Thousands of people gathered at Holladay Park in Portland on Saturday to say goodbye to a piece of Oregon history.

Fans of trains and public transit had the opportunity to send off TriMet’s remaining Type 1 MAX train. The Type 1 is the original MAX train, in service since 1986, which TriMet is decommissioning to make way for the new Type 6 trains.

Type 1 trains can be recognized for having stairs on each side, as opposed to the ground-level entrances seen on modern train cars. Joe Taylor, who works in TriMet’s vehicle engineering department, said they are not wheelchair accessible.

These train cars were only scheduled to last 25 years, Taylor said. They ended up lasting 40.

“I think it’s important to reflect on the manufacturer, the maintenance teams, operators, everyone here at TriMet, who have basically kept these things alive,” Taylor said.

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Each visitor to the Holladay Park gathering had the opportunity to explore the train, sit in the operator’s chair and write a farewell message on the side. The messages ranged from “Thank you for your service” to “I rode this train the first day it ran!”

Many people wore costumes of the Type 1 train. Davis Mackintosh made the journey from Hood River, donning a surprisingly realistic mask that resembled the train.

“They were sort of rare and unique when I sort of learned about the different types of trains,” Mackintosh said of the Type 1. “Now they’re going away and I think that’s kind of special too, to appreciate them.”

The look of MAX trains has changed in the past four decades. The newest Type 6 trains are wider, with flat entrances that are accessible to wheelchairs.

The event also comes as TriMet faces a significant budget crisis that is forcing the agency to make cuts to bus and light rail routes. Ridership across all TriMet services has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, a significant cause of the transit agency’s $300 million budget deficit.

Starting in August, the MAX Green Line will only run from Clackamas Town Center to the Gateway Transit Center. It currently runs all the way to Portland State University.

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Many people at Holladay Park remembered when the Type 1 trains were first unveiled in 1986. Billie Shults of Gresham said she was among the first commuters to take the train to her job in downtown Portland.

“It’s always been important to me,” Shults said.

She has an even more personal connection to the train. Her significant other, Richard Pond, was a journeyman at TriMet for more than three decades before he passed away in 2001. He regularly worked on Type 1 trains — a plaque with his name remains in Car 101, which is now at the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Salem.

At the event, Shults wore Pond’s old TriMet hat.

“Sometimes things change and things improve, and I’m sure that they’re more efficient, but it was really beautiful to be a part of that history,” she said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/18/trimet-max-train-retirement/