Well, as Butch and Sundance might say, "Who are these guys?"

MAX, of course, is the Metropolitan Area Express, TriMet's light rail system in the Portland metro area. WES is the Westside Express Service, the now-under-construction regional rail line between the Portland suburbs of Beaverton and Wilsonville. Here are some construction updates for both operations.

Tracklaying has begun on the MAX Green Line alignment along Interstate 205. Crews are currently working on the stretch between SE Stark and SE Division streets. Rails and concrete ties are staged at the site of the future SE Main Street station, just below Stark.

The old VC interlocking tower at the south end of Portland Union Station is under rehabilitation as a control point for the donwtown Portland section of the Green Line. The tower, closed in November 1997, will help control light rail trains moving to and from the Steel Bridge and the Transit Mall alignment. The line passes by and will have a stop on the the south side of the depot.

Over on the West Side, the new Lombard Street trackage is in place from Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway to Canyon Road. A track crew is currently extending the existing two main tracks from just above SW 5th Avenue to the B-H Highway/Lombard Street grade crossing. At this point, the east track will turn north onto Lombard Street; the west track, the old SP Tillamook Branch alignment, will continue west toward Hillsboro.