Rickreall Elementary School

Rickreall Elementary School was built in 1923 as a high school. The Rickreall School District consolidated with the nearby Dallas School District in 1945. Rickreall’s high school students began attending classes in Dallas, and the Rickreall High School became Rickreall Elementary School. The school closed at the end of the 2003 school year. It was leased to the Our Jubilee Church and Academy until 2007, and was sold in 2009 to become the Rickreall Event Hall.

Rickreall Grange Hall

The Grange Hall in Rickreall, Oregon, was originally built in 1916 as the town’s public school, housing grades 1 through 12 until the new high school was built nearby in 1923. 

It then housed the younger grades until the Rickreall School District consolidated with the nearby Dallas School District in 1945, when Rickreall’s high school students began attending classes in Dallas, and the Rickreall High School became Rickreall Elementary School. This building was subsequently sold to the Rickreall Grange in 1946.

Tugboat Roughneck

Photo by Cliff West

This tugboat was built by the Calumet Shipyard and Drydock Company of Chicago, Illinois, in 1944 as the United States Army’s LT-59. In 1947, it was acquired by Ocean Prince, Incorporated of Oakland, California, and renamed Ocean Prince. It retained that name as it moved to the Red Star Towing Company of New York, New York, in 1951, to the Smith Brothers Towing Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1955 and to the Gulf and Caribbean Towing Company of Lafitte, Louisiana, in 1961. In 1963 it was renamed Dauphin, and in 1974 it was renamed Beaumont. Eventually it was acquired by the Sause Brothers Ocean Towing Company and renamed Roughneck. It is 114.2 feet long and 30 feet wide, with a draft of 17.2 feet. My dad, Cliff West, photographed it on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in April or May of 2007.

Spirit of Discovery

Photo by Cliff West

The Spirit of Discovery was originally built in 1976 by Eastern Marine Shipbuilding at Boothbay Harbor, Maine, as the Independence for American Cruise Line. In 1985 it was sold to Great Pacific Cruise Lines and renamed Columbia. It was acquired by Cruise West which renamed it Spirit of Discovery and used it to become the first operator of scheduled overnight cruises on the Columbia River. 

Photo by Cliff West

The Spirit of Discovery is 166 feet long, carries 84 guests, and has a cruising speed of 12 knots. My dad, Cliff West, photographed it on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in April 2007.

Tugboat Columbia

Photo by Cliff West

Shaver Transportation’s tugboat Columbia was built in 1968 by the Nichols Boat Works of Hood River, Oregon, and was repowered in 1983 with Stork Works engines rated at 2,750 horsepower. It is 87 feet long and 28 feet wide with a loaded draft of 11 feet. My dad, Cliff West, photographed it on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in late 2006 or early 2007.

Concrete Beam near Lebanon, Oregon

On December 20, 2006, I spotted this truck carrying a large reinforced concrete beam on Oregon Highway 34 heading towards Lebanon, Oregon. 

I believe this beam was for the new Grant Street Bridge over the South Santiam River in Lebanon, which was under construction at the time.

Portland International Airport

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 N775AS is pictured here at a gate at the Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, on November 28, 2006. The airport opened in 1936, replacing the small Swan Island Municipal Airport. The airport is owned and operated by the Port of Portland.

Construction of the Portland International Airport's Terminal Building began in 1952 and was completed in 1958. It was designed by Burns, Bear, McNeil & Schneider architects with Leigh Fisher & Associates as consultants. W. Bruce Morrison consulted as a mechanical engineer and Grant Kelley & Associates consulted as electrical engineers. The general contractor was the Ross B. Hammond Company, with A.G. Rushlight & Company as the mechanical contractor and Ace Electric Company as the electrical contractor.

The first Terminal Expansion began in 1973 and was completed in 1977. Burns & McDonnell were the engineers, architects and consultants with the Zimmer-Gunsul-Frasca Partnership as architects. Contractors, Inc. was the general contractor.

