Picture of the day
The “Gorge” experience

Picture of the day
The “Gorge” experience

The last line to be rail-fanned on this trip by car are the BNSF and UP gateways to Portland via the Columbia River Gorge. The 100 miles from Portland, OR to The Dalles, OR (UP) and Vancouver, WA to Wishram ,WA (BNSF) are very scenic featuring a continuous transition form Pacific Northwest rainforest to bare high desert. Also, the lines are quite busy. Although partly just single track, I encountered a lot of trains- and this on a Saturday! I only experienced that kind of volume on the BNSF transcon and, to a certain degree, at Cajon pass. Chasing trains and taking pictures is a easier on the Washington river bank as Highway 14 is less traveled than I84 on the opposite side. Also it is easy to pull out which is pretty much a no-go on the Interstate. The train photographer has to work with the light though has the sun is “behind” the trains most of the day. Never the less, scouting, planning and patience pay off as the picture of the day shows. This was a really lucky shot as two minutes later the whole scene would have been in dull shadow due to the sun disappearing behind the canyon rim.

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