Jody's Northwest Railfan Experience

Recently, my desire to cover more than just the Port of TiIllamook Bay via the web has led me to take some radical turns, often times heading way out into left field. While it has been interesting, it just simply has no place taking up space on the POTB Railfan's Guide. At the same time, I have been harboring the desire to build Gears Northwest, a comprehensive site regarding the geared steam locomotives of the Pacific Northwest. To make a long story short, I have combined the projects in the original home of the POTB Railfan's Guide, and viola! Jody's Northwest Railfan Experience.

My Northwest Railfan Experience is comprised of six separate sites, with an extra section for features and other miscellany. The Fanpix section, a monthly feature of railfan photos that began on the Port of Tillamook Bay Railfan's Guide, has been moved to the bottom of this page. Chose from any of the sites below to continue:

Luxury Under Glass — The Ultradome Experience: The newest site in the collection focuses on these fantastic full length domes built by Colorado Railcar and its predicessors. The new site features a complete, illustrated roster as well as photos, news and information about the cars and their users. There's still plenty of work left to be done, but the site is close enough to done that I can now officially share it with you.

The Port of Tillamook Bay Railfan' s Guide: My most popular site offers an in-depth look at this unique shortline that connects the Oregon coastal town of Tillamook with the rest of the world via a connection with the Portland and Western (and hence BNSF and UP) at Banks, OR. Between, the line's first generation diesel power traverses the shores of two bays and the Pacific Ocean, and crosses the Coast Range mountains on grades exceeding three percent. It's worth a visit.

Oregon's Coastal Branchlines: Coming soon, we will expand upon the format set forth in the Port of Tillamook Bay Railfan's Guide with similar information on the Portland and Western's branches to Astoria and Toledo, and the Central Oregon and Pacific's line to Coos Bay. The history of many other lines will also be covered. This site is still under construction, and while it will be a long time before completion, section 1 on the P&W Astoria line should be up and running when launched later this fall.

Gears Northwest: My love of small geared steam engines will be featured in this site, which will eventually be expanded to include a listing of preserved and operating geared engines in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, and photos and historical information. And of course, no adventure like this would be complete without some photos and videos of the Shays, Heislers and Climaxes in action.

The Yakima Valley Transportation Co.: A photo site showing the remaining equipment of one of the nation's last interurban railroads. Owned by the Union Pacific, the YVT continued to move freight with ancient electric motors until the late 1980's. Today, the remaining track, several trolleys, and an original YVT motor and linecar serve as an operating museum and tourist railroad. More will be added to this as time allows.

The Washington Park and Zoo Railfan's Guide: Another attempt to apply the POTB Railfan's Guide formula, this time to this often overlooked tourist railroad that connects the Oregon Zoo to Portland's Washington Park. Despite the "kiddie" overtones, this is an interesting, fully functional tourist road — possibly the most well patronized tourist rail attraction in the state. A current roster is up, and a complete history, trackside guide, and other additions are coming soon.

FanPix for January, 2004

So you want to make a New Year's Resolution? Well, here's one for you. If you've never been to the California State Railroad Museum, get there. I visited once, during Railfair 91, and was just plain AMAZED! The displays are phenomenal, including this, the last remaining Southern Pacific Cab Forward, (class AC-12, 4-8-8-2), which I photographed after hours with the special permission of museum staff. Photo by Jody Moore. May, 1991.

FanPix Archive

January, 2004 — Southern Pacific cab forward steam engine at the California State Railroad Museum.

August, 2003 — Rocky Mountaineer along the Yoho River near Golden, BC.

June, 2003 — RDCs crossing Blind Slough enroute to Astoria.

May, 2003 — Passenger trains meet on the Mt. Hood Railroad.

April, 2003 — A Simpson Timber Co. log train near Shelton, WA.

March, 2003 — Washington Central's YPT pauses in Kennewick, WA at night.

February, 2003 — A UP drag freight climbs into Peru, WY.

January, 2003 — Mt. Emily Shay no. 1 steams east at O'Neil, OR.

December, 2002 — BN's RLM prototype 7890 leads a train into Mesa, WA on it's maiden voyage.

November, 2002 — Portland's three historic steamers pose at the Brooklyn Roundhouse.

October, 2002 — SD-9 6113 on a BN local in Pasco, WA.

September, 2002 — Amtrak Cascades Talgo in Seattle, WA.

August, 2002 — PGEX unit coal near Wallula, WA.

July, 2002 — SP 4449 and train at Cabin Creek, WA.

June, 2002 — Spirit of Washington F units on a shakedown freight.

May, 2002 — BNSF GEs lead a short train across the Columbia River.

	Luxury Under Glass — The Ultradome Experience: The newest site in the collection focuses on these fantastic full length domes built by Colorado Railcar and its predicessors. The new site features a complete, illustrated roster as well as photos, news and information about the cars and their users. There's still plenty of work left to be done, but the site is close enough to done that I can now officially share it with you.
	The Port of Tillamook Bay Railfan' s Guide: My most popular site offers an in-depth look at this unique shortline that connects the Oregon coastal town of Tillamook with the rest of the world via a connection with the Portland and Western (and hence BNSF and UP) at Banks, OR. Between, the line's first generation diesel power traverses the shores of two bays and the Pacific Ocean, and crosses the Coast Range mountains on grades exceeding three percent. It's worth a visit.
	Oregon's Coastal Branchlines: Coming soon, we will expand upon the format set forth in the Port of Tillamook Bay Railfan's Guide with similar information on the Portland and Western's branches to Astoria and Toledo, and the Central Oregon and Pacific's line to Coos Bay. The history of many other lines will also be covered. This site is still under construction, and while it will be a long time before completion, section 1 on the P&W Astoria line should be up and running when launched later this fall.
	Gears Northwest: My love of small geared steam engines will be featured in this site, which will eventually be expanded to include a listing of preserved and operating geared engines in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, and photos and historical information. And of course, no adventure like this would be complete without some photos and videos of the Shays, Heislers and Climaxes in action.
	The Yakima Valley Transportation Co.: A photo site showing the remaining equipment of one of the nation's last interurban railroads. Owned by the Union Pacific, the YVT continued to move freight with ancient electric motors until the late 1980's. Today, the remaining track, several trolleys, and an original YVT motor and linecar serve as an operating museum and tourist railroad. More will be added to this as time allows.
	The Washington Park and Zoo Railfan's Guide: Another attempt to apply the POTB Railfan's Guide formula, this time to this often overlooked tourist railroad that connects the Oregon Zoo to Portland's Washington Park. Despite the "kiddie" overtones, this is an interesting, fully functional tourist road — possibly the most well patronized tourist rail attraction in the state. A current roster is up, and a complete history, trackside guide, and other additions are coming soon.