The next Terminal Expansion began in 1991 and was completed in 1995. It was designed by the Zimmer-Gunsul-Frasca Partnership as architects with Baugh Construction Oregon as general contractor.

Finally, the Terminal Access Program and Terminal Expansion South began in 1995 and were completed in 2001. They were designed by the Zimmer-Gunsul-Frasca Partnership as architects. Baugh Construction Oregon was general contractor for the Terminal Access Program and Hoffman Construction Company of Oregon was general contractor for the Terminal Expansion South.

Tugboat Joseph T.

Photo by Cliff West

My dad, Cliff West, photographed the Foss tugboat Joseph T. on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in August or September of 2006. This tugboat was built in 1975 by the Marine Power and Equipment Incorporated of Seattle, Washington, as the Georgeann for the Samson Tug and Barge Company Incorporated of Sitka, Alaska. In 1988, this tugboat was acquired by the Brix Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, and was renamed Olympic. In 1993, the Brix Maritime Company was acquired by the Foss Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, and this tugboat was renamed Joseph T. The Joseph T. is 73.5 feet long, with a hull 27.2 feet wide and 11.1 feet deep. Rated at 2,250 horsepower, it is powered by two Caterpillar D-399 engines with Caterpillar 7261 reduction gears driving two stainless steel, four-bladed 88-inch by 58-inch fixed pitch propellers. This was near the end of this tugboats career on the west coast, as later in 2006, the Joseph T. would be transferred to the Foss subsidiary Constellation Maritime Company of Manchester, Massachusetts, and was renamed Scorpius.

Albany Railroad Depot

 I originally posted this information on my old website on March 26, 2009, and last updated it on December 18, 2009.

Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

The Albany depot was completed in 1909 for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

This depot replaced a previous depot at the same location. 

Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

This depot has remained in continuous operation since it was built.

Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

The depot is currently served by Amtrak's Coast Starlight and Cascades trains.

Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

An $11.5 million renovation project began in May of 2004 and the depot was dedicated in April of 2006.

Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

Historical Photos:
Train at old Albany depot, 1895 (Salem Public Library)
Train at old Albany depot, 1900 (Salem Public Library)
Horsecar at new Albany depot, 1908 (Salem Public Library)

Depot Sign in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

Depot Sign in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

Interior of Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

Interior of Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

Clock Tower at Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

The clock tower was constructed in December 2006 and January 2007 at a cost of $140,000.

Clock Tower at Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

The tower is 60 feet tall and the base is 6 feet square.

Clock Tower at Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

The 4-foot-diameter clocks were donated by the Greater Albany Rotary Club.

Clock Tower at Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

The "ALBANY" letters are 2 feet tall.

Clock Tower at Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

The tower has a steel frame with a masonry veneer, including about 2,500 ornamental, sand-colored bricks.

Clock Tower at Depot in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

REA Building in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

The adjacent 1,500-square-foot Railway Express Agency building on the east end of the depot was last used as offices and a dispatch center for the Union Pacific Railroad.

REA Building in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

As of 2007, this building was vacant.

REA Building in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

The building is to be restored and renovated to serve as the offices for the Albany Transit System.

REA Building & Depot in Albany, Oregon on August 31, 2006

REA Building in Albany, Oregon on December 4, 2007

Clock Tower & REA Building in Albany on December 4, 2007

Leathers Oil Company Sign near Albany, Oregon

33385 SE Highway 34

The Leathers Oil Company was established in 1959 with a single gas station in Sandy, Oregon. It eventually became Leathers Enterprises, Inc. and expanded to 31 locations, many branded as Texaco and later as Shell.

This Leathers Fuels branded station on Highway 34 near Albany, Oregon, was built in 1966 at Exit 228 of Interstate 5, which was completed in Oregon that same year. The large aging sign appears to date from that time. The sign was eventually updated to match the station’s Leathers Fuels brand between 2007 and 2011.

