The SP&S 700 was steamed up yesterday and brought to full 260 psi to test some winter work on appliances, etc. in advance of her April 20 through 23 excursion on her home route from Vancouver, WA to Spokane and return. Air pumps, feedwater pump, etc checked out okay. Tickets are going fast - dome class is sold out. Probably the best seats remaining are in the Parlor cars at the rear of the train to see the 700 climb the long grade of Providence Hill while making some sweeping curves. For further information about the excursion and tickets see: www.sps700.org

John Cox

johnpcox@juno.com

Two months to go and I personally can't wait! Got my reservation, got my plane tickets (coming from Boston), got the hotel rooms reserved, and just ask my wife I don't seem to be talking about much else these days!

Just out of curiousity, how many of the regulars from this board are going to be there? Also, I have a question or two for those of you who are familiar with the area. My flight is scheduled to arrive in Portland around noon on the 19th, so I'll have the better part of the afternoon to explore the Portland/Vancouver area. I can think of a couple of things I'd really like to see while I'm out there, one being the Brooklyn Roundhouse (presumably with 700 getting ready for her trip and 4449 and 197 sitting inside), and the other being SP&S 2-8-2 no. 539 at Fairgrounds Park over in Battleground, WA. Are visitors welcome at either of these locations? Also, when will 700 be making her move to Vancouver from the Brooklyn Roundhouse? Seems like there might be some good photo opportunities there.

Since it's only the one afternoon and the train leaves early the next morning, I'm thinking that a rental car might be more hassle than it's worth. What is public transit like out there, in terms of both fares and frequency? Or Taxis? Or for that matter, if any of you have similar plans, do you mind if I tag along?

Thanks,
Richard Jenkins

> The SP&S 700 was steamed up yesterday
> and brought to full 260 psi to test some
> winter work on appliances, etc. in advance
> of her April 20 through 23 excursion on her
> home route from Vancouver, WA to Spokane and
> return. Air pumps, feedwater pump, etc
> checked out okay. Tickets are going fast -
> dome class is sold out. Probably the best
> seats remaining are in the Parlor cars at
> the rear of the train to see the 700 climb
> the long grade of Providence Hill while
> making some sweeping curves. For further
> information about the excursion and tickets
> see: www.sps700.org

> John Cox


Surviving Steam Photo Archive
rjenkins@railfan.net

Richard,
I'll let others fill you in on the local questions. There is good public transit(rapid transit infact), so you may not need the car. However, my advise is to book some extra time after or before the trip and spend some time doing a few other things while you are out there. Examples: Mt. Rainier Scenic isn't too far if they are running, Mt. Hood Railroad is quite interesting, although not steam, and the Columbia Gorge is one of the most interesting and scenic places to railfan in the west. You can see UP on one side and BNSF on the other.

You will enjoy your trip on the 700. It's a great looking and sounding loco. Saw it in 1990 when it went to Yakima. Looked great passing some of those old semaphores between Pasco and Yakima, and in the Canyons. Shot below was taken at Pasco the morning she headed back to Portland along the Columbia. Have Fun and enjoy the ride!
Greg Scholl

Videos

sales@gregschollvideo.com

Mark has sent for our tickets (John, ya'll should have gotten the order by now) and I have picked up our airline tickets (Northworst). Additionally, Three others from TVRM will be there, bringing the total to five of us. I have also made our hotel reservations. You all should note that the Doubletree in Pasco is already sold out for Friday night the 20th, but they still had rooms for Sunday night when I made our reservations last week.

Michael Brown
TVRM

> Two months to go and I personally can't
> wait! Got my reservation, got my plane
> tickets (coming from Boston), got the hotel
> rooms reserved, and just ask my wife I don't
> seem to be talking about much else these
> days!

