It’s a big party -- thrown at the TriMet Park Avenue Station at the end of the Orange Line to unveil their second-generation “Type 6” train, now going into daily service.

It was like a big party on a recent Sunday, as TriMet showed off their second-generation MAX trains – they call this model the “Type 6” – at the southern end of the Orange Line, at the Park Avenue Station in Milwaukie.

More than simply giving folks a look, visitors were provided with food and drinks, tours, free commemorative T-shirts, fold-up cardboard MAX train toys, and posters – all in a carnival atmosphere.

“We’re here to thank everyone for supporting us and being train riders,” TriMet Public Information Officer Tyler Graf remarked. “And, of course, we’re also introducing our new ‘Type 6’ train to people we know will be excited about riding it in the future!”

Graf said that some of the features riders will notice include:

• Operator cabs at both ends of the train car, and room on board for 168 riders.
• New digital signs inside which change to show the next MAX stop on the line.
• New colored LED lights to indicate the available doors for boarding and getting off the train.
• Improved cabin temperature controls, for increased comfort in both summer and winter.

“Very soon, we will be saying goodbye to our first-generation trains,” Graf pointed out. “Those original 26 trains have proven to be extremely durable over the years – some will have traveled two million miles by the time they’re retired.”

TriMet plans to donate at least one of the retired “Type 1” trains to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks, just north of Salem; the others will be recycled locally.

So, if you ride the Orange MAX line in Inner Southeast, keep an eye out for the change in the look of the trains any time now.