Astoria Riverfront Trolley

The Astoria Riverfront Trolley operates on a 3-mile section of the former Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway's Astoria Line that the city of Astoria purchased from Burlington Northern in 1996, before the remaining 92 miles of the line were sold to the Portland & Western Railroad in 1997.

Trolley #300 was the first of a group of 14 built for the San Antonio Traction Company in 1913 by the American Car Company of St. Louis, Missouri. This group of cars had composite bodies of wood and steel, while an additional 12 cars built in1914 has all steel bodies. In 1917 the San Antonio Traction Company became part of the San Antonio Public Service Company. San Antonio streetcar service officially ended on April 29, 1933, and that same day Trolley #300 was presented to the Witte Museum, a precursor of the San Antonio Museum Association, and was run onto the museum grounds under its own power and parked, where it would remain on outdoor static display until 1948, when it was housed in a structure and superficially restored. After the 1968 San Antonio World's Fair, a new transportation museum was developed at the downtown fairgrounds, and Trolley #300 was placed on outdoor display to rot until 1980. The car was restored in 1980 and 1981 using parts from the body of car #311, which had been used as a residence after its 1933 retirement until 1978. The car was converted to standard gauge using trucks from New Orleans, and the original 4-foot gauge trucks were saved for another San Antonio Trolley under restoration. In October 1982, the restored Trolley returned to operation, providing public rides on a short section of track behind the San Antonio Museum of Art until the operation was discontinued in late 1985 due to a lack of funding and the Trolley was again stored.

Gales Creek Enterprises leased the Trolley from the San Antonio Museum Association and brought it to Oregon in June 1990 for use on the Willamette Shore Trolley line between Portland and Lake Oswego. Willamette Shore Trolley service began July 6, 1990, operated by Paul Class and Gales Creek Enterprises through the end of 1994. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Museum Association was dissolved in 1994 and the San Antonio Museum of Art became the trolley’s new owner.

In 1995, the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society took over the operation of the Willamette Shore Trolley. Trolley #300 left the Willamette Shore Trolley line and was stored outdoors at the Oregon Electric Railway Museum’s Trolley Park in Glenwood, Oregon, remaining there after the Trolley Park closed and the OERHS moved to Powerland Heritage Park in Brooks, Oregon in 1996. Trolley #300 was eventually leased by the Astoria Riverfront Trolley Association in November 1998, and it was moved to Astoria in December 1998 for restoration. Trolley #300 has operated in Astoria since June 8, 1999, and was purchased from the San Antonio Museum of Art by the Astoria Riverfront Trolley Association in August 2005.

Kelso Airport Fly-In in July 2005

United States Air Force 1955 North American T-28B Trojan
Photo by Cliff West

In July 2005, Mothers of Military Support organized a 3-day Fly-In at Molt Taylor Field at the Kelso-Longview Regional Airport in Kelso, Washington, featuring two dozen vintage military aircraft from the Cascade Warbirds chapter of the EAA Warbirds of America, a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association attended, along with three dozen members of the Puget Sound Military Vehicles Collectors Club and a POW/MIA Honoring Field. My dad, Cliff West, didn’t hear about the event until it was almost over and when he got there only a few planes remained for him to take pictures of: two 1955 North American T-28B Trojans and a FM-2 Wildcat.

United States Air Force 1955 North American T-28B Trojan
Photo by Cliff West

The T-28 served as an advanced trainer for the Air Force and the Navy as well as a first line fighter in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The cockpits were designed and arranged to be as much like fighter cockpits as practical. The T-28B came equipped with a nine-cylinder radial air-cooled Wright Cyclone R-1820 engine producing 1,425 horsepower with a Hamilton Standard 3-bladed propeller and a belly-mounted speed brake. 489 “B” models were built and used from the middle ‘50s to the middle ‘80s. North American Aviation also produced the legendary P-51 Mustang and the B-25. The U.S. Navy retired the T-28 in 1984. 

United States Navy 1955 North American T-28B Trojan
Photo by Cliff West

With a length of 32 feet 6 inches and a wingspan of 40 feet, the T-28B has a normal gross weight of 8,600 pounds and has a cruising speed of 230 miles per hour and a maximum speed of 346 miles per hour. With a fuel capacity of 177 gallons it has a range of 1,060 miles, consuming 50 gallons per hour.  It has a take off run of 800 feet, an initial rate of climb of 800 feet per minute, and a service ceiling of 37,000 feet. They were armed with machine guns and bombs or rockets carried externally under each wing panel. 

