More info on this trip from the Friends of the 4449 Website
The Friends of 4449 operated a Portland-to-Bend trip as a fundraiser for 4449's overhaul in 2013.
Route: Portland, OR to Bend, OR via Columbia River Gorge and Deschutes Canyon, with a stop at Vancouver, WA depot and photo run-bys at South Junction and Willow Creek Trestle (Madras) in Oregon.
We utilized lovingly restored vintage rail cars including Visa Domes, Lounge, and coach cars, and departed at 8:30 AM from the historic Portland Union Station Saturday morning October 20. After picking up a few more passengers at Vancouver, WA depot, we then headed east into the beautiful and scenic grandeur of the Columbia River Gorge operating at track speed on the BNSF main line as we passed the Bonneville and the Dalles Dams.
Near Wishram, WA we crossed the 3972 feet long bridge over the Columbia and headed south, upriver along the Deschutes River's west side of the gorge using track owned jointly by the Union Pacific and Burlington Northen Santa Fe Railroads. After climbing up the grade towards Madras, we also stopped at South Junction for a photo run-by. At Prineville Junction the train turned on the wye and 4449 pulled the rest of the way into Bend at around 8 PM.
On Sunday morning, we returned to Portland by descending down the Deschutes Gorge, which included a couple photo run-bys along the way, and Columbia River until we returned to Portland Union Station around 7 PM.
