Dave Knows Portland

January 25, 2006: SP&S 700 Declared a Historic Place

by Leave a Comment

SPS LogoOne of the city of Portland’s three locomotives, the Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 2006.

Built in 1938, the SP&S 700 is the only surviving specimen of the E-1 class 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive. It’s the third largest operating locomotive in North America. The driving wheels are 6 foot 5 inches tall.

The SP&S 700 and two other locomotives reside at the SE Portland Brooklyn Roundhouse. But they are being evicted! The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation is working to secure a new home for these historic behemoths near OMSI.

Two years ago Heather and I had an opportunity to check out the SP&S 700 in person. Our friend Brent worked for Burlington Northern Santa Fe at the time and he invited us to a holiday visit by the locomotive to the Vancouver, Washington rail yard. Read more (and see more photos!) at Mile73.com: Visiting the Holiday Choo-Choo, and my post: The Locomotives of Portland.

Book Review [and Giveaway!]: Joyride – Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet

by 5 Comments

Mia Birk has written a book about her travails and travels working to make bicycling an integral part of the transportation system and culture of American cities and towns: Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet.

In the book she relates personal stories and struggles of her several decades experience convincing first herself, then bureaucrats, planners, engineers, and the public at large (including her own family) that bicycling is not just kids stuff. The stories are inspirational; relating both tiny and big steps forward through the morass of politics and public opinion.

Portland is the setting for many of her stories, as Birk was the Bicycle Program Manager for the city from 1993-1999. Portland’s bicycle culture and infrastructure are now regarded as shining examples of what is possible in American cities. One wonders where we would be now if it weren’t for Mia Birk’s work. Any one interested in Portland’s bicycling history and culture will enjoy this book. Activists and bicyclists from anywhere will enjoy the inspirational stories and possibly learn a thing or two about promoting bicycling in their own cities.

See Mia Birk talk about her book at Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside) on Tuesday, January 4 2011 at 7:30pm!

Giveaway!

For a chance to win a copy of Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet, share one thing you like about bicycling in the comments below. On Friday, January 7 2011 at noon I will draw the name of one commenter randomly and send them a copy of the book for free!

All Aboard the Holiday Express (2010)

by Leave a Comment

Holiday ExpressThe 2010 Holiday Express begins boarding on Friday, December 3.

The Oregon Pacific Railroad operated trains depart Oaks Park Station for a 40 minute ride along the river. I don’t know how he finds the time, but Santa Claus will make an appearance on each train. There are six train rides on Fridays, December 3 and 10, and nine rides Saturdays and Sundays, December 4, 5, 11, and 12. For more details, including ticket information, visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation website.

SP 4449The impressive SP 4449 will be pulling the Holiday Express this year. Built in 1941, this Art Deco era streamlined steam locomotive is 110 feet long, 10 feet wide, 16 feet tall and weighs 433 tons. It’s got 5,500 horsepower and can reach speeds over 100 mph (but it won’t be going nearly that fast for these excursions).

In 1958 the SP 4449 was put on display at Oaks Park, but was restored in 1974 so that it could pull the 1975-1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train. It has been the star of the past several National Train Day events at Portland’s Union Station (see my post National Train Day 2009 in Portland with the SP 4449 for more photos of the behemoth).

Proceeds from the tours go to help build a new engine house and Rail Heritage Center in the OMSI District for Portland’s historic steam locomotives.

Video Interlude: Portland to Cannon Beach by Bicycle

by Leave a Comment

Portland To Canon Beach By Bicycle, July 2010 from goddestroyer on Vimeo.

Ahhh, remember July? Shawn Kilmer does. He road his bicycle from Portland to Cannon Beach.

And he made a video of the adventure: Portland To Canon Beach By Bicycle, July 2010 [sic]

At least a year of wanting to make the ride from the Willamette Valley to the Oregon coast by bicycle, finally decided I had the time. The ONLY drawback was not having a saddlebag rack setup and carrying everything on my back. I tried to go as minimal as I could, jersey for sun, thermal for normal weather, sweater for cold, bike shorts, jean shorts (for chillin’), sleeping bag, food, sunglasses. Just that small amount of stuff was still borderline on being too much weight to have on your back for a ride like this.

Introducing: TriMet Diaries

by 3 Comments

TriMet Diaries TriMet Diaries, a new site for sharing the inevitably amusing, amazing, and horrifying tales gleaned by riding public transit in the Portland metropolitan area, has launched!

I was inspired to create the site after I stumbled upon Muni Diaries, which bills itself as a place to share and read rider tales and news about the sometimes crappy, sometimes efficient, but essential public-transit system of San Francisco. I could relate, and I was delighted by the stories and photographs submitted by San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) riders.

Portland metro area transit riders already have available a surprising variety of transit blogs and websites, including the excellent (and recommended) Portland Afoot, PDX’s 10-minute newsmagazine on buses, bikes & low-car life, which encompasses a magazine, a blog, and a wiki. The Portland Afoot magazine sports a regular feature called Only On The Bus, where riders write in with their favorite bus stories. TriMet Diaries aspires to be a similar venue.

I invite you to stop by and peruse the (evolving) website, and please contribute if you have a story to share.

Follow TriMet Diaries on Twitter for the latest updates and stories.