As seen from the Fourth Avenue crossing in Albany, a P&W freight waits after crossing the river on Aug. 24.
Just about every weekday afternoon, a Portland & Western feight train enters Albany on the Toledo branch from the direction of Corvallis. If you like trains and happen to be cruising past on a bike, you’re likely to stop and watch, like this:
Usually the train stops on the bridge across the Willamette River, waiting for clearance before heading into the Albany yard. That gives watchers time to go to one of the crossings in the Willamette Neighborhood, like this one on Fourth Avenue, to get a closer look when the train resumes its run.
Railroad trains have been running through Albany for 152 years.
“The 8th day of December, A.D. 1870, will ever be remembered as the most eventful in the history of the city of Albany,” the Albany Register gushed on Dec. 10 that year.
“On that day the track of the Oregon & California Railroad was completed to her doors, and the snort of the iron horse was heard within her precincts.”
The Register reported that hundreds of people including local officials and the Albany Brass Band turned out for the arrival that day of the first passenger train and Ben Holladay, the O&C’s owner and builder.
“Thus,” the Register ended its lengthy account, “despite all prophecies, drawbacks and mishaps, which had to be met in the undertaking of so great an enterprise, we are pleased to be able to chronicle this morning the fact that Albany is now a real, live, railroad town.”
And as we are reminded when watching the trains, it is a railroad town still. (hh)
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It should also be noted that town leaders and citizens were very involved personally and financially to ensure that Albany was not bypassed in the race to have rail service. Edward Loy has an excellent account of all these details in the book “Gem of the Willamette Valley”, published by the Albany Regional Museum. Our community came to together to become a railway town and I can think of a dozen other projects through the years that have happened because people got involved. If you have the opportunity, show up — give your time, talent and treasure to ideas that excite you.
“…and I can think of a dozen other projects through the years that have happened because people got involved. If you have the opportunity, show up — give your time, talent and treasure to ideas that excite you.”
Hear, hear! The one I’m currently most invested in/with is the Albany Historic Carousel & Museum. As I tell folks who venture inside, “You come inside these four walls, you can forget everything going on outside these four walls.” :-)
Don’t forget Saturday. The normal schedule is for the Toledo Hauler to leave Albany around 8:30PM to 9PM Monday through Friday. It returns to Albany mid to late afternoon Tuesday through Saturday.
Listening to the incessant whistle at 3 a.m. hammers in the fact that Albany is a railroad town.
Maybe you should have not moved where you could hear it. Or maybe talk to any engineer who has ended up killing someone because they (the someone) were too stupid to check the tracks before crossing. Even though they are not responsible for the death, it still haunts them.
There’s a whistle at crossings and then there’s the early am one that lays on the horn for several blocks at a time. They didn’t do that 41 years ago when I moved in my house. If they want to do that, let them move the tracks! Where were you 41 years ago?
I had moved to the east side of Portland. Today, I live in the flight path of the Albany Airport…didn’t know that when we moved in, but you get used to it and it’s pretty cool when the balloons fly over. Scared the crap the first time since I didn’t know about them either and they came in really low and slow to make an emergency landing.
The thing is Bill, people were a lot smarter back then: “Oh railroad track, I’ll stop and check both ways before crossing”. Today…”Ahhhhhhhhhh, ain’t no cops around this time of night, I’ll blow the stop sign.”
Instead of getting mad at the railroad, get mad at the stupid people.
What about rail traffic from Eugene. The P&W leave’s around 8.00 to 8:30 pm every night, on the OE line. Have no idea when they return to Eugene. Wondering what type of disruption the train causes there in Albany.
I wish they would get rid of the water street tracks, the waterfront area would benefit greatly.
I don’t mind the Toledo line though.