Culture: Webbing Between Toes

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - I often say that the Pacific Northwest is the nicest place in the world--on the 50 days of year that the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges are visible. The problem is the other 300 days or so, when it's raining or thinking about raining. I may not be quantitatively accurate, but if you've ever lived in the Pacific Northwest, you understand the sentiment. When I was in the Seattle area in late 2005 and early 2006, I lived through 40 straight days of precipitation. Anywhere else, it would have been considered Biblical. Here, it was just a little longer streak than normal--and mild in many ways, since at least it wasn't snowing.

For native Pacific Northwesterners, plain gray and rainy weather in the winter doesn't get much attention unless it's a record streak or big storm; it's to be expected. When it doesn't go away in the spring or even in the summer, then it becomes tiresome. Most television meteorologists here joke that summer doesn't start until July 12th. The audience doesn't laugh; it plans a trip to Hawaii as soon as school is out.

In this context, 2010 has been even worse than normal. Down south in Portland, Oregon, it has been the wettest June in history, and not by a trivial margin. On June 16th, the total precipitation in Portland had reached 4.24 inches since the beginning of the month. The previous wettest June in Portland took place in 1984, when 4.06 inches fell the entire month. One meteorologist described it as "truly amazing." Most people I talked to in Portland last Sunday called it truly depressing. In fact, everyone I interacted with spoke about lack of motivation to do anything--and the record-setting month wasn't over yet. It rained during my visit.

Meanwhile, Seattle finally ended another streak. Today, after 272 days of cooler temperatures, the mercury finally reached 75 degrees Fahrenheit here (that's 24 C). That's a long time to wait for a hot day, even in Seattle. The previous record had been 254 days, set in 1999 and 2000. Suddenly, people here were in a very good mood. No statistics are available, but the very Seattle phenomenon of calling in sick on the first sunny day was taking place in full force.

I guess summer came before July 12th after all--but not before the Pacific Northwest gave its residents another spring of growing webbing between their toes. (The Ducks aren't the mascot of the University of Oregon for nothing.) After all, as the common joke goes, in the Pacific Northwest, we don't tan, we rust.

Photos: Portland, Oregon Transit

A MAX Green Line light rail train arrived at the Portland State University station in Portland, Oregon on 14-December-2009.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site focuses on Portland, Oregon. New transit infrastructure was the focus of a visit to Portland on 13-14-December-2009. Experiences included the new Westside Express Service (WES) heavy rail to Wilsonville, the Portland Tram up Marquam Hill, and the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light rail to Clackamas Town Center.

Transport: Almost the 4T Tour

A brand-new "Type 4" light rail car from Siemens worked a Red Line MAX train out of Beaverton, Oregon on 14-December-2009

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - The area around Portland, Oregon has led the way on the Pacific Coast of the United States in implementing public transportation. It had amongst the first light rail systems (starting in 1986, preceded only by the San Diego Trolley and legacy systems), the first modern streetcar system (since 2001), and the first heavy rail self-propelled service (opened this year; see my recent blog entry). Furthermore, all of these services plus TriMet buses operate on a single fare system, so that I could purchase an all-zone (there are only three) day pass at an automated machine for $4.75 and ride the entire system all day.


A sign for the "4T Trail" was found at the Central Library stop on the Portland, Oregon Streetcar on 14-December-2009

What I didn't realize until well into my planned explorations of the day was that Portland has established a 4T Trail taking advantage of their transportation system. The four T's are the "train" (MAX light rail), "trolley" (Portland streetcar), "tram" (the Portland Aerial Tram, yet another system), and "trail", a designated path between the top of the Tram and the Washington Park station on MAX. Taking about three hours to complete and costing only a TriMet fare (if one takes the circle counter-clockwise and heads, down the tram instead of up), it's a great way to tour Portland, but not having known about it in advance and concerned about imminent rain, I didn't take trail.


One of the original Czech-built Portland Streetcars, now supplemented by US-built cars, approached the Central Library stop on 14-December-2009

Instead, after a round trip to Wilsonville described earlier, I alighted from MAX downtown to catch the Portland Streetcar. This was my first trip on the streetcar down to waterfront area, where after riding the loop, I transferred to the tram.


One car of the Portland Aerial Tram met the other half-way between Portland's south waterfront and the Oregon Health & Science University on 14-December-2009

The tram, which opened in late 2006, climbs 500 feet from essentially Willamette River level up to the Oregon Health & Science University on Marquam Hill. It takes only three minutes to ride up or down, and the cost to go up is $4. It offers an interesting view of downtown Portland--I will need to go back when the skies are clearer and one can see Mount Hood to the east.


A Type 2 MAX light rail car had reached the end of the Green Line at Clackamas Town Center, Oregon, on 14-December-2009

After riding the remainder of the streetcar line, I next boarded the new MAX Green Line, opened in September, for a trip out to Clackamas. The Green Line is truly a fast service along I-205--once one reaches the Gateway Transit Center where the Red, Blue, and Green Lines go their separate ways. If I were a regular commuter, the slow running through downtown and around Lloyd Center would probably drive me crazy, but I cannot see how any complaint could be issued about running speeds on the new portion to Clackamas Town Center.

