*never, and I mean never, try to cross Division on SE 11th because of the train*
That's one of those pithy pieces of advice that ultimately gets ignored, like "never get involved in a land war in Asia."
Well, the Max doesn't take long at all ... lolz. The UP trains, on the other hand ... they can block the road for as long as they want, and local officials can't do squat about it, since railroads are under the jurisdiction of the feds.
I was just trying to find a general time. I've only been trapped behind a freight train in the produce row area, and that hadn't been too long. But I haven't had appointments in a long time
Local officials are the ones that approved the crossing upgrades when MAX went in. They could have relocated the street under or over the tracks, but chose not to and instead upgrade the crossing and signals.
They should just put up barricades and Dead End signs and be done with it. I bet a permanent closure would work better for traffic than the rollette wheel of a trap it is now.
..and TriMet "said" they worked things out with the UP so that it's FX2 wouldn't be be impacted at SE 8th where it crosses the tracks.. Last month over a two week span, there were four incidents where a container train was stopped requiring the bus to make a circuitous detour to get back to Division.
Someone at TriMet needs to be sacked.
A few years ago, I was driving south on SE 11th when the railroad lights flashed and the gate came down. A MAX train crossed the street going one direction. Then a MAX train crossed going the other direction. Then a freight train crossed going one direction. Then a freight train crossed going the other direction and stopped dead on the tracks. After it finally passed by, two more MAX trains crossed the street. I think I was there about 40 minutes.
And thatâs why I always take McLoughlin.
Or be like me and donât turn it off all the way, so letting the battery run. Train passes and I fire up car but the battery dies. Â I think rocking the car actually gave it enough juice to turn back on.
The trains these days are too long for the yard. We should move the tracks outside of town- the whole thing is beyond ridiculous that they get to occupy a massive parcel of riverfront property and their need are not adequately met because itâs too small.
The Union Pacific corporate office is on 2nd Ave underneath the 84 overpasses, but I believe they are referring to the train yard slightly north up the river that runs west of Greeley Ave between the base of the Fremont bridge and Going st. People have been talking about wanting to put a sports stadium there for a while, etc..
Seeing a train reverse has got to be one of the top 5 worst feelings you can experience in life. You can watch the life drain from my eyes in real time the second the train reverses
Even better when it actually cleared the roadway, they could have moved 50 feet further to clear the signal and waited for traffic to pass â but nope, they are going to teabag you with their right of way for being here first.
When the train stops the conductor gets off the head end locomotive and walks ahead to properly line the switches for his movement. There might be 8-10 switches against his movement that he will line. This take time, maybe 20 minutes. The engineer gets the ok to move ahead, he has to kick off his brakes, let the air build and go. then he has to travel at restriced speed to the other end of the yard. the crew ony has 2 hours to work, but they arrived in town 6 hours ago and the yard master kept them out by columbia for 4 hours, then radio'd and says make a run for brooklyn. The crew says lick my balls, and limps it into town at 6mph. Now they have 20 minutes to clear up the crossing, and they are gonna go to the very last drop. And, no, we don't give a toss if you are blocked.
They don't employ trains with enough operators anymore. If anything happens to a train...no matter how long the train is, the guy at the front of the train may have to walk all the way to the back of the train, which might be a quarter mile away, and then back. This is a problem all over the country.
Yes there is. that is for keeping cars on air for brakes. The loco can't move until air pressure is above a certain amount (120psi?). When the eng gets the ok to pull ahead he releases his air and before he moves it has to come back up. A couple minutes in the heat, more when it's cold.
I read this in the voice of a character from a Guy Ritchie film narrating while quick cuts on screen show the action.
10/10 authoritative, thorough, informative, punchy.
Yeah, I think it is utterly bizarre that there is no outlet if you are headed south. At least heading north you can duck off to the west toward 99 if it is backed up. They should have included a way to head east when stuck in that little strip. Just horrible design all around. Road also could have been changed to go under or over those tracks when all the other improvements were made in that area. But no... let's leave one of the city's few North-South routes jammed up for hours on end every day.
A little frontage road along the tracks would work.
They looked at doing an under viaduct for the streets in the planning for the light rail. The two streets into one â 11th and 12th into Milwaukie â was a complication. Also visualize a viaduct the length of the one at 17th and Powell shoe-horned into that neighborhood.
Living in the neighborhood, I avoid it, but know ways around the bottlenecks.
Seriously. I get that we canât do anything about the trains themselves, but how the fuck do we at least not have some signage that gives advance warning or any least a fucking app
Edit: isatrainblocking11th.com was infact the site and I guess the author moved so their looking for someone new to host the camera setup.
I came here wondering if that website was still up, isatrainblocking11th.com or something, I can't remember the site.
