Holcomb Creek Trestle – Hillsboro, Oregon

The largest wooden railroad bridge in the United States still in use, 1168 feet long and about 90 feet tall, the Holcomb Creek Trestle was built by United Railways in 1905. United Railways was an electric interurban railway that ran from Portland to Wilkesboro, with a connection to Banks. Although it did have passenger service, its main commodity was lumber. Eventually the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway purchased the line and added a connection to its electric railway, the Oregon Electric. At some point in the 1930’s the overhead wires probably came down and the line was served by steam and later diesel freight trains. The line was almost abandoned by Burlington Northern who eventually obtained it. Currently the State of Oregon officially owns the right-of-way and shortline operator Portland & Western Railroad runs freight trains on the line.

I spent a morning’s sunrise with the trestle on Friday October 18th, 2018, the day before a series of photo charters with the Sumpter Valley Railroad and the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. I flew into Portland a day early with the intention of visiting this Oregon railroading landmark, something on the bucket list for quite a while. Less than an hour’s drive from a hotel at the airport, I arrived well before dawn and was greeted by a clear, starry sky and crisp cool air. I stayed the entire morning, and this series of twelve images is a reminder of my observations and experiences.

The mind drifts to imagine the various types of locomotives and cars that have crossed this trestle over time.

Looking south at the glow from the town of Hillsboro silhouetting the trestle with the star trails above. What I remember most from that first hour was the stillness; a calm quiet throughout the valley floor.
At blue-hour a passing school bus creates streaks of light with the camera’s long exposure. My favorite time of the day to shoot; the world slowly wakes from a night of rest.
A Portland & Western freight train consisting primarily of wood product heads west as a delivery truck pauses to watch. Luck was on my side twice, first having a train arrive, and second the vehicle stopping in the most perfect of positions – both adding to the composition of the scene.
Centerbeam cars reflect the rising sun off their loads of wood. The bridge creaked and groaned. Soon after, serenity would return.
A thin film of ground fog sets in as the sun slowly rises. With the oncoming light came the chatter of birds, as well as a distant rooster’s morning crow.
The fog intensifies. The mind drifts to imagine the various types of locomotives and cars that have crossed this trestle over time. To have been at this spot for just a fraction of it all.
A peaceful tranquility.
The sun has risen.
A sense of place and scale from a modern automobile in an otherwise timeless setting.
A neglected shack and its electrical non-service, slowly being consumed by Mother Nature, is tickled by sunlight.
A local resident out for her daily morning’s walk, dwarfed by the immense overpass.
Underneath looking up at the maze of wood. A monumental feat of engineering and construction from the 1900s still in active duty.

I plan to revisit the Holcomb Creek Trestle soon, at a different time of the year, to again capture these scenes in varied color, gestures, angles, and lighting conditions. I enjoy the allure of discovering what is still out there and I encourage you to keep exploring also.

Matthew Malkiewicz – Photographs and text Copyright 2019

16 thoughts on “A Sense of Place”

  1. Matthew, very nice series of photos. I especially like the shot with the woman walking under the trestle.

    1. Kevin:
      Thank you very much. The photo of the woman walking under the trestle really illustrates the scale, as well as the sense of place theme.
      Matthew

  4. Traingeek:
    I visited the trestle that morning cold, not knowing its history or what to expect visually. It was an adventure of exploration and discovery – I felt very aware and alive. I hope this article inspires; to realize that there is a world of possibility beyond the wedge shot from a grade crossing.
    Matthew

  5. What was once commonplace becomes exceptional with the passage of time. Nice work!

    1. Larry,
      You are so right; back in the day trestles like this were a dime a dozen, in all parts of the country. A few still exist – so many are gone. Just recently the PRR signals fell in Pennsylvania, a reminder that the infrastructure continues to slowly but surely disappear. Sad but true.
      Matthew

  6. Hi Matthew,

    All good, but I really like the fog series. Also the woman walking under the trestle gives it a human scale. I was expecting the series to be in B&W and was surprised to see them in color. A much warmer feeling in color but I think B&W would have been pretty cool as well.

    Michael Allen

    1. Michael,
      Truth be told, when I was capturing these with the camera I envisioned the series being in color. Back home with Photoshop I tried the first in B/W as an experiment, it quickly lost its impact and power. I abandoned the idea and moved back to color. Looks like I have you guessing; not knowing what’s coming next.
      Matthew

  7. Another really nice series of photos of an IMMENSE object built in the early 1900’s.
    Built with wood that is still standing after all these years !
    And, executed without any computers, just the old brain power !

    1. Valfrids,
      Not designed with computers, nor constructed with today’s modern heavy machinery. Both still standing and in operation – very impressive!
      Matthew

  8. Matthew

    Your eye and compositional technique are continually adding to my approach. I love the fact that with art, you can plan how to approach a shot, but you don’t really know how it will turn out until you see it. But when you do see it, you know “That’s IT !!!”.

    I also routinely look at everything in monochrome, and with historical and railroad subjects, various tones of sepia add another full set to the pallete.

    Kirt

  9. Just looking at that massive collection of timbers got me to thinking just how modern RR bridge and structure crews are able to aptly check for stability and safety of such a thing……. all these years after it was first built. Great photos and text.

  10. Your stories and photos are amazing. I’m from Brazil and I follow your Instagram gallery and now you blog. Congratulations for your incredible work!

  11. This brings back so many good memories. In high school we would go out to “dick road” (of course being the teens we were, we always pointed that out and laughed). We would look for ghosts, get drunk, sleep on the side of the road. I always make sure to go back when I visit home.

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