changes are always inevitable, and when passengers ride these systems, the changes are often visible firsthand. Being present to witness this change has long interested me. Every time Trimet opened a new MAX line, starting with the Red Line to the airport, I rode it on the first day. I relish the stories among railroad enthusiasts who took frantic melancholy journeys in spring of 1971 in the week before most passenger trains would cease to exist under Amtrak. I am enchanted by these stories, and in search of my own nostalgia, I had been doing research on how TriMet changed since it was formed in the late 60s, so I was going through an odd obsession with Portland’s transit system.
So naturally, after hearing two
different newscasts mentioning the new TriMet routes, and having researched the
schedules for myself, I decided that attempting to ride all the new routes in
one day would be a perfect outing. It wasn’t a momentous change in the system,
but it was a change. It would do. The news mentioned four routes, but I was
only able to learn about three: one in Beaverton, and two in Gresham. I had it
all figured out: ride Beaverton in the morning, and then travel east to Gresham
to ride the other two. It was far-fetched at best, but worth a shot. I was a
bit surprised by the outcome: one doesn’t expect to learn life lessons from riding
city buses ad nauseum.
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| TriMet's new Line 42 waits at Beaverton Transit Center on March 5th, the first day of operation. I decided against riding this bus, deciding instead to travel east. |
My journey began
on Monday, March 5th, the
first day of operation for the new routes. I started my day by waking up late,
and eating a meal of insufficient size. Off to a bad start, I grabbed a
notebook, and travelled to Beaverton to begin my journey. A Line 42, the new
Beaverton bus, was waiting when I arrived, but no one was on board. Across the
way, I found a waiting MAX Red line. I bought a MAX ticket, and decided that I
would hop the 42 later, and hit the new route, the 74, in Gresham first since
it would be harder to reach. The Red Line departed at 1:38pm. I changed trains
at Pioneer Square where I tried in vain to find bus schedules for the new
routes I boarded a Blue Line and 2:12 and continued east. Due to poor planning
on my part, it was another hour before I was on a Northbound 74, heading toward
the Columbia River. Unlike the opening day for the MAX, there was no hype,
confetti, or marching bands. Heck, the bus was practically empty.
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| A 200-series MAX car cruises down Burnside, approaching the station at 162nd Avenue, where it connects with Line 74 |
The bus sped along its route
bullet-like, sprinting past the relatively bland offices, and warehouses of
Northeast Portland, and was quickly heading southbound again. I was impressed
by this at the time, but looking back, perhaps I should have been concerned. The
driver went under crossing gates still going up after a train and cut off a
pedestrian: she may well have been speeding. I wasn’t too disappointed when I
was curtly told to get off.
Nothing was
set in stone
so I considered skipping lunch so that
I could get back to Beaverton to ride the 42, but my hunger got the better of
me. It seemed odd to me that I even considered forging a necessity for such an
insignificant project. I briefly pondered self-discipline and willpower, and how being stuborn actually requires a great deal of self-control, just a mis-application of it, and if only we all had the will power to do what was right.... My duel with
philosophy was cut off by a passing Line 82, TriMet’s other new route, and one
I had pretty much decided I didn’t have time for. But when in Rome….
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| The original Line 82, on a 1997 Trimet system Map. The 82 was restored in March, 2018. |
Calling the 82 a “new route” is
somewhat misleading. The line appears on a 1997-vintage TriMet map in exactly
the same routing, but disappeared on subsequent maps. Now, 20 years later, the
line is being re-instated. I took a rice bowl to go, and hopped the next 82. It
was a slower, more pleasant ride through upper middle class Gresham suburbs.
The route crossed the Springwater Corridor trail twice before entering and
leaving downtown Gresham. The terrain was not near as remote as I had expected,
and the wooded lots, unlike the concrete castles off the 74, were soothing, and
welcoming. Once the bus re-entered the city, after about three hours of riding
buses, I began to grow bored…very bored.
The 20 is not an express, MAX is.
I got off early at Gresham to hop a MAX… which departed just
as we were arriving. I took what seemed like the next best option: a 20 to
Beaverton Transit Center was boarding and, without thinking my options through,
I boarded. Had I checked a schedule, I would have waited for the train. The “X”
in MAX stands for “express.” The 20, is anything but, and I should have been
clued in when the bus first went east to go west. I didn’t realize that my
so-called “shortcut” had backfired until I had been riding the bus for an hour.
If I got off, I would wait even longer, if I stayed on, I had an hour and a
half to go: it was too late to transfer to a train. The best choice was clear.
Again, a lesson was forced down my throat: patience this time. And another:
always take the MAX out of Gresham! I did the only thing I could do: drew up a
schedule from my phone and tracked our progress as the ultra-modern bus crawled
along Stark toward the sunset—literally. I charted out a schedule and tracked
the bus’s progress as homes and small businesses replaced the apartments.
Finally, the bus crossed the Burnside Bridge, passed a hotel that felt oddly
proud to have color TV, then it left downtown and began the grueling climb up
the West hills, which were too dark to enjoy. I was home about six hours after
I left.
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| The Suset over the West Hills as seen from a westbound Line 20 |
Nice story !
ReplyDeleteThank you Al! I'm glad you enjoyed it, it was a fun outing as well :)
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