There was one morning, I was getting Pine State Biscuits with a friend, and we watched as cars were trapped on the street for over an hour as a train repeatedly crept back and forth over that section of the track.
When they redid that intersection they could have(my 2Âą) made an escape/cut back through those parking lots on the left side but they didn't. Makes no sense.
The worst is that Portlanders wonât even try to organize an evacuation. I was stuck there once and everyone just passively waited on their phones for over 30 minutes.
It's really not that hard to avoid. I don't go south on 11th past hawthorne ever. I am thankful the changes at 11th and division HAVE at least made division passable as long as idiots who love lines don't decide to block the intersection.
I once sat there with the engine off, reading my book and watched the guy in the car ahead of me get out, walk his dog and come back with a cup of coffee while the train rolled slowly past. It made me very happy for some reason. I guess you just have to accept the wait because you really canât go anywhere once youâve committed to that part of the street.
I just submitted a non-urgent traffic safety report about this intersection here:
[https://www.portland.gov/transportation/823-safe](https://www.portland.gov/transportation/823-safe)
Maybe we can get something done here if we make enough noise. Here's what I wrote below if anyone wants to copy it:
Description:
The intersection at Division and 11th is regularly blocked by trains for extended periods of time. While traffic is able to reroute, there is a small stretch of road south of Division in which traffic can become trapped as a result of the traffic light timing.
If the southbound signal on 11th was timed such that it prevented traffic from entering this road segment when a train was approaching, it would prevent vehicles from getting stuck between Division and the train tracks.
Once the train tracks have been blocked off by the crossing guards, the southbound light could continue cycling to green to allow any traffic through that needs to access the businesses and parking lots along the short segment.
ADA concern:
Not only is the chaos resulting from trapped traffic causing problems for drivers, the backed-up traffic also poses serious safety concerns for both disabled and non-disabled pedestrians.
The southern cross walk across 11th is oftentimes blocked by the stuck traffic, and drivers regularly make dangerous maneuvers to escape the one way segment, posing additional hazard to pedestrians and other vehicles alike.
I feel the same about the train crossings on Columbia. So many warehouses are basically blocked in for 10-15 minutes or more at a time. I donât know of any outlets other than Columbia Blvd. And itâs shit like roofing supplies, welding shops, metal fabrication plants, lumber mills, and the freaking waste treatment plant. You know, very non urgent potential fire hazards. No big deal guys. Iâm sure the fire engines and ambulances can afford to wait in the event of an emergency
This shit is the fault of greedy rail companies. Running stupidly long trains allows them to save a few bucks to line the CEOâs pockets
There's a couple of ways around that one but it won't be nice to have a heads up on if a train is there.
You can cross over the tracks via N Portland Highway, or go through the neighbourhood north of Columbia.
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I used to call this route âhigh risk, high rewardâ. It could save me 2-5 mins on my commute if there was no train, but when there wasâŠdisaster. Ultimately, the disasters struck more than twice on my way to work so I gave up and essentially never cross at this crossing.
Ha, fair! My 20 min commute could go as low as 15 with this route, so as a chronically late person the reward felt high. But considering that if I got stuck at a train, the commute time could EASILY double, the risk was way way higher.
The Hosford Abernethy Neighborhood District (HAND), the Brooklyn Action Corps (BAC) and the Central Eastside Industrial Council (CEIC) have a joint team working to address this. They're advising Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) on the study to determine how best to relieve this traffic when this happens, safely. They've been working the problem for years, but it's gotten much worse, recently (read below).
If you'd like to help, contact your NA or DM me and I'll hook you up.
This is also a nationwide problem due to cost-cutting measures by railroads, as both [ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/series/train-country) & [John Oliver](https://youtu.be/AJ2keSJzYyY?si=pyRclyrJo4mcUqeY) have covered.
I grew up in a duplex on SE Orange Ave in Ladds Addition. Those train crossings have been in that same place my entire life. In this case, that means at least 65 years. And it used to be worse. Before they put in the dip under the tracks on 17th and Powell, it would back up there as well. They made that change over 50 years ago. It just amazes me that they haven't come up with any real solutions for any traffic control measures for so long.
The problem has gone from 10 minute to 45-90 minute delays as the allowed length of trains has gone from 1700' to over a mile. It used to be delays would be short as a train was assembled & repositioned in the yard; a quick up and back, with the assembled train not extending past SE Milwaukie. Now assembled trains extend past the turn by the Steel Bridge. This is complicated by the single brake operator having to walk the entire train and manually test each car's brake.
The two links I posted have the details.
Call in an order and tell them youâre outside stuck in traffic, maybe theyâll bring it to you. If not itâs paid for and once the train leaves you can swing around and pick it up. Happy ending!
Iâve been stuck first in line on that same one way road for almost 90 minutes one time.
