Hi BN Oly,
Yes I distinctly remember a single boxcar spotted at a building by the Megler bridge. I would’ve been right around 1995 I think.

BOB2,
Wow, sometimes you are just clueless. You claim to be all about numbers but then you pull useless crap out of your butt just as much as anyone else here. The ILWU blockaded a facility in Longview to try to put them out of business. This union is ruthless and they don’t mind ruining a business. I’m generally pro union, but the ILWU gives me the creeps.


BN Oly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Astoria memories Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I lived in Astoria for a year and a half,
> around
> > '95-'96. these memories are from that time
> > frame.
> >
> > In all that time I remember only once a BN GP7
> or
> > 9 came all the way into Astoria with a boxcar.
> I
> > think the car actually went to a customer. Then
> a
> > loco came back days later to pick it up. That
> was
> > the only train action I saw the entire time.
> >
> > I also remember a BN B&B crew stationed in
> Astoria
> > for a little while to replace wood planks on
> the
> > trestled area near downtown. I chatted with
> one
> > of the guys on that crew about what they were
> > doing.
> >
> > I'm convinced the ILWU scared off a lot of
> > potential marine traffic from the port. I
> think
> > the Longshoremen required 4 hours pay just to
> tie
> > up a barge or vessel. One shipper was building
> a
> > barge landing near Warrenton just get away from
> > the ILWU and the port. Heard about it from a
> > friend whose dad was a longshoreman. Probably
> the
> > longshoremen picketed that job as they did the
> > Wauna mill.
> >
> > Back then Astoria dreamed about becoming a busy
> > port the same way Humboldt Bay tries to. But
> it
> > just never happened. If Port of Astoria could
> > have run the ILWU off, then maybe it could have
> > become something.
> >
> > Once I pulled off the highway in Knappa and a
> > wigwag was swinging away on its own, no train
> in
> > site. An electrical problem I guess?
> >
> > I remember a house at Clatskanie for the bridge
> > tender. The house was demolished sometime
> after
> > that.
> >
> > Oh yeah, the attitudes of loggers and mill guys
> > back then is pretty well captured by Erik H
> above.
> >
> >
> > The county fair was old fashioned fun. Astoria
> > was run down and a little salty back then, but
> it
> > was genuine and real. I liked it. Oh yeah, I
> > remember a strip bar downtown called the Rec
> > Tavern and the two women who worked there.
> When
> > it closed I heard they put a coffin outside the
> > door, and rest in peace or something on it.
> Maybe
> > the soul of Astoria died then... haha.
>
> There was a company in Astoria that worked on old
> Mechanical reefers. They would get 1-3 cars a
> year sent to them for repairs. Aside from that,
> the warehouse down by the Megler bridge used to
> receive raw materials (plastic wrap I believe) a
> couple times a year, but that was probably done by
> 95. I think there were also some gondolas of
> hardwood for export that occasionally got unloaded
> down at the far end of the line. The hardwood
> exporters tended to go in spurts, they also used
> Olympia and Coos Bay to ship from.