Tugboat Halle Foss

Photo by Cliff West

My dad, Cliff West, photographed the Foss tugboat Halle Foss on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in April 2006. This tugboat was built in 1970 by Quality Shipyard Incorporated of Houma, Louisiana, as the Gulf Stream for Gulf Mississippi Marine Incorporated of Houston, Texas. In 1976, it was acquired by Defelice Marine Towing Company of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and renamed the Demarco XII. In 1979 it was purchased by the Knappton Towboat Company of Astoria, Oregon, and was renamed the Astoria. It retained its name when the Knappton Towboat Company became the Brix Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, in 1988. In 1993 Brix was acquired by the Foss Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, and the tugboat was renamed the Halle Foss. The Halle Foss is 86 feet long with a hull 27.9 feet wide and 9.4 feet deep. Rated at 2,000 horsepower, it is powered by two Caterpillar D398 12-cylinder diesel engines turning two cast steel fixed pitch propellers.

M/V Zhen Hua 1 with Port of Portland Crane

Photo by Cliff West

My dad, Cliff West, photographed the heavy load carrier M/V Zhen Hua 1 on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, on April 28, 2006, carrying a new gantry crane bound for the Port of Portland.

Photo by Cliff West

This ship was originally built by the Nippon Kokan Tsurumi Works in Yokohama, Japan, in December 1976 as a K-Line bulk carrier called the Titan. In 1988 or 1989 it was sold to Crescent Shipping Ltd. and was renamed the Rudy G. In October 1991 it was sold to Andreas Ugland Car Carrier and renamed Rudi. In October 1993 it was purchased by Greece-based Global Ocean Carriers and renamed Global Adelaide. In December 1998 it was sold to Entrust Maritime Co. Ltd. and renamed Kyrenia. In 2000 it was rebuilt into the heavy load carrier Zhen Hua 1 for Shanghai Zhenhua Shipping Company. The Zhen Hua 1 is 233.6 meters long overall, with a beam of 32.24 meters and a draft of 9 meters. It has a gross tonnage of 29,300 tons and a deadweight tonnage of 72,399 tons.

Photo by Cliff West

On April 2, 2006, the Zhen Hua 1 arrived at the Port of Seattle carrying five gantry cranes built by Zhenhua Port Machinery Company Limited, which was founded in 1885 as Gongmao Shipyard. Four of the 1,200-ton cranes were unloaded at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 18, with the fifth bound for the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6. The ship waited in Seattle’s Elliott Bay until the water levels of the Columbia River were low enough for the crane to clear the Lewis & Clark Bridge between Longview, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon. Because the 412-foot width of the crane exceeded the beam of the ship by 95 feet on the port side and 193 feet on the starboard side, the United States Coast Guard established a Safety Zone of a 100 yard radius around the ship. The maximum height of the crane aboard the ship would exceed 225 feet.

Photo by Cliff West

On April 27, 2006, the Zhen Hua 1 crossed the Columbia River bar at Astoria, Oregon, and passed under the Astoria-Megler Bridge at low water with a minus tide of one foot. The crane was measured at 192 feet high aboard the ballasted ship, and the clearance under the bridge was measured at 207 feet. The ship proceeded up the Columbia River to anchor for the night at Longview, Washington.

Photo by Cliff West

The next day, the Zhen Hua 1 was ballasted to a draft of 40 feet, the depth of the Columbia River shipping channel, leaving approximately two feet of freeboard. The clearance under the Lewis & Clark Bridge was measured at 195 feet. The ship passed under the bridge at half a knot with clearance of seven feet. A crewmember standing on top of the crane reportedly reached up and touched the bridge.

Photo by Cliff West

The gantry crane was bound for the container terminal at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 to replace a smaller crane. The new post-Panamax crane had a capacity of 60 long tons and a reach of 169 feet. It was the third of its class at Terminal 6, and cost $7.5 million.

Photo by Cliff West

The passage of this crane was a major local news event, with a news helicopter overhead that appears to be KATU’s Chopper 2.