Morning Traffic

OC Switcher at Route 99E in Oregon City.

I rose before 5:00 this morning, ostensibly to get more work done but also with the hope that I might catch the OC Switcher in town, and I've been successful on both counts. The train was only halfway through its work at Blue Heron when I went out to the bluff, and it's shown here on the switching lead that extends across Oregon State Highway 99E and down Main Street for one block (which was once the Portland Traction Company's main line that hosted trolley service between Oregon City and Portland). It's 5:16 a.m. and 99E is already handling a fair share of early morning commuters, forced to pause while the switcher stops in their path to make a reverse move. Following its work today, the OC returned to Clackamas with six cars: the three it pulled from the mill yesterday morning and three more from today.