Portland Train Day 2016, at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, with Leland, on Saturday, May 14, 2016

At the bottom of these photos that I took yesterday, I have put a few previous photos that show several of these locomotives at other fun events. I love 'em all!


Oregon Railroad & Navigation 197 Built: 1905 Manufacturer: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, PA Length: 79’ Weight: 200 tons Drive Wheel: 77” Tractive Effort: 30,000 lbs. Boiler Pressure: 200 psi Fuel: Oil Donated to PDX: 1958 Volunteer Organization: Friends of the OR&N 197

Built in 1905 by Baldwin Locomotive Works as a 4-6-2 “Pacific” type locomotive for the E. H. Harriman rail empire that later merged into the Union Pacific, she’s 79′ long and, with 200 psi boiler pressure and 76″ diameter drivers, is capable of sustained speeds of 80 mph.

This treasure of the early 20th Century era of steam locomotives arrived in Portland just in time for the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, just 17 months before the Wright Brothers first flew at 9.8 mph, when Teddy Roosevelt was President and 3 years before Henry Ford rolled out his first Model T. She then went on to serve Portland commerce for over 50 years before retirement in the 1950s. Residing as only a display piece in Oaks Park like her sisters since 1958, in 1996 she was moved to the Brooklyn Roundhouse where she is undergoing restoration today by the all-volunteer Friends of the OR&N 197.

Actually, once the Brooklyn Roundhouse became no longer available, the Oregon Rail Heritage Center was built and now houses the ORN 197 as well as other brilliant steam locomotives, a diesel locomotive, and all sorts of equipment and parts for the ever ongoing process of keeping these beauties at their best. Thanks, y'all!



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



Leland taking photos of the ORN 197. It's huge!



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



ORN 197.



SP 4449.

Southern Pacific 4449 Built: 1941 Manufacturer: Lima Locomotive Works, Lima, OH Length: 110’ Weight: 433 tons Drive Wheel: 80” Horsepower: 6,500 Boiler Pressure: 300 psi Fuel: Oil Donated to PDX: 1958 Volunteer Organization: Friends of the SP 4449

Built in 1941 as a 4-8-4 GS-4 locomotive, she is 110′ long, 10′ wide and 16′ tall. With locomotive and tender weighing 433 tons and a boiler pressure of 300 psi, her eight 80″ diameter drivers and unique firebox truck booster can apply 5,500 horsepower to the rails and exceed 100 mph. The only remaining operable “streamlined” steam locomotive of the Art Deco era, this grand Lady of the High Iron pulled Southern Pacific “Daylight” coaches from Los Angeles to San Francisco over the scenic Coast Route and then on to Portland until 1955.

Retired to Oaks Park in 1958 for display only, many thought 4449 would never run again. In 1974 she was completely restored specifically to pull the 1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train throughout the United States to the delight of over 30 million people. SP 4449 has also operated numerous excursions since. She is arguably one of the most beautiful locomotives ever built and kept that way by the all-volunteer Friends of SP 4449.



SP 4449.



Leland standing beside the SP 4449. Not long after I took this photo, the steam whistle blew!



SP 4449.



Not a very good photo, but it shows the interior of the SP 4449 cab. One other time when I was at the ORHC, I got to sit inside for a moment or two in the seat closest to the window where I stand. What a treat!



SP&S 700.

Spokane Portland & Seattle 700 Built: 1938 Manufacturer: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, PA Length: 111’ Weight 440 tons Drive Wheel: 77” Horsepower: 5,000 Boiler Pressure: 260 psi Fuel: Oil Donated to PDX: 1958 Volunteer Organization: Pacific Railroad Preservation Association

Built in 1938 as a 4-8-4 Northern Pacific Class A design, she is close to 111′ long, 10′ wide and almost 17′ tall. With locomotive and tender weighing almost 440 tons and a boiler pressure of 260 psi, her 77″ diameter drivers can apply 5,000 horsepower to the rails and exceed 80 mph. It’s oil fired, and features design specified roller bearings throughout which was quite advanced for the era.

This beautiful example of the latter years of steam locomotive development pulled the famous Empire Builder until that train was dieselized in 1947. She continued to faithfully provide passenger service from Portland up the Columbia River Gorge to Spokane until 1956, and in 1958 the 700 was ultimately placed on permanent display at Oaks Park in SE Portland. Returned to operation in 1990, she is lovingly operated and maintained by the all-volunteer Pacific Railroad Preservation Association.

Since March 3, 2016, the SP&S 700 has been undergoing a 1472-day boiler rebuild and inspection. In 2014 at National Train Day at downtown Portland's Union Station, I won a raffle to ride behind the SP&S 700 to Pasco, Washington, to spend the night and go over the bridge into Pendleton, Oregon, for the Pendleton, Rodeo. Unfortunately, not enough tickets sold to make the excursion a sure thing. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. Then, due to those hidden Facebook messages, I missed the chance to ride in the cab during the 2014 Holiday Express. When I happened on that hidden message, I felt sick to my stomach. So, I contacted Steve at Pacific Railroad Preservation Association and let him know what had happened. He offered me a ride in the cab during the 2015 Holiday Express, but the cancer kept me in such a fix that I had to decline. Now I'm hoping to get a ride in the SP 4449 cab during this year's Holiday Express. Wow!



