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Re: Historic Portland Traction Company Bridge Collapsing.
Author: Shortline Sammie
Date: 03-07-2014 - 21:57
Brian Westgate Wrote:
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> Why does UP have responsibility over a Portland
> Traction bridge?
Here's the "rest of the story" as the late Paul Harvey would have said:
In 1962 the Portland Traction Company was purchased jointly by the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. In 1988 much of the trackage east of the Milwaukie Industrial Park was abandoned and in 1991 the remainder of the common carrier operation was assumed by what is now the Oregon Pacific East Portland Division. With UP's purchase of the SP in 1996 it became UP's sole problem as it was part of real estate holdings still controlled by UP.
In 1968 Portland Traction made it's last run to Oregon City over the line which ran from Golf Junction in Sellwood (SE Portland) to serve the paper mill in Oregon City via street running in Oak Grove, Gladstone and over the subject bridge for more street running down the main street of Oregon City to switch the lucrative traffic at the paper mill in the South end of Oregon City.
At that time Portland Traction was given trackage rights over the SP main line from Brooklyn Yard to Canemah (just south of Oregon City) where PTC still had an active interchange with SP and all traffic was diverted over this route and handled by SP crews utilizing one of several SW-1200's (I have pics of the SP 2286 in this service),
In late 1969 the UP (who handled legal affairs and purchasing for Portland Traction) put removal of the Oregon City line out to bid for scrap which required removal of the curved timber trestle at Milwaukie A N D the subject steel bridge over the Clackamas River at Gladstone. A&K Railroad Materials (then known as A&K Railroad Ties) was the preferred bidder; H O W E V E R, having to remove the Gladstone bridge resulted in a negative bid of P T C having to P A Y A&K around $256,000 where by leaving the bridge in place and just salvaging the rail and ties by A&K would N E T the P T C around $76,000 rather than the other way around. Dollars in the bank must have been worth the risk of leaving the bridge in place. History now tells the story and I'm sure that this SP influenced bad decision made some 45 years ago and removal of the stable bridge in 1970 dollars rather than having to deal with the partially collapsed structure in 2014 dollars would have been considered one of the bargains of the century!
Dick Samuels
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why does UP have responsibility over a Portland
> Traction bridge?
Here's the "rest of the story" as the late Paul Harvey would have said:
In 1962 the Portland Traction Company was purchased jointly by the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. In 1988 much of the trackage east of the Milwaukie Industrial Park was abandoned and in 1991 the remainder of the common carrier operation was assumed by what is now the Oregon Pacific East Portland Division. With UP's purchase of the SP in 1996 it became UP's sole problem as it was part of real estate holdings still controlled by UP.
In 1968 Portland Traction made it's last run to Oregon City over the line which ran from Golf Junction in Sellwood (SE Portland) to serve the paper mill in Oregon City via street running in Oak Grove, Gladstone and over the subject bridge for more street running down the main street of Oregon City to switch the lucrative traffic at the paper mill in the South end of Oregon City.
At that time Portland Traction was given trackage rights over the SP main line from Brooklyn Yard to Canemah (just south of Oregon City) where PTC still had an active interchange with SP and all traffic was diverted over this route and handled by SP crews utilizing one of several SW-1200's (I have pics of the SP 2286 in this service),
In late 1969 the UP (who handled legal affairs and purchasing for Portland Traction) put removal of the Oregon City line out to bid for scrap which required removal of the curved timber trestle at Milwaukie A N D the subject steel bridge over the Clackamas River at Gladstone. A&K Railroad Materials (then known as A&K Railroad Ties) was the preferred bidder; H O W E V E R, having to remove the Gladstone bridge resulted in a negative bid of P T C having to P A Y A&K around $256,000 where by leaving the bridge in place and just salvaging the rail and ties by A&K would N E T the P T C around $76,000 rather than the other way around. Dollars in the bank must have been worth the risk of leaving the bridge in place. History now tells the story and I'm sure that this SP influenced bad decision made some 45 years ago and removal of the stable bridge in 1970 dollars rather than having to deal with the partially collapsed structure in 2014 dollars would have been considered one of the bargains of the century!
Dick Samuels