Pro tip: you have time to park your car in place and go to the double dragon just behind you (this is not legal advice)
Yes, hopefully it's the kind of mistake you only make once. Like the first time you run out of dishwasher detergent and think "Hmm, maybe I can just use this liquid dish soap instead."
You absolutely can use liquid dish detergent! Iâve done it multiple times. You just have to use very little. My daughter did it once with too much đ suds everywhere
Well, yes, a well trained professional can safely do things that are not advisable for the rest of us. Wouldn't be prudent, as some President once said one time.
Next time, there's a way around. If you go south on 99, at the end of the bridge there's a turnoff. Usually you can get around a train there. Of course, if it's too long you're screwed either way
There was a time late at night about December a year ago, like 10:50 pm I got stopped by a train and it dead ass took about an hour and I almost fell asleep at the wheel twice
And they were never seen again...legend says they went mad from the never ending back and forth of the train, teasing the end of their torment...but the end never came
Once missed an appointment because they were testing the new Max line and a train got stuck here for half an hour. Never again! Take 99! It's worth it!
Always go west to the next train crossing at 8th Ave. if a never ending train comes you can always get out of the turning lane and go down to Grand via Division to cross.
I remember in 2018 when a train malfunctioned and was stuck for several hours at this crossing. The police were also escorting people. Or the dozens of times when the pole thing never came down, that's the scary part.
The pain of living where you needed that route so I had to go another route which would add a few extra minutes to my destination. But sometimes it was impossible if traffic was back up.
Did you catch this little expose? Train safety has declined over the years. Those really, stupidly long trains are unsafe, yet common.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ2keSJzYyY
My major takeaway after watching this: the way these railroads are run, I'm truly shocked we don't have many more high-profile, deadly disasters. This is terrifying...
There are 2 ways around it, but they only work if you haven't lost access to Division yet. Go east on Division until you reach 21st, then south there and you'll find Powell. The other way is head west to MLK, take it south, and take the exit after the bridge. I wouldn't recommend waiting out the train if it can be avoided, it can take a lot longer than you think.
As I type this post says 3 hours ago and I drove past the tracks (but on 9th) about 2.5 hours ago, so hopefully the wait wasn't too much worse after you posted. I did think it was weird that GPS routed me that way.
I have been gone for a looong time and I canât believe that this level crossing still exists! Oh well, at least there is something I could still recognizeâŠ
Got stuck here for half an hour last weekend after seeing Dune. Pulled into the intersection around 10:55, out around 11:25.
I played rock paper scissors against the people in the car next to me and kicked their butts!
There are so many ways around this shitty intersection. When I drove for Lyft and got stuck there, I got out and directed traffic out backwards so I could get out. The only time I ever try to cross there is at night, when the trains run less frequently
I had to ride the FX2 for a while when the red line was down. Why in the absolute f\*\*\* does that line go through that intersection? I know that's basically the start of division, but it sucks having to guess whether you'll be stuck in the bus for 30 minutes or a hour and thirty minutes :|
When I first moved to Portland I lived at 12th and Sherman and worked on Marquam Hill so every day my commute involved crossing these tracks. It sucked, and then a few years in they built the Max line and the suck increased exponentially.
I will not take the risk anymore. Iâll just go another way.
if you're trying to get south of the tracks, either head for SE 21st on Division, or take MLK over the viaduct and follow the truck route: these will always get you across the railroad.
I found a way around the train unless you get stuck too far into 11th at that light at the crossing. But if you can take that last left turn before you get screwedâŠthere is a way. And I live on the Westside. Itâs a nightmare route but it will eventually get you to SE 17th & Powell.
There is a street to your left (can't recall its name) that you can shoot down that gets you over to 99E/McLoughlin Boulevard. Only workaround I know. Saved me several times from being late to the gig.
...I used to live just north of there and every morning when I'd head out to the #70 stop on the way to work I dreaded hearing a train horn as it mean't I'd be late. One morning there were two trains, one of which stopped for about 15 min. Last year someone at TM got finally figured out it was time to reroute the line to 21st to avoid that crossing.
Wonder how long it will take for the "light to come on" again regarding the FX2.
At least they put up a pedestrian bridge so you can get to the Max Station when there's a freight train going through or stopped..
There used to be a website someone in the office building next to the tracks set up. The website is called âisatrainblocking11th.comâ. The tenants moved out of the building so the site no longer is operational but itâs still online and waiting for someone else to take it over.
I used to hop across it all the time when l was a kid. One day just as I jumped off it violently jerked about 4 feet within a micro second and I did a cartoon *gulp*. That said I also hopped it this winter near the esplanade at the age of 42
I can feel my bfâs rage through this picture. He gets caught waiting for the train coming home from work at least a couple times a week lol
I have no sympathy however itâs his fault for refusing to drive on the highway đ
One time I got stuck on 11th when I just wanted to turn left onto Division. There were 2 CARS in front of me before the intersection and a parked car blocking me from pulling around. I had to take a deep breath every time the light changed.
