PDX Railfan

Spent the day in Hood River, OR, yesterday! Caught the Mount Hood Railroad doing its thing, The Dalles Local picking up lumber loads, and trains flanked by the autumn leaves!

A white locomotive with teal and blue striping bringing up the rest of a white, blue, and teal passenger train. Framed by a red signal at milepost 36.0X and the crossing arm.

SDRX 910 brings up the rear of this northbound Sounder commuter train on the edge of Puyallup, WA.

Canadian Pacific 7021, an all grey locomotive with a yellow ribbon honoring army veterans, pulling a train of grain hoppers

Spent some time at Troutdale today! Found a nice little corner where I could set up shop and watch the trains go by, and caught a Canadian Pacific heritage unit rolling through town on the day’s grain shuttle!

Coal at Kalama BNSF 3908 is on the point of today's 3x1 C-BTMBRA, hauling export coal from the Black Thunder Mine to Roberts Bank, BC.

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Orange BNSF locomotive no. 3908 up front with 2 more orange locomotives and a long string of full coal hoppers right behind it. Clear blue skies and green trees line the right of way as this heavy train pounds the rails.

BNSF 3908 is on the point of this 3x1 C-BTMBRA, hauling export coal from Wyoming’s Black Thunder Mine to Roberts Bank, BC. 7/17/25

Hello Talgo! A wave hello from the engineer up front as SC-44 WDTX 1400 leads Train 506 northbound, south of Vader, WA. This Talgo set, the Mt. Jefferson, hit a fallen tree late last year that damaged the cab car....

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A green, white, and brown locomotive pulling a train set with the same paint scheme, flanked by green trees. Through the windshield we see the engineer waving hello.

A wave hello from the engineer up front as SC-44 WDTX 1400 leads Cascades Train 506 to Seattle. This Talgo set, the Mt. Jefferson, hit a fallen tree late last year that damaged the cab car. It was recently given a shiny new cab, a welcome relief since the Horizon cars were pulled from service.

Rule number 1 of the Columbia River Gorge: All the action is taking place on the opposite side from where you are
Rule number 2: Every train you see will be when you’re out of position, usually driving and unable to pull over (this one’s just a general rule)

Thinking I’ll hang out on the Fallbridge sub today

UP 7930 at Mosier UP 7930 pulls a manifest by the searchlight signals governing Mosier siding. These signals are a rare sight nowadays, and it seems these ones will also come down soon; a Vader hood signal mast is layi...

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A yellow-orange locomotive numbered 7930 pulls a train with two other locomotives and some lumber cars behind it. On the right is a pair of searchlight signals. Unlike other train signals which resemble a traffic light these ones have only one light and an internal mechanism moves a different colored spectacle in front of it.

UP 7930 pulls a manifest by the signals at Mosier siding. These searchlight signals are a rare sight nowadays and what few remain are disappearing fast, replaced with easier to maintain traffic light-style signals. This one’s days are numbered; a new signal mast is on the ground awaiting install.

UP 8138, a faded yellow-orange locomotive, pulls a train past a red brick building towards a street crossing. The yellow arrow sign to the right has “40” attached to it, telling eastbound crews running on that track to reduce their train speed to 40 mph.

With all eastbound traffic solidly in double track territory, Dispatcher 1 back in Omaha was finally able to get westbound traffic rolling. I was just slightly too slow to catch the first westbound, but was in position for UP 8138 to come racing through The Dalles. This was my last catch of the day.

UP 7679, a faded yellow-orange locomotive, rounding the bend under a light blue sky dotted with white clouds

The third and final eastbound train was a 2x1 manifest, with UP 7679 on the point.

A yellow UP 5969 rounds the curve under a freeway bridge, with 3 other locomotives and a string of autorack cars right behind the lead engine. To the left of the train is a green downward pointing arrow sign, indicating to westbound crews that they can resume maximum authorized speed after the whole train passes this location.

Next up, hot on the heels of the Seattle-Gilliam County trash train came UP 5969, pulling a 4x0 manifest originating from Roseville, CA.

A string of green trash containers sitting on brown bare table train cars heading east under the clear blue sky. We can barely see two yellow-orange UP locomotives off to the right pulling this train along.

A maintenance window to my west meant trains were stacking up all morning. UP Dispatcher 1 told crews he’d clear three eastbounds and then open it up for westbound traffic. My first catch was an eastbound Waste Management train heading for the Gilliam County landfill.

Mondays are for railfanning! I wanted to go further into the Columbia Gorge and it did not disappoint. Snagged 4 different trains at The Dalles thanks to some luck and careful monitoring of my radio scanner to hear what was going on the Portland-Hinkle UP line.

Got some beautiful shots in The Dalles and I’ll definitely be back soon for more.

