Scenic, Affordable, Comfortable - Amtrak Cascades - PDX to SEA

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Man, I love the charm of that Portland Union clock tower! It's cool that they've named their trainsets after the actual mountains in the region! They named the other Series 8 trainset they got after Mount Bachelor. The four original Series VI trainsets were named after Mount Baker, Mount Hood, Mount Olympus, and Mount Rainier. The Series VI trainset originally built to operate between Las Vegas and Los Angeles was renamed the Mount Adams when it was purchased by the state of Washington. The Mount Adams trainset was the one that derailed on the Point Defiance Cutoff. Mount Jefferson is the second-highest mountain in Oregon after Mount Hood. It reaches an elevation of 10,497 feet or 3,199 meters. Native Americans named the mountain "Seekseekqua". The British called it Mount Vancouver in honor of George Vancouver before the name Mount Jefferson was chosen in honor of Thomas Jefferson by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, as Jefferson sponsored the expedition. It was first ascended by E. C. Cross and R. L. Farmer in 1888.

[@himbourbanist]

FINALLY did this route with my partner last weekend and it was awesome. We left from Tacoma Dome Station and rode down to Portland Union Station and then back. The ride was so comfortable and chill. It was a rainy day and we couldn't imagine needing to drive in such crappy weather, the train made the trip so easy and we had a lovely weekend getting around Portland on the MAX and the Streetcar. We got the Horizon coaches on our run which I believe are more common nowadays since the Talgos have become pretty scarce and Amtrak needs filler equipment until Siemens delivers the Airo sets. Amtrak Cascades has become one of my favorite routes on the network.

[@dennisyoung4631]

I’d call that Portland station “calming.” It’s helpful that way. Hope to take the train up to Seattle in the near future.

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

3:04 that K5LA horn gave me chills

[@LonestarTrips]

Agreed. The K5LA will always be THE railway horn of America.

[@stephenspilker9334]

i love portland union station, been on this run a few times and enjoyed it tremendously.

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

thanks for the vid, that is really a nice run. I believe the two remaining Talgo train sets have been dedicated to the Seattle to Vancouver BC run, with new set supposed to come on line in 2026.

[@mxg75]

The time savings on the Point Defiance Bypass is significant, but you miss out on the stupendous scenery of the old alignment, with the train running right along the shore of the Puget Sound.

[@bethnelson8497]

As someone with severe travel anxiety, I so appreciate this really in-depth look at this trip! Thank you!

[@glowingfish]

That is a great introduction to the Amtrak Cascades! There is of course a lot more to say about the Amtrak Cascades. One thing that doesn't come quite across in the video is that the route between Portland and Seattle isn't a super rural area, but it is also pretty sparsely populated for a place with five train trips a day. Of the places with Amtrak corridor service, the Seattle/Portland corridor is the least densely populated.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Kelso, WA was founded by Peter W. Crawford, a Scottish surveyor, who, in 1847, took up the first donation land claim on the Lower Cowlitz River. Crawford platted a townsite which he named after his hometown of Kelso in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It became incorporated in 1889. In its early days, Kelso obtained the nickname "Little Chicago" as it became famous for its large number of taverns and brothels that catered to local loggers. The FBI finally forced the mayor to shut them down in the 1950s, with the last closing in the mid-1960s, though it remains to have a logging industry. The Columbia River got its name from American merchant sea captain Robert Gray. On May 12, 1792, when Robert Gray’s ship crossed the western river’s treacherous bar, Gray would become the first known explorer of European descent to enter the river. His fur trading mission was financed by Boston merchants who outfitted him with a private vessel named “Columbia Rediviva.” So he named the great river after the ship on May 18.

[@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm]

What was the original Indian name for the river or is it unpronounceable? With all the progressives in WA and OR, how come no demands for a change back to an original?

[@harrisonhschan]

Unfortunately it looks like the Talgo 8 cafe car is much more utilitarian, the original Talgo 6 had beautiful cafe cars with lots of wood, and the ceiling had a map of the coastal Pacific Northwest with little lights in them - truly a sight

[@syrax101]

Love the Cascades route! Such a relaxing ride. Can’t wait for the Empire Builder vid! I know the train had to have delays because of the freighters. Cool vid!