SP&S 700.



Leland took a great photo of me and the SP&S 700, including the entire bell! Do my eyes deceive me, or is that bell's clapper red like on my shoes? Wow! How cool is that!



And here we are in a photo taken by a kind volunteer. Cut off the bell, but it's still a great photo!



Nickel Plate Road 190.

History of Nickel Plate Road #190

NKP #190 was built in March 1948 for the New York Chicago & St Louis Railroad, also known as the Nickel Plate Road. Doyle McCormack's father worked for this railroad, and it was in this locomotive that Doyle had his first diesel cab ride. A Nickel Plate Berkshire steam locomotive, the #743, was Doyle's first cab ride in a steam locomotive.

The #190 ran on trains that operated between Chicago, IL and Buffalo, NY, as well as between Cleveland, OH and Saint Louis, MO. The NKP PAs were based and maintained in Conneaut, OH, Doyle's home town. Unfortunately, none of the NKP PA locomotives survived the scrapper's torch.

Nickel Plate Road #190 is a Morrison-Knudsen PA4 diesel locomotive rebuilt from an ALCO PA in 1975. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway #62L was a PA1, sold to the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) in December 1967. It is one of only two ALCO PA locomotives remaining in the United States.

The D&H renumbered it 18 and sent it to Morrison-Knudsen for rebuilding in 1975.

In 1978, this locomotive was sold to the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México. Doyle McCormack obtained the wreck-damaged unit and brought it back the United States in 2000. Restoration began in 2002. McCormack has chosen to restore the locomotive as a Nickel Plate Road PA.

In 2012, the locomotive was moved to the new Oregon Rail Heritage Center, in Portland, Oregon.



Nickel Plate 190.



The SP&S 700 the day that I won the raffle!



ORN 197 in early stages of work that I saw at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. SP&S 700 to the left of her.



ORN 197 awaiting reattachment at the appropriate time.



This photo gives you an idea of the size of these locomotives!



SP 4449 under steam with Union Station in the background, downtown Portland.



SP 4449 decorated one year for Holiday Express.

Walking this morning before the predicted rains

My lower legs, ankles, feet, shoes, and socks carried the rest of me two blocks east, one block south, two blocks west, around Albertina Kerr, and back across the street to home.



My first stop, Providore Fine Foods, where I bought two chicken breasts, never frozen, and a container of medley tomatoes--several sorts of cherries and other small tomatoes. I do not intend to have to go to Fred Meyer this weekend. By the way, I had to enter through this partially open door since I arrived right at 9:30 a.m. and no one had yet unlocked the door. This is a photo I took a few weeks ago when we had brilliant blue skies which I wish we had today. Alas, it is May in Portland and lately our weather has been spectacular which makes anything at all bearable.



On that block south, I noticed these lovely flamingos advertising Pie Spot where one finds fabulously-crusted-and-filled delights, sweet and savory. So happy they weren't open yet because the brown sugar pecan pie tempts the hell outta me.



Across the parking lot, here's more exciting art--a mural I know nothing about other than I like it! Next to 24th and Meatballs, a place I've only eaten at once back four years ago when they opened. I didn't care for it, at all, so I've not spent any more money there.



See what I mean by exciting art! Here's a close up for y'all to enjoy!



I sat at a picnic table on the sidewalk at the end of the block and took this photo looking west along the rest of the micro-restaurant pod known as The Ocean. I have no idea why. I've only eaten at the last restaurant in the row, Slow Burger. It's pretty good but doesn't call my name very often.



Across the corner, a shop I've never been in--I don't drink wine--but I like their windows a whole lot!



Around the corner as I headed back west, I noticed some lovely roses on a shrub/tree beside the steps up to an apartment building. Well, it might be condos for all I know. It has a locked wrought iron gate on a wrought iron fence which keeps folks who don't belong out of the courtyard. I'm still learning how to use my Olympus E-M5II that I got last October, and it took me several tries to get a photo I could live with. What do you think? Is it OK?



The peonies look heavy-headed alongside one of the driveways to the Albertina Kerr parking lot.



For perspective on our spring, the peonies on March 27.



And the peonies on April 16.

Now for random roses at Albertina Kerr. I'm blessed to have these across the street!













And the crow who joined me for a few seconds.

The best stamps I ever bought!

Celebrate, y'all! I got an unexpected phone call from Dr. Johnson last night--he's my oncology radiologist. Unexpected because although I'd had a follow-up CT scan on Monday, my appointment with him is not until next Thursday, May 12.

So, I answered the phone thinking, this is it. I'm gonna find out that I need to come back in for more tests. Why else would I get a call a week before the appointment?

Wrong! The news he gave me: No abnormalities revealed on the CT scan; I'm calling to let you know so that you'll have a great weekend; see you next Thursday!

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern. Y'all are the best!

Speaking of the best, I had already asked Lamont and Leland to join me at the Blue Diamond for nachos on Cinco de Mayo, so I was able to give them this good news in person, complete with celebratory toasts, hugs, smiles, pats, you name it.

