Before the rush

On one of my trips chasing the 4449 out of Portland, I slept in the car, parked in the station lot. We were up late taking night shots of the train, and wanted to be there at first light, so it didn't make sense to drive elsewhere. It allowed us to be at and in the station when nobody else was around. That usually presents some great photo opportunities. We wandered around the interior and the grounds unhindered.

Portland Union Station is a classic "temple of transportation" over 100 years old. While much of the station retains its original look, parts have been changed over the years, to reflect current needs and styles. These cool neon signs, for example. They definitely don't date from the original days. Nor are they from modern times when the passenger trains were fading away. I'd have to guess they were installed in the late 1930s, perhaps as late as the early 50s, when railroads were still trying to make money from operating their own passenger trains. The first diesel powered streamliners arrived in Portland in the late 1930s, with a rush of new modern equipment placed in service after WWII. The neon would have been an added modern touch to go along with the new trains. Fortunately, Amtrak and the city of Portland have seen fit to keep these maintained and operating.