Portland Oregon TriMet WES Commuter Train

The WES, or Westside Express Service, is a commuter train in the greater Portland, Oregon region that began running in 2009 between Beaverton and Wilsonville, Oregon. It is somewhat unusual in that it is one of the only suburb to suburb commuter trains in the US. Service is provided by a mix of 2008 built diesel railcars manufactured by Colorado Railcar and BUDD RDCs built in the 1950s. In this video, we will follow the WES on its 15 mile long route from Wilsonville to Beaverton and return.

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[peterdibble]

I can't tell you how many times I would've used this service if it ran more than just weekday commuter hours. Even some limited midday and weekend runs would make this so much more useful.

[ZachNuman]

The WES is single handidly the best train in the metro. It is fast, and clean. If it ran normal hours it would literally be unstoppable

[CSXfan]

The RDCs were sold to Amtrak by Penn Central in 1971. The ex-TRE cars were purchased by TRE in the 1990s from VIA Rail. Splendid catches Mike!

[timu]

Very informative and well delivered. This is basically an "interurban" operation, reminiscent of the Oregon Electric Ry, or SP's Red Electric in that region, in the era between 1905 and the Great Depression. Something very satisfying about seeing this. Thanks!

[trainglen]

Happy to see RDC units still in operation.

[michaelwakeham]

Them RDC’s really are some incredible rail cars, 70 years later and they still more reliable then these modern trains lol

[smudgekitty]

Really cool to be seeing RDC’s be used in 2024!

[tdginc]

Today was a half-day and because today is when Mike uploads today’s gonna be a good day

[mackpines]

Another fantastic video!

I really wish Portland would get a commuter train like Seattle’s Sounder.

It could serve places as far south as Salem, head east to Troutdale and even serve towns in the Columbia Gorge like Hood River or The Dalles. (Not to mention taking visitors to Multnomah Falls)
Also could provide service to Scappose and St. Helens on the west side.

[railroad]

Wish more RDC's were still running!

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

The LIRR's Greenport Branch also acts as a suburb-to-suburb service that's typically two cars, because the platforms were built for one-and-a-half cars. All platforms on the Greenport Branch are accessible. It goes between Ronkonkoma and Greenport, however during summers between 2016 and 2022, there used to be an evening trip ran from Greenport to Jamaica, running express between Ronkonkoma and Jamaica. The Greenport Branch gets limited service because it's the last dark territory (no conventional signals) on the LIRR, it's single-tracked from Ronkonkoma all the way to Greenport, the North Fork is sparsely populated compared to the South Fork/Hamptons, and it mainly relies on seasonal tourism like its wineries. The Greenport Branch is significantly important for many reasons! Between Medford and Yaphank is the Brookhaven Rail Terminal, a 28-acre privately funded transload facility that opened in 2011 that was designed to take 40, 000 long haul trucks off Long Island roads and handle 1 million tons of freight a year. Yaphank has been planned to be closed and relocated to East Yaphank to serve the famous Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton (they also built TOD called The Boulevard with housing and a Walmart supercenter on William Floyd Pkwy to reflect the new location). Known for being home to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, the National Synchrotron Light Source II, and the Long Island Solar Farm, the largest photovoltaic array in the eastern US with over 164, 300 solar panels. Which you can actually see from the train! It is also at Brookhaven National Laboratory where researchers James Powell and Gordon Danby patented maglev technology in 1968-1969, and the first video game Tennis for Two was created by physicist William “Willy” Higinbotham in 1958. Before 1947, Upton was once Camp Upton, originally used by the US Army as a port of embarkation during WWI for 18, 000 troops. During WWII, it was an induction center and internment camp for Italian, German, and Japanese citizens. It was there in 1918 where Irving Berlin wrote the iconic patriotic tune God Bless America.

