Sometimes you wonder why something is there. Take, for example, these concrete blocks at the extreme eastern end of Water Avenue in Albany.
Here’s the thing about Albany: It’s a railroad town, and cruising around town on a bike inevitably means you’re going to see trains.
Every winter, or so it seems, logs and other debris drifting down the Willamette River pile up against a pier of the Albany railroad bridge. It looks like trouble, but at this point it worries neither the railroad nor the Oregon State Marine Board.
On a leisurely bike ride through old Albany the other day, I noticed something that wasn’t there. Where the Portland & Western Railroad crosses Sixth Avenue, there are no warning lights, bells or arms that come down when a train comes through.
Keeping a rail line in working order is a job that never ends. So the Portland & Western does frequent maintenance and repair work on the old Oregon Electric line that runs through Albany.
Before … and after … … a paving crew made improvements on the railroad crossing on Riverside Drive. Nice job! In case you’re wondering, the photos were taken from opposite sides of the tracks. The job was done Thursday and the road reopened Friday. (hh)
Success: A massive railroad rescue job
If you haven’t seen it, I’d like to call your attention to a YouTube video showing the successful operation last week to save the locomotives of an Albany-bound train that were derailed on a trestle in Toledo.
Tags: 7idea Productions, derailment, PNWR, Portland and Western, Toledo, trains