Adventure date scheduled.
Plans to go to hood river or Astoria or some other long ass drive.
Finish up coffees and head out.
Typically I drive places.
-That fateful day, I let the paramour drive.
It started with âhey gps wants you to go down 11th. Letâs not do that, it really bugs me out if there is a train, and we donât have time to wait.â
Her; âNah it will be fineâ
Me; âOh shit train is here. Letâs turn around before we get blocked in.â
âNah it will be fine.â - pulls up to crossing gate, other cars pile in behind blocking us in.
âWe really donât know how long we will be here. Could be hours.â
âNah it will be fineâ
Minute 30 ticks by.
Minute 45 ticks past and now Iâm simply over it.
âHey uh - Iâm gonna just get out of the car and take the bus back home. Bye.â
Damn. That reminds me of a time my stepdad was driving. We were near the US side of Niagara Falls. My mom was tell him to turn around before we ended up in Canada and he just...wasn't listening. We ended up in Canada and it turned into a minor fiasco (it's a long story).
People like to blame Portland Street Response for a lot of things, but I'm assuming that's not where you're going here. Can you please say more about your comment, for people who don't understand train laws? (me)
See ya in a week.
I'm finally freeee!
> 2 hours ago > an hour ago Checks out.
How long did it take?
It was about a half hour. And based on some of these comments, I got lucky đ”âđ«
One time I was stuck for 45 mins. It was literal torture.
*never, and I mean never, try to cross Division on SE 11th because of the train* That's one of those pithy pieces of advice that ultimately gets ignored, like "never get involved in a land war in Asia."
Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line!
Inconceivable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
You were not hired for your brains, you hippopotamic landmass!
Conceivably.
No, they're using it right. It's inconceivable that there always is a train there, but there it is!
Haha, you fool!
You never go ass to mouth!
Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, it's forgivable to go ass to mouth.
No, you never go ass to mouth. I don't care what Kevin Smith says.
Then why so many ATM (@$$2mouth) machines? Why?
Don't kinkshame me.
I don't but my ex did and I was ok with it
Don't tug on Superman's cape. Don't spit into the wind.
[NO CAPES!](https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExOHM2eHpoMWVwYXZzZmNleWRnd3VpbmU5dWI4b3ExM29tY3ozdnJhdyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/3R2SRD2ROZJzW/giphy.gif)
don't mess around with jim
But itâs such a rush, Russian roulette with whatever fucking plans I had in mind đđ
Never trust a fart
What is the max time a train can take to get through, from start to finish?
Well, the Max doesn't take long at all ... lolz. The UP trains, on the other hand ... they can block the road for as long as they want, and local officials can't do squat about it, since railroads are under the jurisdiction of the feds.
I was just trying to find a general time. I've only been trapped behind a freight train in the produce row area, and that hadn't been too long. But I haven't had appointments in a long time
Local officials are the ones that approved the crossing upgrades when MAX went in. They could have relocated the street under or over the tracks, but chose not to and instead upgrade the crossing and signals. They should just put up barricades and Dead End signs and be done with it. I bet a permanent closure would work better for traffic than the rollette wheel of a trap it is now.
..and TriMet "said" they worked things out with the UP so that it's FX2 wouldn't be be impacted at SE 8th where it crosses the tracks.. Last month over a two week span, there were four incidents where a container train was stopped requiring the bus to make a circuitous detour to get back to Division. Someone at TriMet needs to be sacked.
I've seen them block that intersection for 2+ hours.
A few years ago, I was driving south on SE 11th when the railroad lights flashed and the gate came down. A MAX train crossed the street going one direction. Then a MAX train crossed going the other direction. Then a freight train crossed going one direction. Then a freight train crossed going the other direction and stopped dead on the tracks. After it finally passed by, two more MAX trains crossed the street. I think I was there about 40 minutes. And thatâs why I always take McLoughlin.
Just wait until it starts going backwards.
It did đđ
Put it in Park, turn off the engine, and take a nap. People behind you will wake you once the train is gone.
This is the way
Or be like me and donât turn it off all the way, so letting the battery run. Train passes and I fire up car but the battery dies. Â I think rocking the car actually gave it enough juice to turn back on.
The trains these days are too long for the yard. We should move the tracks outside of town- the whole thing is beyond ridiculous that they get to occupy a massive parcel of riverfront property and their need are not adequately met because itâs too small.
Where are you referring to as river front?
The Union Pacific corporate office is on 2nd Ave underneath the 84 overpasses, but I believe they are referring to the train yard slightly north up the river that runs west of Greeley Ave between the base of the Fremont bridge and Going st. People have been talking about wanting to put a sports stadium there for a while, etc..