[@jnrfalcon]

Talgo specifically emphasizes that passive tilting does NOT increase speed in curves. It only improves comfort. The passive tilting mechanism basically hangs the cars on a top pivot point. In curves, the car body, along with the center of gravity is thrown outward, exacerbating centrifugal force, making the train less stable. That's why they absolutely need the low center of gravity design to keep up with normal speed. This is opposed to active tilting, which pivot at where the bogies meet the car bodies. This pivots the cars and the center of gravity into the curve, thus counteracting centrifugal force and allow higher operating speed

[@LonestarTrips]

Quoting from Talgo's website here: "Talgo's tilting technology can increase speeds by up to 25% through curves without having to carry out additional investments." That is what I am referring to in the video.

[@jnrfalcon]

@@LonestarTrips I got my information from chatting with an Amtrak Cascades engineer. And I can definitely confirm that on Amtrak Cascades, those Horizon sets runs at the same speed as the Talgos. Also, neither P40 or Charger has tilting technology of any kind, but does have a much much higher center of gravity. If they didn't fly off the rails, at the very very least, they are not utilizing the increased speed on Cascades service. Also, if it is effective, how come there are tons of companies in active tilting business, but practically only one in passive tilting?

[@LonestarTrips]

@@jnrfalcon Design case and use case are two different situations. The train was designed to increase speeds on existing infrastructure, whether or not Amtrak chooses to use them to their full potential is up to them. It's also possible that the allure of reduced RoW maintenance was the main factor for choosing the Talgos. All I'm saying is that they CAN increase speeds, not that they actually do.

[@944play]

I occasionally take Cascades from PDX to Oregon City. Tickets have gone from $5 to $4 then ONE DOLLAR last time I rode it a week ago.

[@katiobrien7854]

My grandfather was a mail carrier aboard the SP&S railroad (the Seattle-Portland-Spokane rail company) back in the day. I was born the same year the "Go By Train Gobytrain" sign was lit. I was about 3 when I learned what the sign said and enjoyed lots of years meeting my grandfather there on his trips thru Portland.

[@mariosphere]

It's so strange to hear about stations who saw more trains 100 years ago than now...

[@tonerduckpin]

I took the Cascades from Vancouver, Washington to Seattle a couple of years ago. I took a Tuesday trip at 8:00AM and it was packed. Not an empty seat on that train.

[@juanmontull8550]

Love to see spanish trains in the US ✌ Also keep in mind that those Talgo sets run up to 300 km/h in Spain, so they are anything but bad or unsafe!!

[@nyrmetros]

Hello and welcome! 🎉

[@FlightAndTrack]

Great work

[@bos2pdx2yvr]

Okay, wait... you did a trip report about Amtrak's Cascades route, spent several minutes talking about an accident, and didn't mention the STUNNING scenery of Puget Sound out the windows?? That's the best part of the trip! I realize you were seated on the opposite side of the train from the view, but it deserves at least a mention or a camera shot out one of the lounge car windows. Also, yes, the passenger cars are showing their age, but they'll be replaced in 2026 with new Siemens 'Airo' trains (a variant of the popular 'Venture' coaches) and locomotives. This is a beautiful train ride and I feel like you didn't do it justice.

[@LonestarTrips]

The train doesn't go alongside the Puget Sound anymore. The Point Defiance bypass makes sure of that lol. Also I'm aware the trainsets will be replaced in 2026 by the Airo fleet, I just didn't talk about it in this video because I already mentioned it in my previous ride in Business class when heading from Seattle to Portland.

[@bos2pdx2yvr]

@@LonestarTrips That's too bad that the new route takes it away from the scenery, but I guess it's understandable given the time savings.

[@LonestarTrips]

@@bos2pdx2yvr Yeah it's a real shame, but time savings will always win out. That being said, there will be plenty of beautiful scenery (Including a great look at the Puget Sound) in this week's video.

[@EmeraldCrimsonShadowPeach2K5]

This was great! I wonder when service to Vancouver BC on the Amtrak Cascades will be restored. Also, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing you do the Empire Builder as well!

[@nkflynn882]

Canada service was fully restored in March!

[@EmeraldCrimsonShadowPeach2K5]

@@nkflynn882 That's awesome!

