3 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

A few people are getting into Portland on Saturday evening, 7/17. You may very well preview some of the trains we will be riding in the area on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. If the group arriving on #28 is going to be very late, then those in town may be able to ride the Sunday-only Portland Vintage Trolley.

On Sunday 7/18, arrival of most of the Fest participants via the Empire Builder is scheduled for 10:10 AM. As of now the record looks pretty good for this train coming in on time. I've allowed a cushion of 2 hours 41 minutes before the first scheduled train ride, namely the Portland Streetcar. During that time we must have lunch as well. If we do come in late it may be a quick one. Those who are staying downtown may have time to check-in, if early check-in is allowed, or else the hotel may let you store luggage. Since it appears I will be way out by the airport, I'll try leaving my luggage at Union Station and picking it up later.

Now if we are seriously late, then of course the day's activities will have to be altered. The first thing to go would be the Portland Aerial Tram, which is the only non-rail conveyance. Doing so would save us approximately 42 minutes. I've checked the tram's operating hours as of late, and their site says that they do run on Sundays between May 16th and September 19th, from 1 PM to 5 PM. So our planned trip qualifies if there's time.

The more important activity of the day, which should also be the most interesting, is the Willamette Shore Trolley. The trolley was closed in 2009 to replace a bridge, but they did reopen for the 2010 season last month. The current schedule conforms to what was planned all along. It's a 40-minute trip in each direction, but we really must make the 3 PM outbound trip from Bancroft Street in Portland and the 4 PM inbound trip from Lake Oswego or else it will be a very late night after dinner. Again if we are seriously late into Portland, I'd rather miss part of the downtown Streetcar than this line.. so we'll adjust things accordingly.

Following the Willamette Shore Trolley (WST), in the block between that and the Portland Streetcar is an Old Spaghetti Factory. Very convenient place for a dinner stop. Our last trip on the Streetcar back to downtown is dependent on how long dinner takes, and with our group one never knows! The streetcars do operate on Sunday evenings on about 20-22 minute headways until a little past 10 PM.

Monday's riding is almost exclusively the MAX light rail system, with a break to ride the WES commuter rail (DMU's). Again our schedule is important in that we'd like to catch the first WES round trip of the evening rush hour so that we have time to complete the entire MAX system and then have dinner. Dinner this day would be much later than the Sunday one, however it can be of the fast food variety since it's a tight schedule near the end of the day. Oh, and lunch is at Clackamas Town Center, a regional mall at the end of the Green Line. It looks as though the Green Line station is right adjacent to the mall, but we have to walk through JC Penney to reach the mall itself and the food court.

Here is one important item of note not clearly reflected on the itinerary, regarding our MAX ride on the Portland Mall on Monday morning. The southernmost stations at PSU South on the Yellow/Green lines are not yet completed, and are slated to open in 2011. The vehicles use the loop just beyond PSU south to transition from southbound on 5th Avenue to northbound on 6th Avenue, but they do so in non-revenue status. So we get dumped at the last open stop along 5th Avenue, which is 5th & Mill. We have to walk one block west to 6th Avenue, to board another vehicle at 6th & Montgomery, the first pickup stop the light rail vehicles make going northbound. Keep this in mind if you have a mobility issue. The itinerary allows 18 minutes for this.

Tuesday the 20th we have a 12:15 PM departure on Amtrak #506. Nothing is scheduled for the morning, so it will be an easy day in Portland and one where folks can perhaps sleep a little later. If we miss things on Sunday due to lateness of the Empire Builder, if some wish to use the morning to make up what may have been missed, we can arrange something. However Tuesday becomes a little more complicated when we get to Seattle, and that will be discussed once plans become more solid for that city.

[steve4031]

Kevin. Appreciate the updates. I might make through another day at work. Lol

[GG-1]

Aloha and Mahalo Kevin The fest updates are keeping my head together what with everything else I am doing.

[KevinKorell]

The vehicles use the loop just beyond PSU south to transition from southbound on 5th Avenue to northbound on 6th Avenue, but they do so in non-revenue status. So we get dumped at the last open stop along 5th Avenue, which is 5th & Mill. We have to walk one block west to 6th Avenue, to board another vehicle at 6th & Montgomery, the first pickup stop the light rail vehicles make going northbound. Keep this in mind if you have a mobility issue. The itinerary allows 18 minutes for this.

I've been studying this area on satellite images. It appears that the area is pretty open, so walking across a plaza as opposed to following the street grid may save us a few steps if possible. Also, this is the unique area where the MAX line on the Portland Mall and the Portland Streetcar meet (they run on the same one-way street in places, but on parallel tracks). So if your hotel is closer to the Portland Streetcar than MAX, you could conceivably ride the former and meet the group during the walking transition.

While we're talking Portland, I also today added a slew of restaurants to the Rails to Restaurants page for Portland. In case you are staying in downtown Portland and want to get something to eat, all of these places are easily accessible on the Portland Streetcar, in downtown, Northwest Portland, and the Pearl District. I also added the Old Spaghetti Factory to the list since it surely qualifies. You also have Pioneer Place downtown and Lloyd Center just across the river as shopping malls with food courts; the latter is on the Red-Blue-Green MAX trunk line and the former is close to all 4 lines.

Finally, for anyone who may need to mail things home (such as they might cause your luggage to exceed the Amtrak weight limit!), there is a large post office facility right behind Portland Union Station (just to the west). it is also accessible by Yellow/Green MAX and on the other side by the Portland Streetcar (stations at Johnson Street).