Workin' On The Railroad

Saturday December 8th - On a cold morning in SODO, a brakeman staffs the switch while a BNSF GP39M rumbles towards a side track to pick up some cars. Engine 2884 - built in 1965 as Great Northern GP35 #3040 - ran the entire length of track from Holgate down to Lander before grabbing what it needed.

In the meantime, it was good texting time for the Brakeman and his cell-phone.

Local News | Sims to let Port buy rail line | Seattle Times Newspaper

11th hour and counting...

Local News | Sims to let Port buy rail line | Seattle Times Newspaper

This is a story that simply never rests. Even in agreeing to allow the Port of Seattle to buy the Woodinville Subdivision from BNSF, all the players disagree on who pulls up the tracks in parts of the line that King County wants for a bike trail. In fact, there is disagreement even on the idea of pulling up the tracks at all. I love the end of the article, where Port Commission President Creighton says, "I've gotten a letter from the Woodinville mayor saying don't tear up the tracks, I've got a letter from the mayor of Bellevue saying don't tear up the tracks, and I just got out of a meeting with the mayor of Burien who said you would be crazy to tear up the tracks."

I agree with all those mayors.

Local News | New streetcar suffers power glitch | Seattle Times Newspaper

First ball-bearings and now glitches!

Local News | New streetcar suffers power glitch | Seattle Times Newspaper

Someday we'll all look back at this and laugh...

Police investigate streetcar sabotage attempt

Man, the thing just started running and someone sabotages the tracks!

Police investigate streetcar sabotage attempt

While some of the comments are off-color, the Sound Off regarding this article has some funny points.

South Lake Union Streetcar rolls today

Throught activist griping, through bad acronyms, and through a neighborhood that is slowly changing from blue to white collar - the South Lake Union Streetcar finally gets rolling today!

Look for the big red cars from the Czech Republic to get underway at 12:12pm.

Seattle Streetcar Timeline

This is a wonderful piece of research that I want to share with you, and it goes back 120 years!

A funny bit in the timeline shows voters rejecting a plan to replace trolleys with busses, only to have the plan go forward anyway without a vote (sound familiar in our political history around here?).

Seattle Streetcar Timeline

One family's Seattle streetcar heritage

Great human-interest story involving the South Lake Union Streetcar, and three generations of rail history.

One family's Seattle streetcar heritage

Ron Sims backs off Eastside rails-to-trail deadline

There are so many unanswered questions about the Woodinville Subdivision and its future. It's nice to see activity in this matter, but there is very little consensus on the appropriate way to handle it. I disagree with the article's contention that the line would prove useless as a light-rail corridor because of its location on the Eastside. Hogwash. I align with Eastside Rail Now! on this one, believing that something in place now is better than possibly something in place in the future. More hogwash from the Port of Seattle, who say that the line is in "poor shape and not upgradeable." It's a wonder anything gets done when two public bureaucracies and one private entity all try to find a win-win...

Anyway, you can read the article and make your own decision:

Ron Sims backs off Eastside rails-to-trail deadline

Design of UW light rail station on display

Everything happens in baby steps. There's been a lot of press this week about light rail and about street cars. I'm happy to see this progressing.

Design of UW light rail station on display

Streetcars: Old Idea, New Century

The South Lake Union Streetcar got a balanced write-up in the Seattle Times this morning. There are hopes - like I mentioned in a previous post - that this 1.3 mile line will morph into a city-wide system.

Just like Seattle had prior to 1941. What goes around comes around.

Local News South Lake Union streetcar on the past track Seattle Times Newspaper