Oh, I have to tell you that I bought those stamps Monday on my way back to work from the CT scan. I intended to save them for when the Portland Trail Blazers win a game in the NBA playoffs, second round. I believe they fit this situation perfectly!

Update.

Last week I took this photo on the way home from a part-time day at work. I waited for the second of two pieces of mass transit that get me from the workplace to the apartment. I decided to take a closer look at the progress being made in these two buildings at the Burnside Bridgehead, the eastern end of the Burnside Bridge that crosses the Willamette River. Yes, progress has been made towards completion of both of these buildings because professionals have been at work, much like the progress that has been made in my cancer treatment.

I figured as I sat at my iMac for a few minutes blocking someone I don't want to have access to my Flickr photos that I ought to use this photo to share with you the latest in my health issues. I know that some of you have followed along on Facebook and/or Instagram, which have been much easier to update for me than has been my sweet old friend, the blog. I apologize for leaving some of you in the dark, but for weeks I was too weak to sit here in this chair; I stayed in the recliner, bundled up and setting my reminder to get up and walk frequently to build my strength, then going back to the recliner. I haven't figured out how to post on the blog from the recliner. Anyway, here's what's been happening.

On November 19, I finished the last of the six planned rounds of chemo. Believe you me, that stuff did a job on my fast-growing cells that I needed for my bone marrow to be able to create white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. It caused all of my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes to disappear. It took practically every bit of my stamina, no matter if I got a good night's sleep or a good nap. We knew that these things happened by monitoring blood counts and seeing my face and head. Hopefully it also killed every single cancer cell anywhere in my body. We don't know the outcome of that hope yet.

On November 28 a fever of almost 103 degrees sent me to the emergency room and then to be admitted to the cancer ward of the hospital. It turned out that I had a neutropenic fever which means I didn't have enough white blood cells to fight off an infection. I had E coli in my blood, the source of which we never discovered. I had a CT scan on November 29. That scan didn't identify a source for the E coli, but it showed a new mass near where the cancerous one had been removed surgically on June 25. All three of my cancer doctors (surgeon, oncologist, radiologist) feel like it is what is known as a lymphocele, something that shows up when lymph nodes have been removed. Three had been removed on June 25 but had nothing cancerous in them. I stayed in the hospital until December 4 and came home to slowly get better. By December 24, I was able to once again return to work part time, two or three days a week. I'm still at that point now and thankful to be able to do so. I like doing normal, every day stuff!

Next Thursday, January 14, I go to the radiologist for the planning CT that will set my radiation treatments. They begin sometime within two weeks after that appointment. They will go on for five weeks, whole abdomen, then one more week, right side of abdomen. Everyone tells me that radiation will not treat my body as horribly as the chemo did. I certainly hope that turns out to be true with me.

That same CT scan will be used to look at the new mass and find out if any changes have occurred in it. If they have, the entire game plan could change. I will do better in keeping up here so that you won't be left out of the loop.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.

UPDATE and let's say good-bye to these items

UPDATE: The infection I had before and after Halloween succumbed to the antibiotic. The fever that I had lasted for a week, no higher than 101, no lower than 99. Two weeks tomorrow, no fever--hallelujah. My blood counts from last Wednesday alarmed my chemo doctor into postponing Chemo Round Six. I'm glad that he did that although at first I felt awful about it because I wanted to complete all six as we'd planned. Listen to your body, Lynette. Since I could not put on my raincoat without getting out of breath--not enough oxygen going through my muscles--and had so few white blood cells to fight off another infection if I were to get one, I quickly realized that he was right. I've spent the last week sleeping well at night, napping well during the day, walking some inside my building once I could walk inside my apartment without getting out of breath, and getting back an appetite of sorts. Most of all, letting my body correct the blood counts, I prayed, as I added another week in between rounds.



So, I went this morning and had the blood counts done again. A little while ago I had a phone call saying they were suitable and that I would have chemo tomorrow. Hallelujah! The last round. Whew. Been doing this since July 29.

I want to say good-bye to the flat item you see, the cover for the chemo port which I apply once I've squeezed anesthetic cream from the tube onto it and then stuck the whole thing on my skin with the cream covering the chemo port. I want to say good-bye to the tube, too. I am thankful for both of them because they keep me from feeling much of anything when the chemo nurse inserts the needle through my skin and into my chemo port. I'm not certain yet when I'll be saying good-bye to the chemo port itself, but the little thing embedded below my collarbone is a medical miracle in my book.

I want to say good-bye and thank you to the Zyrtec, the Decadron, and the Ativan, although each of them plays a really important part in getting my body ready to accept as best it can the Taxo, the chemo that messes with my blood pressure and takes almost twice as long to drip into me as it does into the average patient.

There are some fantastic anti-nausea drugs I want to say thank you and good-bye to, but they wouldn't fit into the photo in a pleasing way. Photographer's decision.

I have the chemo follow-up CAT scan on December 13 and the appointment with the chemo doctor to discuss whatever it shows on December 17. I know nothing yet about the radiation timeline.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.