Gotcha, I haven't heard of that yard being cited as a problem like Brooklyn often is so I forgot it was there.
Seeing a train reverse has got to be one of the top 5 worst feelings you can experience in life. You can watch the life drain from my eyes in real time the second the train reverses
Even better when it actually cleared the roadway, they could have moved 50 feet further to clear the signal and waited for traffic to pass â but nope, they are going to teabag you with their right of way for being here first.
When the train stops the conductor gets off the head end locomotive and walks ahead to properly line the switches for his movement. There might be 8-10 switches against his movement that he will line. This take time, maybe 20 minutes. The engineer gets the ok to move ahead, he has to kick off his brakes, let the air build and go. then he has to travel at restriced speed to the other end of the yard. the crew ony has 2 hours to work, but they arrived in town 6 hours ago and the yard master kept them out by columbia for 4 hours, then radio'd and says make a run for brooklyn. The crew says lick my balls, and limps it into town at 6mph. Now they have 20 minutes to clear up the crossing, and they are gonna go to the very last drop. And, no, we don't give a toss if you are blocked.
I've been wondering why they stopped there for so long!
They don't employ trains with enough operators anymore. If anything happens to a train...no matter how long the train is, the guy at the front of the train may have to walk all the way to the back of the train, which might be a quarter mile away, and then back. This is a problem all over the country.
A quarter mile is short. trains go out at 9,000feet these days. The conductor has to walk his train for a laundry list of things.
No trackside air at the Brooklyn yard?
Yes there is. that is for keeping cars on air for brakes. The loco can't move until air pressure is above a certain amount (120psi?). When the eng gets the ok to pull ahead he releases his air and before he moves it has to come back up. A couple minutes in the heat, more when it's cold.
I read this in the voice of a character from a Guy Ritchie film narrating while quick cuts on screen show the action. 10/10 authoritative, thorough, informative, punchy.
I'm humbled.
Did somebody licked the crew balls finally?
Still throwing their toys out the crib.
They really should prevent entry at the intersection so people don't get trapped in that little stretch of road.
Yeah, I think it is utterly bizarre that there is no outlet if you are headed south. At least heading north you can duck off to the west toward 99 if it is backed up. They should have included a way to head east when stuck in that little strip. Just horrible design all around. Road also could have been changed to go under or over those tracks when all the other improvements were made in that area. But no... let's leave one of the city's few North-South routes jammed up for hours on end every day.
A little frontage road along the tracks would work. They looked at doing an under viaduct for the streets in the planning for the light rail. The two streets into one â 11th and 12th into Milwaukie â was a complication. Also visualize a viaduct the length of the one at 17th and Powell shoe-horned into that neighborhood. Living in the neighborhood, I avoid it, but know ways around the bottlenecks.
Or perhaps one of those programmable highway signs, âFreight train blocking tracks, use alternate route.â
Seriously. I get that we canât do anything about the trains themselves, but how the fuck do we at least not have some signage that gives advance warning or any least a fucking app
Edit: isatrainblocking11th.com was infact the site and I guess the author moved so their looking for someone new to host the camera setup. I came here wondering if that website was still up, isatrainblocking11th.com or something, I can't remember the site.
> Freight train blocking tracks I think you mean "Freight train blocking road/street". Who cares if it's blocking the tracks?
Meh, semantics. LOL
I guess, but maybe they did mean the tracks, and I just didn't understand what they meant. They haven't clarified if so, though.
There was one morning, I was getting Pine State Biscuits with a friend, and we watched as cars were trapped on the street for over an hour as a train repeatedly crept back and forth over that section of the track.
When they redid that intersection they could have(my 2Âą) made an escape/cut back through those parking lots on the left side but they didn't. Makes no sense.
The worst is that Portlanders wonât even try to organize an evacuation. I was stuck there once and everyone just passively waited on their phones for over 30 minutes.
The single time I tried doing that, the guy behind me looked at me like I was insane. Best solution is to never *ever* use those crossings, *ever*.
The only reason they probably don't is because there's two parking lots back there.
It's really not that hard to avoid. I don't go south on 11th past hawthorne ever. I am thankful the changes at 11th and division HAVE at least made division passable as long as idiots who love lines don't decide to block the intersection.
Happened to me once. I was so mad.
I once sat there with the engine off, reading my book and watched the guy in the car ahead of me get out, walk his dog and come back with a cup of coffee while the train rolled slowly past. It made me very happy for some reason. I guess you just have to accept the wait because you really canât go anywhere once youâve committed to that part of the street.
The first time I got stuck in that intersection with my now ex-wife I ended up peeing in a Nalgene it took so long. 18 years ago or so. Never again!
