BN Rail Road Bridge in Portland OR

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

This is a question for those in Portland OR.

There is a Burlington Northern RR swing bridge across the Columbia River, just down river from the I-5 bridge.

Question: What is the VHF call sign for the bridge to ask for a swing? Ch 13?

 

[NWSeadog]

I believe that is Burlington Northern Railroad bridge 9.6. They are suppose to monitor channel 13. I find the tenders (in general) are slow to respond if they are busy.

 

[Rmlow]

I've always been able to get them on 13 pretty quickly. There is a phone # listed for it also if you do a quick web search.

With the current river level, there should be 30-35' of clearance or better right now, but I haven't been under it in a while.

 

[Ski in NC]

We have a couple RR bridges in my area of NC, up the river on the way to a boat yard, etc, with very light boat traffic. I find it way better to call the phone # in advance. They usually know when the trains are coming and what times they have to remain down. They have not been very responsive to the radio. Might be different in the PNW.

 

[WayneDana2]

Tom,

Closed clearance is 38.7 feet nominal. No issues eh?


On a side note, the current and river level has dropped in the last couple days. If it wasn't for these winds it would be a good time to go upriver.

 

[GreySky]

Call sign is: KQ-9049. They should be on 13.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Call sign is: KQ-9049. They should be on 13.

Thank you

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Tom,

Closed clearance is 38.7 feet nominal. No issues eh?


On a side note, the current and river level has dropped in the last couple days. If it wasn't for these winds it would be a good time to go upriver.

No issues. With the water dropping I hope the entrance to Beacon Rock is deep enough.....

 

[GreySky]

No issues. With the water dropping I hope the entrance to Beacon Rock is deep enough.....

I was at Beacon Rock two weekends ago (7/10) and we never saw below 10ft in the entrance. A large 40'+ sailboat came in after us, so plenty of water at that time.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Thank you Rob

 

[Lepke]

I don't know about Portland, but areas with several bridges usually have one as the lead or supervisor of the system. Running a commercial boat, when one of the bridges didn't want to answer the radio or open the bridge, I called the supervisor. As soon as the reluctant bridge operator heard me call, the bells went off and the crossing gates went down.
There are bridge operators that like to see you struggle in the wind and current while waiting for them to open up. It seems like yachts have a bigger problem with this than commercial users.

 

[hollywood8118]

I don't know about Portland, but areas with several bridges usually have one as the lead or supervisor of the system. Running a commercial boat, when one of the bridges didn't want to answer the radio or open the bridge, I called the supervisor. As soon as the reluctant bridge operator heard me call, the bells went off and the crossing gates went down.
There are bridge operators that like to see you struggle in the wind and current while waiting for them to open up. It seems like yachts have a bigger problem with this than commercial users.

I saw this a few times the summer we spent in Volunteer on the Columbia river. Had a lockmaster at one lock leave the lower gates open with a 35 kt breeze blowing straight into the lock with no other traffic approaching. Had my nerves not already been tested by being forced to wait 45 minutes past when the gates were supposed to be open while jogging around in the same winds outside the lock I might of been in a better mood. All this in a single engine displacement trawler with a lot of rigging windage and too small for the tonnage bow thruster.

Moron finally closet the gates when I got on the radio and bellowed
"WOULD YOU CLOSE THE F---ING GATES ALREADY!. Had another one only open the traffic bridge on the exit side about 8' to allow the mast to slip through, fine if there is no wind but on a windy day I barely got between the spans.

Life must be pretty boring being a lock tender so I guessed it was how they got a thrill.. or how for a moment they had a bit of control over their world.
HOLLYWOOD

 

[GFC]

Tom, just a reminder because you're getting up there in years....

-Don't forget to turn your VHF on
-Don't forget to push the button on that thing at the end of the wiggly cord

See y'all on the 11th.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

What's VHF?

I'm only coming because you promised me AA and Klondike Bars!!!