Maxwell Road Overpass, Eugene Oregon
Posted by: TheBeanTeam
N 44° 05.409 W 123° 09.155
10T E 487785 N 4881896
A location where you can watch the Union Pacific ply its trade in Eugene Oregon.
Waymark Code: WM3F1Y
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/26/2008
Views: 25
This location has some advantages for the railfan. On the west end of the overpass on the south side of the road there is an area that is paved which is wide enough to park a vehicle safely. The relatively wide sidewalk is a nice and safe place to observe the action to the south.
This area is near the north end of the former Southern Pacific Railyard that was located here from the 1800's until the merger of S&P and the UP. Any train going into the yard or heading to the north must pass this spot. Since the UP takeover many of the tracks have been pulled up in the main yard but the area is still used as a medium sized yard and switching station. The Mainline to points south and north passes by on the east set of rails and is quite active. Usually there are 15 daily freights that pass this location. Amtrak can be seen here four times a day but the only one that ever runs on schedule it the Cascades Route. It leaves the Eugene Depot at 9:00 AM (its origin) and reaches this point at about 9:05 AM.
Currently rail traffic is down since there was a winter avalanche that destroyed the line over the Cascade Range. (
visit link)
Record snow fall and the amount of damage has made the repair effort long and arduous. The photo used as the default photo is of one of several trains that is working exclusively hauling rock up to the site around the clock.