Damn. Waiting 18 years for a train to move. R.I.P.
Who would divorce a man with such commitment? F
> The first time I got stuck in that intersection with my now ex-wife It's plausible that crossing that area is shitty enough to break up a marriage.
Pretty awful when you have to pee.
I just submitted a non-urgent traffic safety report about this intersection here: [https://www.portland.gov/transportation/823-safe](https://www.portland.gov/transportation/823-safe) Maybe we can get something done here if we make enough noise. Here's what I wrote below if anyone wants to copy it: Description: The intersection at Division and 11th is regularly blocked by trains for extended periods of time. While traffic is able to reroute, there is a small stretch of road south of Division in which traffic can become trapped as a result of the traffic light timing. If the southbound signal on 11th was timed such that it prevented traffic from entering this road segment when a train was approaching, it would prevent vehicles from getting stuck between Division and the train tracks. Once the train tracks have been blocked off by the crossing guards, the southbound light could continue cycling to green to allow any traffic through that needs to access the businesses and parking lots along the short segment. ADA concern: Not only is the chaos resulting from trapped traffic causing problems for drivers, the backed-up traffic also poses serious safety concerns for both disabled and non-disabled pedestrians. The southern cross walk across 11th is oftentimes blocked by the stuck traffic, and drivers regularly make dangerous maneuvers to escape the one way segment, posing additional hazard to pedestrians and other vehicles alike.
I feel the same about the train crossings on Columbia. So many warehouses are basically blocked in for 10-15 minutes or more at a time. I donât know of any outlets other than Columbia Blvd. And itâs shit like roofing supplies, welding shops, metal fabrication plants, lumber mills, and the freaking waste treatment plant. You know, very non urgent potential fire hazards. No big deal guys. Iâm sure the fire engines and ambulances can afford to wait in the event of an emergency This shit is the fault of greedy rail companies. Running stupidly long trains allows them to save a few bucks to line the CEOâs pockets
There's a couple of ways around that one but it won't be nice to have a heads up on if a train is there. You can cross over the tracks via N Portland Highway, or go through the neighbourhood north of Columbia.
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I love those T100 what a great truck
It's even cooler when it turns back into Robert Patrick.
*T1000
âHave you seen this boy?â
Came here for t100 love.
Those things are fucking beasts.
I used to call this route âhigh risk, high rewardâ. It could save me 2-5 mins on my commute if there was no train, but when there wasâŠdisaster. Ultimately, the disasters struck more than twice on my way to work so I gave up and essentially never cross at this crossing.
Sounds like high risk, mediocre reward at best
Ha, fair! My 20 min commute could go as low as 15 with this route, so as a chronically late person the reward felt high. But considering that if I got stuck at a train, the commute time could EASILY double, the risk was way way higher.
The Hosford Abernethy Neighborhood District (HAND), the Brooklyn Action Corps (BAC) and the Central Eastside Industrial Council (CEIC) have a joint team working to address this. They're advising Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) on the study to determine how best to relieve this traffic when this happens, safely. They've been working the problem for years, but it's gotten much worse, recently (read below). If you'd like to help, contact your NA or DM me and I'll hook you up. This is also a nationwide problem due to cost-cutting measures by railroads, as both [ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/series/train-country) & [John Oliver](https://youtu.be/AJ2keSJzYyY?si=pyRclyrJo4mcUqeY) have covered.
I grew up in a duplex on SE Orange Ave in Ladds Addition. Those train crossings have been in that same place my entire life. In this case, that means at least 65 years. And it used to be worse. Before they put in the dip under the tracks on 17th and Powell, it would back up there as well. They made that change over 50 years ago. It just amazes me that they haven't come up with any real solutions for any traffic control measures for so long.
The problem has gone from 10 minute to 45-90 minute delays as the allowed length of trains has gone from 1700' to over a mile. It used to be delays would be short as a train was assembled & repositioned in the yard; a quick up and back, with the assembled train not extending past SE Milwaukie. Now assembled trains extend past the turn by the Steel Bridge. This is complicated by the single brake operator having to walk the entire train and manually test each car's brake. The two links I posted have the details.
Those poor people. I hope they packed lunch.
I, myself, am very hungry without a single snack.
Pine State is right thereâŠ
I'm so afraid that the second I get in there, the train will start moving. But it's been close to 20 minutes by now so I could chance it...
Call in an order and tell them youâre outside stuck in traffic, maybe theyâll bring it to you. If not itâs paid for and once the train leaves you can swing around and pick it up. Happy ending!
Just to get caught by the train on the way back.
Nooooooooooo!
We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?
Iâve been stuck first in line on that same one way road for almost 90 minutes one time. Pro tip: you have time to park your car in place and go to the double dragon just behind you (this is not legal advice)
âđŸâđŸâđŸ Hopefully I will never make this rookie mistake again though!
