Santiam Lead

Albany rail project: It’s done!

Written December 23rd, 2014 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 3 responses.

All year long I’ve been wondering and occasionally asking the Portland & Western when the railroad would start using the new section of Albany track that the state gave it nearly $7 million to construct. Now the long-awaited occasion has come and gone, and I missed it.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Albany wye, Portland & Western Railroad, Queen Avenue blockages, Santiam Lead

Rail solution around the corner

Written September 2nd, 2014 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 5 responses.

Once again waiting at the Queen Avenue railroad crossing in Albany last week, I was wondering — and who wouldn’t be? — about when the Portland & Western would finally begin to use its new track nearby. On Tuesday I got news from Kevin Haugh, the railroad’s general manager in Salem. And it sounded good.

Posted in: Commentary, News, Videos
Tags: ConnectOregon II, ODOT, Portland & Western, Queen Avenue crossing, Santiam Lead

Albany rail project inches forward

Written January 18th, 2014 by Hasso Hering

Comments: no responses.

The deadline for finishing this Albany railroad project has been missed, but there’s been a lot of progress lately, including the partial installation of some actual track. The Portland & Western Railroad has been building what’s called the Santiam Lead, a section of track that parallels the Union Pacific mainline for about three city blocks.

Posted in: News
Tags: ODOT-Rail, Portland & Western, Santiam Lead

The wye? The answer!

Written May 8th, 2013 by

Comments: no responses.

How about a special passenger train carrying Portland-area fans to a Civil War football game in Corvallis? It’s just an idea, and here’s how it came up. On April 21, I posted a video wondering whether the Albany wye would be forever lost. That’s the Y-shaped rail junction on the Union Pacific mainline near Sixth […]

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: Albany wye, Portland and Western, Santiam Lead, Union Pacific