It has been a few weeks since you last saw a train on this site. So let’s make up for lost time.
On Dec. 16, 1890, the Southern Pacific’s southbound freight due in Albany at 2 p.m. was two hours late. And before it would have reached town, it crashed through the bridge on Cox Creek at 4 p.m.
The train horn in the distance sounded like it came from the Union Pacific’s mainline. I was in the Willamette Neighborhood on a bike ride, so I hustled over to my favorite grade crossing to see what I could see.
Having torn myself away from the national news Saturday night, I was taking my usual bike ride through the east end of old Albany when I heard the horn of a train coming down from the north.
Following up on Sunday’s story about the old Southern Pacific dome car, the car has been taken to a shop in Independence, where the owner will rebuild the classic railcar so passengers can ride in it once again.
If you were wondering what happens to old wooden railroad ties after they are replaced, here’s one partial clue: They are piled up, at least for a time, in an out-of-the-way corner of the Union Pacific’s Albany yard.
What, another train? Already?
Yes, there’s no shortage of trains on the Union Pacific’s western Oregon mainline. And if you move around Albany much at all, whether on four wheels or two, or on foot, trains and you are often going to cross paths.
Tags: Burkhart Street crossing, Railroads, train length, trains, Union Pacific