Railroad tracks run across a steel truss bridge spanning the rich blue Lake Umatilla

Went further into the Columbia River Gorge today and was surprised by how close by a lot of really good spots were! Made it out to The Dalles and then just a little farther east I ran into the Oregon Trunk sub (BNSF’s line to Bend) and then this bridge over Lake Umatilla

UP 5608, a yellow-orange freight locomotive, crossing a street with stopped traffic. The headlights and ditch lights are on, per regulation.

UP 5608 now in the rear with three other yellow-orange locomotives ahead of it, crossing the same street a few minutes later

There and back again
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UP 5608 led a 4-motor light power move across Portland’s Steel Bridge. A few minutes later, the signal lit up again and 5608 went back the way it came, in the rear instead of the front.

In the foreground, a vertical white sign with black lettering reads 739, indicating the railroad milepost. Beyond it, a yellow Union Pacific locomotive is in the process of crossing one grade crossing and approaching another. We can see it pulling a few cars. Trees with no leaves and trees with orange and red leaves line the tracks.

A northbound Union Pacific local approaches grade crossings at Hubbard, OR, milepost 739 on the Brooklyn subdivision.

UP 7356, a yellow locomotive, pulling a string of mixed freight cars towards the camera. In the background Mount Hood is visible, looming large.

UP 7356 leads a manifest train through North Portland’s Kenton Line. Mount Hood can be seen in the background.

And yes, I’ll be bringing my camera with me on my trip and getting some railfanning in 👀

Been in a funk all month so I haven’t done much railfanning, but this past week I bucked that. Got some pics in the central Willamette Valley (just north of Salem) and found a cool spot on the UP in Portland with Mount Hood as a backdrop. Going on a trip next week, hope to post edits before then.

A yellow Union Pacific locomotive passes a railroad signal and a rock slide fence, surrounded by autumn leaves and clouds in the distance

Through the mist and clouds of the Columbia River Gorge, a Union Pacific Z train emerges. Flanked by fall colors, this high-priority passes by the tri-light signal and the rock slide fence at MP 28.8 as it races to Hinkle for a crew change. 11/5/24

The sky is dark blue with little daylight remaining as a blue and red Amtrak Charger locomotive pulls 4 silvery grey train cars east (towards the camera). The train tracks are flanked by trees displaying orange and green leaves.

Dusk sets in as the 4-car Empire Builder Train 28, led by a Siemens Charger in Phase VI scheme, races east through Washougal, WA.

Since trains were calling the foreman for permission by the red flags, that meant I got advance notice of any trains coming through the area (they usually called at least 2 miles ahead of the red flag). Nice to get a little heads up, especially since trains were flying through here at high speed!

In the foreground, a black signal head with lights arranged in an upside-down triangular pattern points slightly up and away from the camera. We can barely see that the signal is red, indicating a train coming from the opposite direction. On the signal mast is a number board that reads 288, indicating this is at milepost 28.8. Just behind the signal mast is a red board mounted on the right hand side of the tracks. Approaching the signal and the red board is a yellow Union Pacific locomotive, no. 5910. It is approaching from the east and heading towards us. Beside the train are fall leaves of a dull yellow and orange, and a small pond on the left is in sight. The photo is taken near the tracks but still an appropriate and safe distance away (more than 25 feet) and so everything is at a slight angle instead of head-on.

The tri-light signals are lit up as UP 5910 leads a manifest train west at MP 28.8 on the Portland subdivision. The red flag indicates a track gang is working in the area and approaching trains must contact the foreman to get permission through the limits.

“Pepsi can” unit 160 crosses the Columbia River Bridge. This P42 is sporting the 50th Anniversary Dash 8 paint scheme, with a black upper body and red, white, and blue stripes running along the front and side. The locomotive is just slightly past the bridge, while 3 silver train cars are still on the bridge. The bridge itself is a weathered grey steel bridge, with brown steel rails running ahead. Two sets of tracks curve off to the left while two continue to go straight. In the background, on the other side of the river, we see green and yellow-green trees. The sky overhead is mostly cloudy, but a break in the clouds is letting the sun’s rays shine on the greenery and the train and rails, adding a warm yellow glow.

AMTK 160, the 50th anniversary P42 affectionately dubbed the “Pepsi can,” leads the 4-car Empire Builder No. 28 across the Columbia River Bridge in Vancouver, WA. A break in the clouds adds a little bit of sunshine to the Oregon side’s greenery and to this beautiful heritage unit.

Mount Hood, covered in snow, rises behind a train consisting of two orange BNSF locomotives and a string of black oil tankers. The train is to the right of a highway, SR-14 in Washington, and we see the train framed by light poles that line the highway. On the right hand side of the train we see fall leaves on the trees.

A snowy and cloud-wrapped Mount Hood rises above BNSF 3828 as it leads a string of tank cars from the oil fields of the Midwest to the refineries of the Northwest. 10/30/24

Oh I have a whole list of places I need to visit in California. Portola is on there for sure, thank you!