142 years of connecting travelers coast to coast and commemorates the day the first transcontinental railroad was created. On May 10, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, the “golden spike” was driven into the final tie that joined 1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, transforming America by creating the nation’s transcontinental railroad.

The Rose Festival Character Clown Corp and train artist J. Craig Thorpe will be in attendance, along with representatives of organizations dedicated to trains, railroad history, and more. Giveaways will occur all day, including a Grand Prize trip to Vancouver, BC on the Amtrak Cascades with two night stay at the Westin Grand and $125 credit to use on attractions, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.

The star attraction again this year is the 110 foot long, 10 foot wide, and 16 foot tall SP 4449. One of three locomotives owned by the city of Portland, the 4449 weighs 433 tons and can reach speeds over 100 mph with its 5,500 horsepower engine. In the 1940s and 50s it pulled the Southern Pacific Coast Daylight coaches from LA to Portland. In 1958 it was put on display at Oaks Park, but was restored in 1974 so that it could pull the 1975-1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train. (Visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation website for more information about the other locomotives and learn about the foundation’s efforts to build a permanent home for these historical locomotives and other rolling stock.)

This free event is one of my favorites – check out my posts on the 2010, 2009 Train Day events to get a taste of what’s in store!

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