I was up without a wake up call and hurriedly packed then checked out. I walked to the MAX station, bought my one-way ticket and within a minute here came a Green Line train. It was a quick trip back to Portland Union Station where I checked in and received my Business Class seat assigment. I read most of the current issue of Trains Magazine as I sat at Gate 6A. The train arrived from Eugene and I walked to Car 1 at the south end. I stepped off for a picture.
Cascade Service 500. The train departed on time but stopped at Willbridge for a few minutes.
Mount Hood.
Willamette River.
Columbia River ship channel.
The crossing of the Columbia River before we stopped in Vancouver.
The Columbia River on the way to our next stop of Kelso-Longview. We were delayed by a BNSF track gang that was not off the rails before we arrived and we had to wait until they cleared. After passing them, we burnt up the rails to our next stop of Kelso-Longview.
Mount St. Helens. The train ran to the next stop of Centralia and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the ride of the Talgo.
Business Class on the Talgo.
Mount Rainier before we arrived at Olympia-Lacey. Now I will show you the views along Puget Sound. In the near future all passenger trains will run on the Point Defiance Bypass and will not come this way. So sit back and enjoy the views along this scenic route.
The trip along Puget Sound. I will certainly miss these views in the future.
The future route that the Sounder already takes.
Mount Rainier. From here we stopped at Tukwila then it was on into Seattle. We were delayed again at Auburn by another BNSF track crew, arriving in Seattle at 12:23 PM {12:00 PM}, but it had been an excellent trip north aboard the Cascade Service Talgo train. I detrained looking for pictures to take.
The Talgo at rest at Seattle's King Street station. I went inside the station for my first view of it after restoration. They did a very fine job with this major project. I found Bob and Elizabeth Alkire waiting for me and we walked to the parking lot and put my luggage into their trunk before we walked over to the First Hill Streetcar, but alas, that is in the next story.
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