> Just out of curiousity, how many of the
> regulars from this board are going to be
> there? Also, I have a question or two for
> those of you who are familiar with the area.
> My flight is scheduled to arrive in Portland
> around noon on the 19th, so I'll have the
> better part of the afternoon to explore the
> Portland/Vancouver area. I can think of a
> couple of things I'd really like to see
> while I'm out there, one being the Brooklyn
> Roundhouse (presumably with 700 getting
> ready for her trip and 4449 and 197 sitting
> inside), and the other being SP&S 2-8-2
> no. 539 at Fairgrounds Park over in
> Battleground, WA. Are visitors welcome at
> either of these locations? Also, when will
> 700 be making her move to Vancouver from the
> Brooklyn Roundhouse? Seems like there might
> be some good photo opportunities there.

> Since it's only the one afternoon and the
> train leaves early the next morning, I'm
> thinking that a rental car might be more
> hassle than it's worth. What is public
> transit like out there, in terms of both
> fares and frequency? Or Taxis? Or for that
> matter, if any of you have similar plans, do
> you mind if I tag along?

> Thanks,
> Richard Jenkins


newriver400@cs.com

Hi Michael,

We received your ticket order and it is being processed and in the mail, along with the other three great lies... Really, it's here. Looking forward to meeting you, make sure you say hi as our greeters come through the train, and if you don't, Scott will point you out. It's shaping up to be a great party. See you in April.
John Cox

johnpcox@juno.com

John,

Al Phillips of the 4449 Freedom Train crew and various other infamous locomotives will be one of the 5 coming with us. This is really going to be a large time and we're all looking forward to the trip west.

See you in April!

Mark

aw90h@cs.com

> Two months to go and I personally can't
> wait! Got my reservation, got my plane
> tickets (coming from Boston), got the hotel
> rooms reserved, and just ask my wife I don't
> seem to be talking about much else these
> days!

> Just out of curiousity, how many of the
> regulars from this board are going to be
> there? Also, I have a question or two for
> those of you who are familiar with the area.
> My flight is scheduled to arrive in Portland
> around noon on the 19th, so I'll have the
> better part of the afternoon to explore the
> Portland/Vancouver area. I can think of a
> couple of things I'd really like to see
> while I'm out there, one being the Brooklyn
> Roundhouse (presumably with 700 getting
> ready for her trip and 4449 and 197 sitting
> inside), and the other being SP&S 2-8-2
> no. 539 at Fairgrounds Park over in
> Battleground, WA. Are visitors welcome at
> either of these locations? Also, when will
> 700 be making her move to Vancouver from the
> Brooklyn Roundhouse? Seems like there might
> be some good photo opportunities there.

> Since it's only the one afternoon and the
> train leaves early the next morning, I'm
> thinking that a rental car might be more
> hassle than it's worth. What is public
> transit like out there, in terms of both
> fares and frequency? Or Taxis? Or for that
> matter, if any of you have similar plans, do
> you mind if I tag along?

> Thanks,
> Richard Jenkins

Richard:

I will do my best to answer your questions.

1. Public transit here in Portland is great. Prices are reasonable and you can get many places. I do not know about taxi prices.

2. I do not believe that Battle Ground is a place you can reach by public transit. I have not seen the 539 since it was moved out of the city park in Vancouver.

3. The Brooklyn roundhouse is another story. I am not sure what bus you can take to get there, but I am sure that one goes reasonably close. I suggest going to www.tri-met.org. It is the regional transportation system and it has all the bus routes on it. Brooklyn is located off Holgate in South East Portland. Portland is divided into four geographical areas. All north addresses are north of a street named Burnside and all south addresses are located south of that. All addresses with east of them are east of the river and all of the west addresses are west of the river. The roundhouse is property of the UP and hence all of their rules apply. The groups there are normally very gracious and accommodating to visitors but I have never been there during a steam up for a trip like this. You might fair better if you contact someone from either group via their web cites and see what they have to say.

4. The best place to watch trains in the Vancouver Amtrak Station. I think you can get a bus across the river that will get you close to there. You may have to change buses though. You could always by a ticket on one of Amtrak's Cascades but that would seem excessive.

