Sandbags formed a temporary dike to try to control water during the 1948 flood. This view looks southeast along the railroad tracks at Union Station from about NW Hoyt & 3rd Avenue. The partial building at far right was attached to the back of the extant fire station on Glisan and the ramp in the background leads to the Steel Bridge. You can see an aerial view of this area during the same flood in this earlier Vintage Portland post.
(City of Portland Archives)
Tags: Flood, Natural Gas Storage Tank, Portland, Train
July 19, 2012 at 7:52 am
And, from an earlier VP post, here’s the fire station from the front in 1948 (probably from the same set of photos documenting flood control).
July 19, 2012 at 8:43 am
The tracks you see here are where the SP and UP parked their business cars.
July 19, 2012 at 9:39 am
Private railcar owners also parked their cars on these stub tracks. In the mid-1950s I often rode my bicycle to the ramp in the background from my home four miles away to watch trains going in and out of Union Station. There was always a lot of action for a kid to see.
July 19, 2012 at 10:13 am
Northwest Natural Gas natural gas holder tank in the background. All are gone now. This one was on the top of a building.
July 19, 2012 at 12:06 pm
It is a reminder that the ’48 flood waters were already a big problem and a threat to infrastructure before the additional disaster of Vanport.turned it into a tragedy.
Those hoses laying about would provide steam for heating and water heaters on the cars spotted there.
Mike the gas tank actually belonged to Portland Gas and Coke in those days, the predecessor to NW Natural Gas. That coke gas was just nasty, lot’s of sulpher and very corrosive.
We too loved to prowl these industrial areas on our bikes, big clunky old Schwinn’s and J C Higgin’s, Union Station was a big favorite as was the SP&S, NP/GN roundhouse just up the road and for a change the Holgate overpass at Brooklyn.