I've been on a kind of staycation with my wife in the hills on the outskirts of Hillsboro, Oregon. We were getting cabin fever where we live due to 'social isolation', and decided to rent a place for a couple weeks out in the country. It was a great decision. Not only was it close to work, it was also such a peaceful and beautiful place to wander around. On one of my walks, I stumbled upon a piece of railroad history, the Holcomb Creek Trestle.
The Holcomb Creek Trestle was originally built in 1905 by United Railways. [src] It is a timber pile-driven trestle, 1,168 feet in length and approximately 90 feet tall. It is thought to be the highest and longest still-used wooden train trestle in the U.S. [src]
It is a timber stringer bridge which spans over Holcomb Creek and Dick Road on the Portland and Western Railroad. [src]
From a distance I noticed a huge wooden structure on my first walk, but at the time I had no idea what it was.
After crossing under it, I got this shot of the trestle. At that point I decided to see if I could find out what it was on Google Maps.
As you can see from this Google map, the trestle is about ten miles outside of Portland, Oregon. It's really a good idea to be at least ten miles from there.
A view of the trestle from the northern side a little up the hill.
A view from the southern side. There is a log of vegetation growing close to the trestle, making it vulnerable to a possible fire. In 2015, a 50-foot high and 600-foot long trestle near Sherwood, Oregon caught fire, destroying an 85-year-year old piece of history.[src] It would be a shame if this particular one suffered the same fate.
In some of the photos you can see the cross-bases are broken. Since traffic still traverses this trestle, it must have been determined they were non-essential. There was a $600k proposal to repair the trestle back in 2011, but it is unclear whether or not it was approved.[src]
You can see from this angle where the trestle connects to the hillside. I saw some people up there walking a few feet onto it, but they didn't go very far. This was probably a smart choice since this trestle is still actively being used.
This a view directly upward from the road. This looks to be the highest point, meaning the tracks would be 90-feet up from this spot. Some brave soul climbed fairly high to paint a graffiti skull.
A view of the tracks directly skyward. The sun was fairly high in the sky at the time I was there, causing harsh shadows and glare. Rumor has it the trestle is haunted, and that several people have hanged themselves from its lofty timbers. [src]
Here is a panoramic view stitched together using the AI of my phone. There is no curvature in the actual trestle.
Continuing up the hill, there are a number of picturesque farms and homesteads.
There was even a tiny log cabin, which appeared to be a guest house attached to a much larger estate.
I saw this majestic oak and and treehouse came to mind.
I later strolled down a dead end road which ended in this vista. You can see the Holcomb Creek Trestle partially obscured by some bushes. It took about thirty seconds before I learned I was standing on private property, but the owner was friendly enough once I politely introduced myself.
Coming back down a road parallel to the one the trestle crossed, I came upon the train tracks. I was tempted to follow them to the trestle itself, but instead decided to obey the sign.
As an added bonus, I'd like to introduce you to my new best friend Farley. He's the friendliest and hippest horse I've ever met. I mean, check out the braid!
I hope you enjoyed my #wednesdaywalk, and thanks or reading!
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