United States Navy FM-2 Wildcat
Photo by Cliff West

 

The FM-2 Wildcat was a variant of the Grumman F4F, which was developed at the beginning of World War II and was first purchased by the British Royal Navy as the Martlet in 1940 before being purchased by the United States Navy as the Wildcat in 1941. Wildcats were also built under license by the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors, even after Grumman began producing the more powerful F6F Hellcat in 1943. With a length of 28 feet 9 inches and a wingspan of 38 feet, the F4F was powered by a 1,200-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine with a 3-bladed constant speed propeller. It had a maximum speed of 331 miles per hour, a range of 845 miles, a service ceiling of 39,500 feet and a rate of climb of 2,300 feet per minute. They were armed with four or six .50” Browning machine guns and could also carry 2 100-pound bombs or 2 58-gallon drop tanks. The FM-2 variant was optimized for small-carrier operation, with a 1,350-horsepower Wright R-1820-56 radial engine and armed with four .50” Browning machine guns and wing racks to carry 2 250-pound bombs or six 5” rockets. Out of a total of 7,885 Wildcats built, 5,280 were FM variants built by the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors. By the time the war ended in 1945, they were considered obsolete and were retired. 

Mt. St. Helens Ash Plumes & Eclipse in October 2004

Over several days in early October 2004, Mount Saint Helens released several plumes of steam and ash.

These pictures were taken from Rainier, Oregon, looking across the Columbia River.

While I was taking pictures of the ash plume, a car carrier came by heading down the Columbia River.

Texas Highway is a car carrier operated by K-Line. It was built in 2003.

On October 27-28, 2004, a total lunar eclipse occurred, giving the moon a slightly reddish hue.

Here are some pictures of another ash plume. I am not sure if this was still in October 2004, but it was definitely by May 2005. This might be March 8, 2005.

Below are some more pictures of an ash plume taken by my dad, Cliff West, sometime between October 2004 and May 2005. Judging from the trees it was during the winter. I am not sure if this is the same plume as above from March 8, 2005, but it might be.

Photo by Cliff West

Photo by Cliff West

Photo by Cliff West

Great Northern 2-8-2 Steam Locomotive #3059 in Railroad Park, Williston, North Dakota

In Railroad Park near the Amtrak depot in Williston, North Dakota, Great Northern O-1 Class 2-8-2 Mikado Steam Locomotive #3059 is on permanent display. When riding Amtrak's Empire Builder, it can be seen from the train, which is how these pictures were taken.

The Great Northern had a total of 145 O-1 Class 2-8-2 Mikados built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in four groups between August 1911 and February 1919, and the last of them were retired in April 1958.

Photo by Cliff West

Built in February 1913, #3059 was one of the last 15 in operation when it was retired in December 1957, and is the only survivor. It was donated to the City of Williston and placed on display in Railroad Park on August 2, 1958.

Empress of the North Sternwheeler at Rainier, Oregon, in Spring 2004

Photo by Cliff West

The Empress of the North was built in 2002 by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington, for the American West Steamboat Company at a cost of $50 million and was launched as a cruise boat in 2003 offering overnight cruises on the Columbia River and Alaska’s inside Passage for 232 passengers. It is 360 feet long and 59 feet wide with a draft of 12 feet 6 inches. With four 2000-horsepower Caterpillar 3516 engines driving 2 Schottel rudder propellers, it has an average speed of 14 knots. It had two elevators serving its four decks and could carry up to 235 passengers in 112 staterooms and a crew of 91. It is shown here on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in the Spring of 2004.

USNS Pecos at Rainier, Oregon, in Spring of 2004

Photo by Cliff West

The USNS Pecos T-AO-197 is the 11th member of the Henry J. Kaiser class of underway replenishment oilers operated by Military Sealift Command to support U.S. Navy ships. It is the third ship to be named after the Pecos River in New Mexico and Texas. The Pecos was built at Avondale Shipyard, Inc. in New Orleans, Louisiana, laid down on February 17, 1988, launched on September 23, 1989, and entered service on July 6, 1990. It is 677 feet long, 97 feet 5 inches wide, and has a maximum draft of 35 feet. It has a light displacement of 9,500 tons and can carry 31,200 tons, with a capacity of 178,000 to 180,000 barrels of fuel oil and jet fuel and 7,400 square feet of cargo space, and eight 20’ refrigerated containers with room for 128 pallets. Powered by two medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 engines driving two controllable-pitch propellers, it can reach a speed of 20 knots. It carries a crew complement of about 88, primarily civilian officers and merchant mariners. It is shown here on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in the Spring of 2004.

