Rail Bridge Inspections: Volunteers Needed!

Riverkeeper needs your help to inspect Columbia River rail bridges that carry crude oil trains.  We need volunteers to look for deteriorating infrastructure and dangerous bridges.  Neglected bridges pose a threat to communities and the river (listen to NPR story here).  The easiest way to take a look without trespassing (which we definitely don’t want to do) is from a kayak or boat.  So grab your PFD and your camera, and take a float under one the many rail bridges along the Columbia. Let us know what you find!  Don’t trespass by touching the bridge or getting out of your boat (waterways are public), but keep an eye out for cracking or crumbling concrete, rotted or missing pilings, and makeshift repairs.  For any issues spotted, it is important to record both a narrative description as well as clear photos. Videos might also be beneficial, especially if you see an oil train pass by. Use this form to report your findings and photos to Lorri@columbiariverkeeper.org by August 3.

With this initiative, we are joining Waterkeepers throughout the United States and Canada and will use the results to push for meaningful action on deteriorating rail bridges carrying oil trains.  Join us in this effort to protect our communities and waterways from dangerous crude-by-rail transport.

To ensure your safety, please:

  • Conduct all inspections from a public right-of-way or watercraft.
  • Do not touch, climb on, or walk on the rail bridges or tracks.
  • Do not walk along the tracks, unless there is a clear public right-of-way.
  • Keep a safe distance from the tracks or bridge when trains are passing by.

How to target inspections:

There are a few ways to determine where there are rail bridges carrying oil trains:

1. Look at maps made by other groups of oil-by-rail routes:

2. Observe the trains passing over the rail bridge to see what is going by, paying attention
to the placards, company names, and appearance of the train overall.

  • If the trains have red diamond placards with the number “1267” on them, the
    trains are transporting some sort of crude oil.
  • The main rail companies transporting oil are: Canadian National Railway, Union
    Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, and Canadian Pacific Railroad.
  • Oil trains usually consist of a long train of identical black, rounded cars, with
    buffer cars at the beginning and the end.