February 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of continuous operation at Gunderson, Greenbrier’s flagship manufacturing plant in Portland, Oregon. What started out as a one-man operation has grown into a multi-billion dollar company with over 1,000 Oregon employees designing and building railcars and barges for global distribution.
Did you know…?
- Gunderson produced its first barge after 32 years of existence, and its first railcar after 41 years
- Gunderson contributed steel parts to the Morrison Bridge construction in 1957
- Gunderson was the first to pioneer the modern day double-stack intermodal well car
- Gunderson still has the largest side-launch ways on the West Coast
- For a more detailed depiction of Gunderson’s history in Portland, visit our Gunderson 100 page
Left: Gunderson’s shop interior in the ‘50s
Middle: Gunderson facilitated the final stages for Raymond Kaskey’s Portlandia statue in 1985
Right: Early marine construction: Gunderson built lifeboats and Landing Craft Mechanized boats (LCMs) during WWII
Chances to celebrate Gunderson’s Centennial Year:
- Visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Center to see an exhibit dedicated to Gunderson’s historical and modern-day presence in Portland, opening February 21.
- Keep an eye out for our float at the Grand Floral Parade on June 8. Gunderson employees have been hard at work designing a float to commemorate the last 100 years!
- Check out our social media pages for day to day updates on #Gunderson100
- More to come!