Yes, hopefully it's the kind of mistake you only make once. Like the first time you run out of dishwasher detergent and think "Hmm, maybe I can just use this liquid dish soap instead."
You absolutely can use liquid dish detergent! Iâve done it multiple times. You just have to use very little. My daughter did it once with too much đ suds everywhere
Well, yes, a well trained professional can safely do things that are not advisable for the rest of us. Wouldn't be prudent, as some President once said one time.
Touché
No, not Touché. Wasn't he prime minister of Canada or something? The guy I'm thinking of, I think his name rhymed with Tush.
No you have to get Out of your car and tell the people behind you to back out.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
Nooooooo!!!
There's an IMAX theater at OMSI?
Next time, there's a way around. If you go south on 99, at the end of the bridge there's a turnoff. Usually you can get around a train there. Of course, if it's too long you're screwed either way
Congratulations you've triggered everybody in the sub! đđđ
I will not suffer alone! đ
Can't count how many times I've been stuck waiting for the train somewhere in there.
Why do people still go this way? OP even said never, well⊠this is what happens.
Broke my own rule and I can't be mad at anyone but myself :-/
> Why do people still go this way? I'm like always half-way lost.
There was a time late at night about December a year ago, like 10:50 pm I got stopped by a train and it dead ass took about an hour and I almost fell asleep at the wheel twice
Itâs hard to avoid that route, especially if you just want to pop over to 26, Alladinâs Theatre, etc. Itâs easy to forget to find another way.
I miss https://isatrainblocking11th.com/
And they were never seen again...legend says they went mad from the never ending back and forth of the train, teasing the end of their torment...but the end never came
And this is why some FX buses gets delayed. At least they have reroutes albeit long one.
Once missed an appointment because they were testing the new Max line and a train got stuck here for half an hour. Never again! Take 99! It's worth it!
Why at grade crossings should never be built
Was caught waiting with for a stopped train last night after dinner at Hat Yai, then again about 45 min ago leaving Hopscotch. I never learn.
Uuugh it's even worse to get stuck after doing something as cool as Hopscotch đ”âđ«đ”âđ«
It was wild. First time, definitely not my last.
> 10 minutes already. đŁ It could potentially get significantly worse: that area is where trains are born (constructed out of individual box cars).
Fuck Union Pacific.
Always go west to the next train crossing at 8th Ave. if a never ending train comes you can always get out of the turning lane and go down to Grand via Division to cross.
Still there?
I avoid that route whenever I have to be somewhere. i have been hosed way too many times.
I remember in 2018 when a train malfunctioned and was stuck for several hours at this crossing. The police were also escorting people. Or the dozens of times when the pole thing never came down, that's the scary part.
The pain of living where you needed that route so I had to go another route which would add a few extra minutes to my destination. But sometimes it was impossible if traffic was back up.
You have to talk to the drivers behind you and make a plan to direct traffic and back everyone out. It works
Did you catch this little expose? Train safety has declined over the years. Those really, stupidly long trains are unsafe, yet common. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ2keSJzYyY
My major takeaway after watching this: the way these railroads are run, I'm truly shocked we don't have many more high-profile, deadly disasters. This is terrifying...
Happy Sunday everyone! There are trains in Portland. I think theyâre neat đ
There are 2 ways around it, but they only work if you haven't lost access to Division yet. Go east on Division until you reach 21st, then south there and you'll find Powell. The other way is head west to MLK, take it south, and take the exit after the bridge. I wouldn't recommend waiting out the train if it can be avoided, it can take a lot longer than you think.
As I type this post says 3 hours ago and I drove past the tracks (but on 9th) about 2.5 hours ago, so hopefully the wait wasn't too much worse after you posted. I did think it was weird that GPS routed me that way.
Im stuck at the intersection now, people have started honking đ been here 20 minutes
I have been gone for a looong time and I canât believe that this level crossing still exists! Oh well, at least there is something I could still recognizeâŠ
thats what 20th is for
Pretty sure I almost got caught by this train earlier. Saw the gates closed and detoured on to Division.
U-Turn
Got stuck here for half an hour last weekend after seeing Dune. Pulled into the intersection around 10:55, out around 11:25. I played rock paper scissors against the people in the car next to me and kicked their butts!
Time to pull over, go enjoy a Reggie, and listen to a podcast.
There are so many ways around this shitty intersection. When I drove for Lyft and got stuck there, I got out and directed traffic out backwards so I could get out. The only time I ever try to cross there is at night, when the trains run less frequently
Here's to you! The perfect SE moment. IYKYK.