[@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm]

Are there really public phones in that station? Ancient Neon sign inside says so. Good for them. There is a small portion of the traveling public that don't have cell phones or have run out of juice for their own phone.

[@himbourbanist]

There's one left, I checked when I was in the station last weekend. It even accepts credit cards I think. Pretty cool

[@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm]

@@himbourbanist Thanks for your answer. KZbin can be a great experience if we could only hold back the whiners, haters, and constantly upset (at whatever bothers them at the moment). A lot of folks seem to want to pick a verbal or other fight. We could calmly she info as our database, us, would be huge. Happy holidays to you.

[@himbourbanist]

not a problem at all, totally agreed, and happy holidays to you!@@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm

[@stephenkeever6029]

I finally understand the Talgo wheels and tilt system thanks to your explanation. Was there any interesting train souvenirs in the Portland station?

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video 👋

[@LonestarTrips]

Thanks!

[@rockyshore7017]

The Talgo locomotives are still in service, or not? At the end of the video we see them parked in the yard.

[@LonestarTrips]

I’m not sure what you mean by “Talgo locomotive.” Are you referring to the Talgo cab cars?

[@rockyshore7017]

@@LonestarTrips The Talgo trainsets originally came with Talgo locomotives... near the end of your video we see two of them parked at the King Street station.... apparently they're no longer in service, or so I read.

[@LonestarTrips]

@@rockyshore7017 The Talgo sets never came with locomotives. The two you are referring to at the end of the video are the Talgo cab cars, which are a part of the series 8 trainsets.

[@Никита-ш4з1г]

By the way, my great-aunt lives in Portland.

[@samtrak1204]

It looks like the Talgos with the beautiful bistro cars were sidetracked?

[@sgt.eclair]

scrapped.

[@SeijinDinger]

Opening day of the bypass a friend lost their life in the accident

[@harrisonhschan]

Cascades is a great service. I've ridden it several times down to Seattle from Vancouver, BC, back when they used F59PHIs hauling the older Talgo sets. I just wish the Vancouver BC trips went the full length to Portland and Eugene... Definitely interesting to see the range of cars they've used - Talgo sets, Horizon cars, and Superliners too... I actually got stuck overnight once when there was a track issue on the Canadian side, there's no intermediate stops between Vancouver (which is a preclearance facility) and the border so we couldn't be let off. It so happened to be on a Superliner set so it was very comfortable though. Definitely better to spend a night on than a Talgo set or Horizons

[@himbourbanist]

I didn't know they ever used Superliners on this route, that's really unique. Seems like they're using whatever is available (mostly Horizons) until the Airo sets are delivered. Can't wait to ride the new trains it'll be an absolute gamechanger for the line

[@ivanoffw]

I remember when I was first able to try out the Series 8 at Portland Union, one of the first things I noticed was how uncomfortable the seats were. You really missed out by not experiencing the Series 6 train sets, they were much more comfortable and felt luxurious. It's been so long since I have been on the Cascades that I did not realize that they still run the series 8 rather than the cars from Chicago.

[@Robbi496]

They also found that the Series 6 Talgos were not crashworhty!

[@erik_griswold]

They were certainly crashworthy, except when you run them at 79 mph through a 30 mph curve. I’d love to see how a Superliner or a Horizon Car would fare if the same thing was done to them.

[@Robbi496]

The NTSB when they invested the accident determined they were NOIT crashworthy and made them be removed from service

[@spectrastar2749]

They're replacing them with Venture series cars in the future

[@jslasher1]

Is there a water shortage in the Pacific Northwest? Filthy exterior. Why wasn't the equipment put through a washer?

[@OfficialETandM]

When are you riding on the SMART Train here in Sonoma County?

[@marsillinkow]

So the odd spanish looking train with a duckbill is no longer in service? Shame

[@elliebean368]

No, the Talgo 8s (the duckbills) are still in service. The older Series 6 trainsets were all decommissioned and scrapped and the new Airo sets won't arrive for another three years

[@samtrak1204]

Dirty train and windows? Has Amtrak stopped washing cars?

[@danabe3220]

In my opinion the Portland Union Station is one of the most beautiful stations in the US. Shame about the rest of Portland.