My Ride Last Week

Riding a bicycle along the East Bank Esplanade is something I do all the time. I have to pay attention, as there are many things to beware of; pedestrians, children, other cyclists, people whose dogs have drawn the leash across my path, and on occasion a large steam engine.

Portland is home to three working steam locomotives that live in a round house in the Union Pacific's Brooklyn yard, and today, the larger of the two, the SP&S 700, was pulling a small train down the tracks alongside the multi-use path.

I've always been a fan of railroads. They're like tranquilizers on wheels, as watching them removes hours of stress in minutes. That's one of the things I miss about my model railroad which now lies dormant in two large stowables.

Seeing a mechanical creation like the SP&S 700 up close and in motion is mesmerizing. This steam engine weighs 800,000 pounds, has driving wheels that are 6 feet 5 inches tall, can pull 2 thousand tons of freight, and could go up to 100 miles per hour!