Vancouver (Columbia R. Crossing)

The Vancouver Amtrak station (1301 W 11th St) sits inside the wye formed by the BNSF Fallbridge Subdivision — heading east through the Columbia River Gorge toward Pasco — and the BNSF Seattle Subdivision heading north toward Kelso and Tacoma. This geometry puts the depot at the exact junction where all northbound trains diverge and all southbound trains converge, making it an unusually productive vantage point. Trains are visible both crossing Bridge 9.6 from the south and accelerating or braking through the station. Free parking is typically available around the depot, and it is common to find other railfans there at any hour.

The 467-foot swing span at the bridge's north end is immediately adjacent to the station, and its pivot mechanism is plainly visible from the platform area. The span opens an average of 12 times per day for river traffic, and rail operations typically resume within minutes of closure. When two movements conflict near the swing span, the meet plays out within sight of the station — a rare treat at any Class I location.

For those preferring the riverfront, the Columbia River Renaissance Trail is a paved, accessible path along the north bank. From various points on the trail, you can observe trains rolling onto or departing the bridge against the Portland skyline and Hayden Island backdrop. Grant Street Pier, jutting 90 feet over the Columbia, offers an elevated angle looking upstream toward the bridge trusses.

The bridge spans a wide reach of the Columbia River where the channel runs roughly west-to-east, placing the Washington bank (Vancouver) to the north and the Oregon bank to the south. The north bank rises gradually from a narrow flood plain into downtown Vancouver's grid, while Hayden Island and the Portland industrial waterfront create a layered southern backdrop of grain elevators, container cranes, and the truss spans of the parallel Interstate Bridge highway crossings.

Morning light from the east back-lights westbound departures emerging from Portland, while late-afternoon sun bathes the truss steelwork and incoming northbound trains in warm tones. Fog is common on autumn and winter mornings, often pooling at river level and leaving only the upper truss chords visible — a photogenic effect before it burns off mid-morning. The paved waterfront trail provides shade in summer under riverside cottonwoods and willows; in winter, once leaf-drop opens the canopy, sightlines to the bridge improve considerably.

BNSF Railway owns and operates Bridge 9.6 as part of its Fallbridge Subdivision, a 229.7-mile main line running east along the Columbia River Gorge to Pasco, Washington, connecting to BNSF's Northern Transcon. The line carries an estimated 30–40 total train movements per day through this crossing, including BNSF freight, Union Pacific (operating under trackage rights), and Amtrak. Primary BNSF freight includes intermodal, grain, merchandise, and unit trains bound for Pacific Northwest ports.

Amtrak adds significant passenger density: the Cascades corridor provides up to six daily round trips between Seattle and Portland (12 daily movements through Vancouver), the Coast Starlight (Trains 11 and 14) contributes two more, and the Empire Builder's Portland section (Trains 27 and 28) adds two further — approximately 16 scheduled Amtrak movements on a typical day. Portland & Western Railroad also operates over the BNSF between Portland and the Vancouver area.

The Empire Builder and Coast Starlight are long-distance consists pulled by Superliner equipment, offering dramatic contrast against the shorter Cascades trainsets. All northbound trains depart Vancouver Amtrak station 1.3 miles north of the bridge's swing span.

The station platform provides the most accessible shooting position: trains are framed head-on as they exit the bridge from the south, or departing north with the truss visible in the background. A 70–135mm lens covers both locomotive portraits and full-train compositions from this position. Because the station sits inside the wye, you can quickly pivot to catch movements on either the Fallbridge or Seattle subdivision within seconds of each other.

From the Columbia River Renaissance Trail, an 85–200mm lens from the east-facing viewpoints captures trains mid-bridge with the Portland skyline framing the south end. Morning light (roughly 8–11am in summer) falls squarely on northbound subjects from these positions. Grant Street Pier offers an elevated perspective roughly 90 feet over the water; from here a wide-angle (24–35mm) can include river traffic below a passing train. Bring a polarizing filter to manage midday glare off the river. Tripods are welcome on the trail and at the pier.

Construction of the Columbia River Railroad Bridge began on February 8, 1906, financed by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S) — a joint venture of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway, chartered to connect both transcontinentals to Portland from Spokane. Polish-born engineer Ralph Modjeski designed the 2,807-foot structure, which rests on 9 piers and incorporates a 467-foot rim-bearing swing span at its northern end.

When the first train crossed on October 23, 1908, and the bridge opened for regular traffic in November of that year, it became the first crossing of any kind over the lower Columbia River, preceding the adjacent Interstate Bridge for automobiles by more than eight years. The designation 'Bridge 9.6' reflects its distance in miles from Portland Union Station. The SP&S was absorbed into Burlington Northern in 1970, which merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway in 1995. The bridge has carried continuous rail traffic for over 115 years with its original through-truss spans largely intact.

Bridge 9.6 is the only railroad bridge crossing the lower Columbia River — every train moving between Oregon and Washington by rail must use this single structure. The combination of dense BNSF freight, Union Pacific trackage rights, and three named Amtrak services (Cascades, Coast Starlight, and Empire Builder) converging on one observable point is essentially unmatched on the West Coast. The Vancouver Amtrak station inside the wye adds a further rarity: free parking, direct sightlines to the 467-foot swing span, and quick access off I-5. Within a single afternoon visit it is realistic to observe a complete Empire Builder consist, multiple Cascades trainsets, and a mix of BNSF intermodal and grain trains — all crossing a nationally significant 1908 railroad landmark.