Here are some historical references regarding this location:

The line on which the 1408 is switching is the Cazadero (Springwater) line, which ran out through southeast Portland to Gresham and Boring. In its earliest days in the early 20th Century, it stretched all the way past Estacada to the Cazadero Dam site on the upper Clackamas River. A branch from Linneman Junction (Gresham) ran north and east to Troutdale from 1907 to 1927.

Behind the photographer's aspect was the line to Milwaukie and Oregon City. A tiny track segment still exists here today and is used as a siding.

The Cazadero line (as far as the Belrose area of southeast Portland) and the Oregon City line had interurban service until Jan. 25, 1958. The planned MAX light rail line to Milwaukie will use a short segment of the Oregon City ROW south of downtown Milwaukie when it opens in 2015.

The popular Springwater Trail follows the Cazadero ROW east from Sellwood all the way to Gresham and Boring, while the East Bank Trail follows the ROW north from Sellwood to OMSI. Local planners would like to fill in the several-block gap between the two trail segments, which would involve negotiations with Oregon Pacific RR to acquire a ROW easement along the track segment pictured in the photos.

South of downtown Milwaukie, the Trolley Trail is taking shape along a segment of the Oregon City ROW through the city's Oak Grove neighborhood. The ROW is still intact from the proposed Oak Grove MAX terminus, and planners could develop the trail as a pedestrian and bicycle connector from light rail.

The city of Gresham is developing the old Troutdale Branch ROW as a multi-use trail from Linneman north to Fairview. The trail will cross the old Mount Hood (Bull Run) interurban ROW, now part of the MAX Blue Line, at Ruby Junction. This is about a block east of the Ruby Juction/E. 197th Ave. MAX stop and can provide another pedestrian/bicycle connector.

Several blocks east of the photo location is the Oregon Pacific RR shop area. Here you can find an eclectic collection of rolling stock that includes a GE 70-tonner, several cabooses, and several other unusual pieces.

North and west of the photo location, adjacent to Portland's Oaks Park, is where the Oregon Railroad Heritage Foundation (OHRF) has operated its popular "Holiday Express" excursions since 2005. The trains, pulled by both of the city's famed 4-8-4 steam locomotives (SP 4449 and SP&S 700), run up the Oregon Pacific line to OMSI.

The funds generated by these and other excursions have enabled ORHF to obtain property in the vicinity of OMSI to establish a yard and shop for the city's steam locomotives and other rolling stock currently housed at the Brooklyn Yard roundhouse, where Union Pacific plans to redevelop the roundhouse site.