5. I suggest taking Greg's advice and sticking around and visiting the Columbia Gorge. It is a great place to railfan. Also, while the Mt. Rainier will not be operating by this time, their shop in Mineral is an amazing place to visit even if the locomotives are cold. While it is a little bit of a drive, there is no place on earth that has these type of logging locomotives all in operational condition. Further, if you look at their web cite, they expect to have two new steam locomotives operational by the end of June. This might give them a total of 7 operational locomotives at one time! I am not sure at to the actual status of the Heisler of the Climax, hence I said might.

6. Ultimately, I suggest the rent a car unless you can hook up with someone. Portland is easy to get around but to get to the places you want to go it will be easier and faster.

Anyway, I am envious of all of you because while I live here my last set of finals for graduate school start the week of the 23 and I cannot afford to take the time to witness this event. Still, I do live in a city that has two operational 4-8-4's.

Brandon Thompson


bhthompson@earthlink.net

Thanks Brandon (and Greg). Unfortunately my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for long train trips, so she'll be staying home while I go off on this little adventure. That pretty much rules out an extended stay for me since I'll need to reserve some of my money and vacation time for other things. However, I will be renting a car in Spokane (only riding one way on the train) to do some exploring at that end for a day before flying home from there. The trouble with renting a car in Portland would be the need to return it before catching the train and then getting to the station on time from the car rental place. Oh well, hopefully it won't take me another 14 years to get out there again, can't believe it has been that long since the last time I was in that part of the world.

Anyway, thanks for the advice, and good luck on those finals!

> Richard:

> I will do my best to answer your questions.

> 1. Public transit here in Portland is great.
> Prices are reasonable and you can get many
> places. I do not know about taxi prices.

> 2. I do not believe that Battle Ground is a
> place you can reach by public transit. I
> have not seen the 539 since it was moved out
> of the city park in Vancouver.

> 3. The Brooklyn roundhouse is another story.
> I am not sure what bus you can take to get
> there, but I am sure that one goes
> reasonably close. I suggest going to
> www.tri-met.org. It is the regional
> transportation system and it has all the bus
> routes on it. Brooklyn is located off
> Holgate in South East Portland. Portland is
> divided into four geographical areas. All
> north addresses are north of a street named
> Burnside and all south addresses are located
> south of that. All addresses with east of
> them are east of the river and all of the
> west addresses are west of the river. The
> roundhouse is property of the UP and hence
> all of their rules apply. The groups there
> are normally very gracious and accommodating
> to visitors but I have never been there
> during a steam up for a trip like this. You
> might fair better if you contact someone
> from either group via their web cites and
> see what they have to say.

> 4. The best place to watch trains in the
> Vancouver Amtrak Station. I think you can
> get a bus across the river that will get you
> close to there. You may have to change buses
> though. You could always by a ticket on one
> of Amtrak's Cascades but that would seem
> excessive.

> 5. I suggest taking Greg's advice and
> sticking around and visiting the Columbia
> Gorge. It is a great place to railfan. Also,
> while the Mt. Rainier will not be operating
> by this time, their shop in Mineral is an
> amazing place to visit even if the
> locomotives are cold. While it is a little
> bit of a drive, there is no place on earth
> that has these type of logging locomotives
> all in operational condition. Further, if
> you look at their web cite, they expect to
> have two new steam locomotives operational
> by the end of June. This might give them a
> total of 7 operational locomotives at one
> time! I am not sure at to the actual status
> of the Heisler of the Climax, hence I said
> might.

> 6. Ultimately, I suggest the rent a car
> unless you can hook up with someone.
> Portland is easy to get around but to get to
> the places you want to go it will be easier
> and faster.

> Anyway, I am envious of all of you because
> while I live here my last set of finals for
> graduate school start the week of the 23 and
> I cannot afford to take the time to witness
> this event. Still, I do live in a city that
> has two operational 4-8-4's.

> Brandon Thompson


Surviving Steam Photo Archive
rjenkins@railfan.net