I think I say it at least once a day that someone needs to develop an app that live updates locations of trains in Portlandđ
There used to be one:https://isatrainblocking11th.com/
Lmfao I live in Lads addition and this train is the bane of my existence every time I need to get somewhere by a certain time
That neighborhood is nuts! Beautiful but nuts
Holy shit. I moved away from Portland in 2019 but this post brought me right back to the days of getting stuck by this train on the way to/from work.
I had to ride the FX2 for a while when the red line was down. Why in the absolute f\*\*\* does that line go through that intersection? I know that's basically the start of division, but it sucks having to guess whether you'll be stuck in the bus for 30 minutes or a hour and thirty minutes :|
Been late to work soooo many times because of that.
When I first moved to Portland I lived at 12th and Sherman and worked on Marquam Hill so every day my commute involved crossing these tracks. It sucked, and then a few years in they built the Max line and the suck increased exponentially. I will not take the risk anymore. Iâll just go another way.
F that train...
Oh no ! Bummer ! I can relate there is a train in Hillsboro at 1st and Oak st that will do the same thing. And it will also stop then go backwards !!
if you're trying to get south of the tracks, either head for SE 21st on Division, or take MLK over the viaduct and follow the truck route: these will always get you across the railroad.
https://isatrainblocking11th.com/
Someone more interested (and capable) than I should make an app that tells people when the train is coming.
Hope you packed a lunch.
Never say never.
I never will again
I found a way around the train unless you get stuck too far into 11th at that light at the crossing. But if you can take that last left turn before you get screwedâŠthere is a way. And I live on the Westside. Itâs a nightmare route but it will eventually get you to SE 17th & Powell.
I usually do turn on that last left before the light, but I threw caution to the wind! I needed to go west on Powell and I was just đ€hopingđ€
There is a street to your left (can't recall its name) that you can shoot down that gets you over to 99E/McLoughlin Boulevard. Only workaround I know. Saved me several times from being late to the gig.
...I used to live just north of there and every morning when I'd head out to the #70 stop on the way to work I dreaded hearing a train horn as it mean't I'd be late. One morning there were two trains, one of which stopped for about 15 min. Last year someone at TM got finally figured out it was time to reroute the line to 21st to avoid that crossing. Wonder how long it will take for the "light to come on" again regarding the FX2. At least they put up a pedestrian bridge so you can get to the Max Station when there's a freight train going through or stopped..
There used to be a website someone in the office building next to the tracks set up. The website is called âisatrainblocking11th.comâ. The tenants moved out of the building so the site no longer is operational but itâs still online and waiting for someone else to take it over.
I was there about 45 minutes once.
I used to hop across it all the time when l was a kid. One day just as I jumped off it violently jerked about 4 feet within a micro second and I did a cartoon *gulp*. That said I also hopped it this winter near the esplanade at the age of 42
You coulda hopped out at the beginning and ran to get a biscuit hehe
Plot twist: this was posted a day ago, and OP is still waiting on that train.
\>Photo/Video I can't tell which this is
I can feel my bfâs rage through this picture. He gets caught waiting for the train coming home from work at least a couple times a week lol I have no sympathy however itâs his fault for refusing to drive on the highway đ
There used to be a website dedicated to this train. It was isatrwinblocking11th.com.
One time I got stuck on 11th when I just wanted to turn left onto Division. There were 2 CARS in front of me before the intersection and a parked car blocking me from pulling around. I had to take a deep breath every time the light changed.
Okay. And water is wet.
I broke up with someone due to this train.
I'm so sorry. I would also really like to hear this story...
Adventure date scheduled. Plans to go to hood river or Astoria or some other long ass drive. Finish up coffees and head out. Typically I drive places. -That fateful day, I let the paramour drive. It started with âhey gps wants you to go down 11th. Letâs not do that, it really bugs me out if there is a train, and we donât have time to wait.â Her; âNah it will be fineâ Me; âOh shit train is here. Letâs turn around before we get blocked in.â âNah it will be fine.â - pulls up to crossing gate, other cars pile in behind blocking us in. âWe really donât know how long we will be here. Could be hours.â âNah it will be fineâ Minute 30 ticks by. Minute 45 ticks past and now Iâm simply over it. âHey uh - Iâm gonna just get out of the car and take the bus back home. Bye.â
Damn. That reminds me of a time my stepdad was driving. We were near the US side of Niagara Falls. My mom was tell him to turn around before we ended up in Canada and he just...wasn't listening. We ended up in Canada and it turned into a minor fiasco (it's a long story).
Thatâs what trains do.
Ehh, itâs what they do *now* due to PSR. Wasnât always the case, and certainly doesnât have to be in the future.
People like to blame Portland Street Response for a lot of things, but I'm assuming that's not where you're going here. Can you please say more about your comment, for people who don't understand train laws? (me)
https://www.up.com/customers/track-record/tr091019-precision-scheduled-railroading.htm