(The following story by Barbara Sherman appeared on The Times website on December 13.)
IGARD, Ore. — When a Portland & Western Railroad locomotive burst through a banner spread across the tracks on Tuesday morning, it was no accident.
In fact, a crowd of dignitaries standing in the frigid morning air cheered, because the burst banner was part of the dedication ceremony for a new rail-switching yard in Tigard that will ensure future Washington County commuter rail trains stay on schedule.
Located at the end of Tech Center Drive off 72nd Avenue, the new Tigard rail-switching yard will improve the efficiency of P&W’s busiest rail corridor, which in turn helps to alleviate congestion on Oregon’s roads.
The yard, which was built with public funding from the Connect-Oregon initiative, will provide a place for freight trains to pull over to allow Westside Express Service (WES) commuter trains to complete timely runs between Beaverton and Wilsonville when they start running in September 2008.
“This will keep commerce off Highway 217 and Tigard streets,” said Bruce Carswell, president and general manager of P&W. “There was a rigorous selection process for these non-highway projects, and we got funding for three.”
Rep. Jeff Barker (D-Aloha) said that the switching yard project was “on time and on budget.”
He added, “(This is) a great little railroad, and now we’ll be able to move people on the commuter rail system. This (yard) will really help us out.”
Chris Warner, Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s legislative director, said, “It’s not only about moving freight… It’s about moving people.”
Kelly Taylor, ODOT Rail Division administrator, noted that the Oregon Electric Railroad will mark its 100th anniversary in January 2008.
“Portland & Western and ConnectOregon are an example of what a partnership should be,” she said. “It’s the epitome of a successful partnership.”
Steve Witter, TriMet’s westside commuter rail executive director, added, “We’re very proud to congratulate Portland & Western for completing this yard. I can’t wait to see the trains go by.”
An official train lantern was waved using the “high ball” signal, which tells the engineer to move the train forward. He blew the locomotive’s whistle, and the Independence, with its lights on, started clanging and chugging as it moved slowly toward the banner that proclaimed the opening of the switching yard.
“All right, I’m excited,” Carswell said. “This is excellent.”
Carswell said that P&W would start using the new switching yard within the next few days.
“Several tracks that we used to use will now be free for commuter rail,” he said, adding that usually 10 to 12 freight trains pass through the area every 24 hours.
Combined with WES’s initial 32 train trips – 16 during the morning commute time and 16 in the evening – that could have added up to a lot of congestion without the addition of the switching yard to P&W’s 500 miles of tracks.
The Independence slowed to a stop in front of the crowd, and attached to it were two vintage railroad cars. One was a passenger car, and the other was a 1929 Santa Fe railroad business car used by the president of that company.
The inside of the car was paneled in wood and included a large conference room with a kitchen area, restroom, bedroom and seating sections.
Everyone got on board for a trip to Wilsonville, with the train traveling at a sedate 25 miles per hour. When new sections of track (with 3,000 ties per mile) are completed, and commuter rail is up and running, WES trains will run at 60 mph, while freight trains will travel at 40 mph in the straight sections, according to Carswell.
He explained that P&W freight trains are usually between 4,000 and 5,000 feet in length, although for some runs they can be up to 7,000 feet long.
Although the passenger cars on the train never got very warm, the bundled-up passengers enjoyed the sights: construction projects long the commuter rail line, natural areas and wetlands full of waterfowl, crossing the Tualatin River and of course, a lot of stopped vehicles as the train crossed such thoroughfares as Bonita and Durham roads in Tigard and Tualatin-Sherwood Road in Tualatin. Then it went past the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville and through that city’s industrial area right up to where a new platform is under construction at the future Wilsonville station.
Kulongoski proposed the ConnectOregon project in January 2005 as a concept in his biennial budget in which $100 million in lottery-backed bonds would be used to improve connections between highway infrastructure and rail, port, transit and marine facilities across the state.
ConnectOregon has paid for three P&W projects. The new switching yard received nearly $3 million from a ConnectOregon grant, and P&W kicked in almost $800,000.