Watertown Plank Road Overpass

This bridge in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, was built in 1910 by the Cleary-White Construction Company of Chicago for the Milwaukee, Sparta & Northwestern Railroad, as part of a 9-mile double track line that opened in 1911 from West Allis north to Butler, location of a 21-track yard with a capacity of 1500 freight cars intended to relieve congestion from the yards in downtown Milwaukee. The 175-foot 7-panel riveted Parker through truss main span was built by the Pennsylvania Steel Company of Steelton, Pennsylvania, and carried the railroad over the route completed in 1855 by the Milwaukee & Watertown Railroad, a predecessor of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Four approach spans built by the American Bridge Company of New York extend the bridge to a total length of 490 feet, crossing Underwood Creek and Watertown Plank Road, which began as a toll road in the 1830s. In 1912, the Milwaukee, Sparta & Northwestern Railroad was taken over by the Chicago & North Western Railway, which was merged into the Union Pacific Railroad in 1995. Meanwhile, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad was purchased by the Soo Line Railroad in 1985, which was subsequently absorbed by its parent company Canadian Pacific in 1992. This picture was taken from Mayfair Road during the Milwaukee School of Engineering Society of Model Engineers New Member Orientation Program in December 1997 and was saved from the SOME files.

Southridge Mall Train Ride

This train ride operated inside the Southridge Mall in the Milwaukee suburb of Greendale, Wisconsin. The Southridge Mall opened in 1970. This train (later repainted to resemble Thomas the Tank Engine) apparently operated until 2012 before being replaced by a trackless train in 2013. This picture was taken during the Milwaukee School of Engineering Society of Model Engineers New Member Orientation Program in December 1997 and was saved from the SOME files.

Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory

The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, more commonly known as the Mitchell Park Domes, consists of three glass conoidal domes designed by Donald L. Grieb Associates and built between 1959 and 1967, covering 45,000 square feet. During the winter, one of the domes features a garden railway display. This picture was taken during the Milwaukee School of Engineering Society of Model Engineers New Member Orientation Program in December 1997 and was saved from the SOME files.

MSOE E-Building

1001 North Milwaukee Street

MSOE E-Building in 1969

Eventually known as the Milwaukee School of Engineering's E-Building, this was originally Milwaukee’s second Presbyterian church, and was one of the very few examples of pre-Civil War Gothic Revival architecture in Milwaukee.

MSOE E-Building in 1969

This cream city church was originally built for the North Presbyterian congregation in 1854.

MSOE E-Building in 1969

The North Presbyterian congregation merged with First Presbyterian to form Immanuel in 1870, and this church was purchased by Welsh Calvinistic for the Welsh Presbyterian church in 1871 and the cast iron cresting was removed from the tower.

MSOE E-Building in 1969

In 1891 the church was raised several feet by architect Charles F. Ringer, and in 1908 the entry was remodeled by architects Ferry & Clas.

MSOE E-Building in 1969

The Milwaukee School of Engineering bought the church for use as a bookstore in 1954 and also used it as an auditorium.

MSOE E-Building in 1969

The Milwaukee School of Engineering's Society of Model Engineers model railroad club also built their first HO-scale layout in the basement shortly after the organization was founded in 1965.

MSOE E-Building in 1969

The E-Building was demolished in 1988. It was the last example of Ante-Bellum Gothic Revival architecture in downtown Milwaukee. The site remains a parking lot to this day.

Interior of the MSOE E-Building in 1966

These photographs are from the Society of Model Engineers photo albums and show the E-Building in 1966 and 1969 during TrainTime, the organization's annual model train show.

For more about the model train layout that was in the basement, click on the following links.

MSOE Society of Model Engineers Layout in the 1960s
MSOE Society of Model Engineers Layout in the 1970s
MSOE Society of Model Engineers Layout in 1980