Portland may be the leader on the west coast of the United States, but in terms of efficiency in its core area of downtown Portland, it still compares poorly with the legacy systems--mostly subways--of places like New York, Toronto, and San Francisco. Then again, Portland has a quite comprehensive system of more than 50 miles of rail lines for a capital investment of $3 billion--not much more what Toronto is spending to extend the the Spadina subway less than six miles!

Transport: Riding WES

A Westside Express Service (WES) train sat at the platform at its southern terminus of Wilsonville, Oregon on 14-December-2009

PORTLAND, OREGON - Different transit agencies have different naming conventions. Around Boulder, Colorado, there are the Hop, Skip, Jump, Bolt and Dash bus routes. Metra around Chicago, Illinois uses the names of the original (or sometimes current) railroads for its commuter rail routes (meaning that one can still ride the "Milwaukee" and "Rock Island" even those those railroad have been gone for more than twenty years. Las Vegas has its "Deuce" bus route on Las Vegas Boulevard. Around Portland, Oregon, TriMet (formally the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon) has chosen to use male names for its rail services. It started with MAX (the Metropolitan Area Express) light rail in 1986, and was expanded with WES (the Westside Express Service) commuter rail earlier this year.


The interior of the WES cars, manufactured by now-defunct Colorado Railcar, was observed at Beaverton, Oregon on 14-December-2009

This visit was my first weekday visit to Portland since WES opened on 2 February 2009, so this was my first chance to ride the rush-hour-only service. It does not operate all the way into downtown Portland, instead connecting with the MAX Red and Blue lines in Beaverton. So, I had to take MAX out to Beaverton to catch the final round trip of the morning on the 14.7 mile line to Wilsonville, Oregon.


Public art was noted at many WES stops, including this piece of interactive art at the Wilsonville, Oregon station on 14-December-2009

The route is mostly part of the former Oregon Electric interurban route that once ran all the way from Portland to Eugene, Oregon. Operated today by the Portland and Western Railroad as the Oregon Electric District, the line still hosts freight service and thus the WES equipment had to be collision-safe with freight equipment, meaning the only choice for passenger equipment was the Colorado Railcar diesel multiple-unit (DMU). Colorado Railcar failed financially as the WES order was being completed, and TriMet actually had to take over the company in order to ensure delivery of its three powered cars and one trailer. As backup, WES recently acquired two former Alaska Railroad Rail Diesel Cars (RDC's) built by Budd in the 1950's.


The recently-acquired former Alaska Railroad RDC's sat at the service facility in Wilsonville, Oregon on 14-December-2009

The Colorado cars had no issues today. I rode on the two-car set (the other two trains are a single car), enjoying the ride which averaged 33 mph (typical for a commuter railroad) with three intermediate stops. On the return trip, I had a nice conversation with the Portland & Western crew, learning that the trains generally carry 6000 people a week, though with school vacations there were clearly fewer being carried on this day. Long-term plans still call for expansion to Salem, so some day the most reliable route between Oregon's capitol and largest city may be riding WES and MAX.

Holiday: Holiday Express 2009

Former Southern Pacific #4449 led the final run of the 2009 Holiday Express along the Oregon Pacific Railroad in Portland, Oregon on 13-December-2009

PORTLAND, OREGON - Despite my loose affiliation with its preservation efforts, I had not managed to ever ride the annual fundraiser for the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF), the Holiday Express. This year, as the ORHF moves forward building a permanent home for the three steam locomotives owned by the city of Portland, Oregon, I decided it was time to climb aboard.


Temperatures barely above freezing led to a great display of steam from the Holiday Express during a morning run at the Ross Island Bridge in Portland, Oregon on 13-December-2009

The weather forecast looked a bit scary for the final of six days of runs today, but freezing rain and snow did not materialize, and the near-freezing temperatures just made the steam locomotive look all the more impressive as it handled the train single-handedly. The sun even came out during a morning run, highlighting the bright paint scheme of former Southern Pacific "Daylight" #4449 which handled this weekend's trains. Last weekend's trains were handled by former Spokane, Portland and Seattle #700.


On board a mid-afternoon run of the Holiday Express, children and their parents enjoyed the scenic views as they awaited a visit from Santa Claus on 13-December-2009

Both inside and outside, the train was decorated for the holidays with strings of multi-colored LED's. On board, though, there was little need to be encouraged to be in a seasonal mood. Everyone knew that Santa would be coming around, giving out candy canes and posing for pictures with children of all ages. While waiting, there was plenty to see out the windows of the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge and the Willamette River, and a deer--not quite a reindeer but as close as one will get in Oregon--even made an appearance as the train approached.


Not quite a reindeer, but a deer did stand on the tracks as the Holiday Express approached on the Oregon Pacific tracks near Oaks Park in Portland, Oregon on 13-December-2009

While the views were pretty during the day, what really sets this train apart is the experience at night, with the lights lining the train as it plied the Oregon Pacific Railroad tracks in the Springwater Corridor. There's something special about hearing a steam whistle at night, and watching multi-colored lights illuminate steam from the locomotive and escaping from the train's steam heating system.


The six cars of the Holiday Express disappeared into the distance on its final run for the year on 13-December-2009

While the last Holiday Express may have run in 2009, the ORHF is always actively seeking support for its efforts, and we can rest assured that the Holiday Express will be back in December 2010.