to Vancouver, WA o
Expo Center Portland’s Transit System
Illustration by Alexander B. Craghead and Otto M. Vondrak Not all routes and stations shown. Not an official map. ©2012 Carstens Publications, Inc.
0 2 4 MILES
Government Center
Hatfield HILLSBORO
Portions built upon former Oregon Electric Ry.
Beaverton TC
MAX Orange Line to open in 2015
O R E G O N PORTLAND
WES Commuter Rail operates over tracks of Portland & Western
Streetcar Extention under consideration
Tigard TC OSWEGO
Proposed MAX light rail route under consideration
LAKE SE Park Avenue MILWAUKIE Sherwood
MAX Light Rail Under Construction Planned
Portland Streetcar Under Construction Planned
WILSONVILLE Wilsonville
scenic environs of a light industrial area of Wilsonville, a suburb on the south side of the metro area. Wilsonville is the southern terminus of the Westside Express Service, or WES, one of the area’s newest rail lines, and the first leg of our journey. On the plat- form, a small group of challengers awaits, including Dan and my friend Matt. I join them, and we board our fist train: TM 1001, a sleek white diesel- multiple-unit (DMU) built by now de- funct Colorado Railcar. “They’re really nice cars,” notes
Matt, “but it would have been nice to ride one of those,” he says, nodding out the window at the maintenance facili- ty, where a pair of well-used but hand- some Budd Rail Diesel Cars sit in the yard. The RDC’s serve as backup equip- ment, a necessity proven early on by the poor build quality and extensive teething problems of the DMU’s. Unlike most commuter lines, WES operates bi-directionally between four suburban cities. (Those commuting to downtown must transfer to MAX light rail at the northern terminus of Beaverton.) Run by TriMet, the re- gion’s dominant transit agency, WES utilizes track shared with freight carri-
38 FEBRUARY 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
WES Commuter Rail Portland Aerial Tram
Clackamas Town Center Milwaukie/Main St
“Westside MAX” Blue Line
opened in 1998 Sunset TC
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
Washington Park
Robertson Tunnel
PSU OHSU Gibbs
Powell Boulevard Division Street
MAX Green Line opened 2009
CLACKAMAS
Albina / Mississippi Lloyd Center
Rose Quarter TC Gateway TC 6 8 10 C
International Airport
Portland
MAX Yellow Line opened in 2004
opened in 2001
opened from downtown 1986 Rockwood
“Eastside MAX” Blue Line
E. 188th Avenue GRESHAM
Cleveland Avenue
“Airport MAX” Red Line
ABOVE: TriMet 1001, a Colorado Railcar DMU, is approaching the Wilsonville station on TriMet’s WES commuter rail service. This suburb-to-suburb route opened in 2009, and operates over the tracks of freight short line Portland & Western. DAN HANECKOW
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