Today, I said goodbye to the original TriMet MAX Type 1 light rail train. Car 124 was the farewell car. The Type 1 train went into service with the original Portland-Gresham line on September 5, 1986.
Almost 40 years later, most Type 1 trains have been retired and recycled, except for car 101, which was preserved and donated to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks, Oregon.
I remember the first time I rode the MAX. The cars didn’t have air-conditioning, so the split windows were the only way to keep cool while zipping along the Banfield Freeway. In the late 1990s, the Type 1 trains were retrofitted with air-conditioning and solid windows.
The Type 1’s high floor forced passengers in wheel chairs to use a special external lift. Stop times were a little longer, because the operator had to leave the train and operate the external lift. The low floor Type 2 trains were introduced in 1997 and similar Type 3 trains in 2003. The low floor trains with a built-in passenger-activated gap ramp meant that the external lifts were no longer required and removed from the Portland-Gresham line stations.
Today’s farewell event was a festive one. Hundreds of people showed up to take photos in the operator’s cab, post a farewell note and sign the train, buy merch, and grab a pizza and a doughnut from the food trucks.
I wrote on car 124: “Farewell, Type 1. 1986-2026,” and signed my name on a window pillar. I later took a selfie from the cab.
The Type 1 MAX train had a long and good run.
And now, here are my photos:
