A passenger train goes down the Water Avenue track on Tuesday afternoon, My 12, 2026.
An surprising sight greeted me on a bike ride Tuesday. Here, you can see for yourself:
Passenger trains are not exactly common on this track, the old Oregon Electric freight track along Water Avenue in Albany.
This train of vintage passenger cars was powered by two BNSF engines. It was one of the business trains the Burlington Northern operates across its national network for special occasions.
Online, I learned this much about the sleek-looking carriages in one of these trains:
“BNSF’s vintage stainless steel passenger cars … originated from BNSF’s major predecessor lines and were constructed during the mid-20th Century. This year’s Special featured passenger cars from several BNSF predecessor lines such as the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Southern Pacific Railways.”
You can tell the train that went through Albany Tuesday had passengers because the “garage door” on the rear observation car was open. It is usually closed when the train is empty. A photo I found online shows that the seats inside that car are arranged theater-style for looking out the back.
When the BNSF passenger special had gone up the track on its way north, I continued my ride on the Dave Clark Riverfront Path. There I encountered my second train of the afternoon.
This one was routine. The Portland & Western freight from Toledo comes into Albany every weekday afternoon. In the evening it heads out again to make the return trip. (hh)
BNSF OCS (officer car special) inspected there track. Courting an idea of terminating the lease with the Portland and Western RR and running this railroad again
H.H. I am interested in your train stories. It warms my heart seein’ ya out and about on your bike and tellin us the tales of this great world. Thank-You.
AI:
“You caught the launch of BNSF’s annual tour cycle. BNSF traditionally schedules these special passenger runs to start in May and run through June, taking advantage of late-spring weather to tour different regions of its network.
What You Saw in the Lineup A northbound passenger consist on this specific subdivision typically features a standardized 10-to-14-car layout designed for corporate excursions:The Pulling Power: Up front, you likely saw two standard, heavy freight locomotives (typically GE ES44ACs or EMD SD70ACes) pulling the train. They are pulled directly from local freight service, thoroughly washed, and assigned to the special.The Mid-Train Seating: The bulk of the passengers you saw were sitting in the ex-Southern Pacific bi-level commuter cars (Flathead River, Skagit River, etc.). These multi-level cars are specifically used on the EAS to allow hundreds of employees and families to ride at once.The Tail End: Bringing up the rear of the train was almost certainly one of BNSF’s premier flat-ended vintage business theater cars, such as the Glacier View or William B. Strong. These cars feature massive floor-to-ceiling rear windows, allowing executives and guests to look straight back out over the tracks as the train heads north toward Salem and Portland.
The Route: BNSF uses this scenic stretch of track to run its Northwest division employee trips. The tracks follow the Willamette River directly past Albany’s historic waterfront district, providing a highly visual route for the families onboard.
The Route: BNSF uses this scenic stretch of track to run its Northwest division employee trips. The tracks follow the Willamette River directly past Albany’s historic waterfront district, providing a highly visual route for the families onboard.”
Very interesting, we enjoyed the videos.
Thank you
Excellent Hasso, thank you for sharing.
Wow, very cool. I am glad you made it in time to see the passenger cars. It brings back memories of taking the train from Eugene to San Diego a number of times in the 1950’s as kid with my mom and sister. “The good ol days”
Thank you, Hasso. Your railroad reports are my favorites of your efforts. I have to count once more, does it really take six engines to pull those cars or were they being relocated for other services? I’ve seen trains crossing the Alps using one engine. Of course, they were electric.
“Nice” (I’m being facetious) that we taxpayers could spend most of 22 million on Albany’s waterfront so that railroad employees can have a pleasant excursion on vintage train cars.
Scary if you actually believe the waterfront improvements were in any way driven by BNSF wants or needs… Some crossing changes were driven by RR rules to do so, but not because of your reasoning for sure!
Oh how I wish they would bring back the old City of Portland and Portland Rose with those vintage cars. Good job, Hasso!
Ray,
Facetious means “treating serious issues with deliberately, inappropriate humor,” to quote the dictionary. Geesh!! Of course, I don’t think the railroad excursions came to mind when you (The Council) spent millions on a “pink brick road.” Your minds were elsewhere. (I won’t go into detail as to where! :-)
Correct that said “excursions” do/did not come to mind. And definitely not humorous at all… I can’t speak to other councilors votes, but I stand by what I stated!
So, according to you, Ray, we cannot use humor when commenting unless we run it by you first (when it has to do with the Council, I mean, since you have never let go of your job there) to see if you comprehend our humor!!!