Riverhead is the county seat of Suffolk, with a compact downtown surrounded by farmland, with many points of interest like a bus hub at the station, transit-oriented development, roundabouts, bikeshare, the county's courts (its supreme court is right next to the station, and the LIRR once ran Jury Duty Special service from Deer Park with shuttles to the courts), Splish Splash water park, Tanger Outlets, the Long Island Aquarium, a cool pedestrian and bike-friendly riverwalk with a community vegetable garden and sculptures, the Suffolk Theatre, and the incredible Railroad Museum of Long Island. The museum has two locations in Riverhead and Greenport, with its main Riverhead location having everything from a 1964 NY World's Fair you can ride, the historic indoor 1949 Lionel showroom layout from Michigan (originally there were 43 operating accessories, which has grown to 88 working accessories in 2024), and numerous rare locomotives, passenger and freight cars stored outside like two preserved M1s and the very last PRR MP70 (its 1932 prototype) which was the world’s first all-aluminum double decker passenger car. All of these are either walking distance or a short bus ride away! The SCT 80 bus acts as a Riverhead circulator. After Riverhead, it goes through the North Fork’s wine country with 40 wineries. The influence of the Long Island Sound, Atlantic Ocean, and Peconic Bay makes it a great location for vineyards. And in Greenport, a charming maritime village, there is a ferry connection to Shelter Island, as well as the SCT 92 bus to Orient Point for the Cross-Sound Ferry to New London. This bus goes between Orient Point, Riverhead and East Hampton, making it the longest local bus route in the Northeast.

But that's not all! The Greenport Branch is also important in regards to LIRR history. When Greenport station opened, you could’ve taken a ferry from Greenport to Stonington or Ledyard, Connecticut in order to board another train from CT to Boston. Because the LIRR wasn't originally meant to serve Long Island. When the LIRR was chartered in 1834, it was envisioned to be part of a combination train and steamboat route between NYC and Boston. The southern shore of Connecticut was deemed impassable due to hills and river valleys, and so a route through the middle of Long Island was considered the fastest and most effective solution. It opened in 1844, but that spirit was short-lived, however, as it was in 1848 that the New York & New Haven Railroad was opened across Connecticut. Since its plan was not to serve local traffic on Long Island, the LIRR chose not to serve existing communities along the shores, but straight down the middle, which was largely uninhabited at the time and relatively free of grade crossings. For the people on the North Fork, the Greenport Branch is their lifeline in so many ways. It’s their connection to MacArthur Airport, Riverhead, NYC, and beyond! And for an important county seat like Riverhead, it deserves to have frequent electrified service. If there was more service by upgrading the route like electrifying, signaling, or double-tracking, then they could alleviate the seasonal traffic, people from Shelter Island will take it, it can easily get more people to visit the North Fork’s farms and wineries with frequent service, and it would also make a difference in North Fork farms being enabled to take the train to sell their produce. The Hampton Jitney provides North Fork service to MacArthur Airport, Manhattan, and to JFK and LaGuardia Airports in Queens, but there should be frequent Greenport Branch service so the LIRR would be able to easily compete with the Hampton Jitney.

[MichaelMitchRailfan]

It's actually so awesome to spot WES Commuter Trains in Portland

[GoTeamJimmy]

Mike watching your Train videos helped me through my darkest times!

[hartmutlorentzen]

Great video, thanks for presentation, from Germany

[STRailfan]

I didn't even know this commuter railroad existed until now!!!!

[Trainandrocketlover]

The horns on the RDC’s sound like K5HL’s and the horns on the DMU’s sound like K3LA’s but they sound awesome. Keep up the good man👍

[WALBK]

You REALLY got my attention when you mentioned that the RDC’s were built NEW originally for the New Haven Railroad! 😊. (Was relaxing in a chair adjacent to my HO New Haven layout, watching this on my iPad; I specifically think #121 is one of the RDC’s on my roster!).

[ethanserrsno]

I love the Wes diesel multiple unit cars

[SoCalOCRailfan]

Awesome video! Definitely an interesting commuter rail using RDC’s that are pretty cool to film.

[OtterMan]

I HAVEN’T SEEN THE RDCs IN SEVICE FOR OVER 2 YEARS!!!