BNSF Sells Line to Port of Vancouver

View Port of Vancouver Map

The Port of Vancouver is enticing new business, and BNSF is going to help them with a sweet deal that was signed earlier this month. The Port will be adding multiple acres and several miles of track, thanks to a right-of-way sale and a big donation from BNSF to complete a slated program by 2017.

Details on the sale in this link.

South Norfolk Street - Then and Now

Photo Courtesy of Robert McDonald

Robert McDonald took this photo along Airport Way, of a passing NP F3 sometime in June 1961. The hill in the background is telltale for me, and Robert confirmed that it was taken near the intersection of S. Norfolk Street at the south end of Boeing Field. Robert states, "Milwaukee's Van Asselt (yard) was in the background...NP 6500A with two unrecorded F7's; F3 built 1947, sn 3773, traded to GE in April 1964. Southbound "Vista Dome North Coast Limited," with "Sue the Stewardess-Nurse" on board!"

Flash forward 47 years for my photo, taken February 2008. This part of the mainline has expanded dramatically since Robert's photo was taken, and often these big chugging engines are stashed here, even visitors from the East from time to time. This is also the area where David and I got to climb aboard BNSF 5490. Even the mountain photo at the top of this blog was taken near that spot.

It's an unassuming line of track where tremendous variety can be seen throughout the year!

Merry Christmas from Washington Railblog

©2008 Ross Fotheringham

Merry Christmas! Ross Fotheringham took the above photo in the North Cascades this year. Click HERE to see more of his photos!

Western Washington has been hit with snow for the last week, and rail traffic was shut down for a period. While the world laughs at the Puget Sound's inability to maintain effective traffic movement it's still a beautiful scene outside in most places.

Thank you WARail Readers, for visiting this humble blog and sharing in the wonder of railroading in this corner of the nation. I hope your Holiday Season has been happy and healthy. Here's to the end of a roller coaster 2008, and the start of 2009.

Cheers! Kurt

Sound Transit Wants Your Feedback on East Link

Sound Transit wants public comment on East Link light rail options. This impacts anyone between Downtown Seattle and Redmond Overlake. Hate 520 or commuting over I-90? This might be your chance to be part of the solution. Like trains? Well this is an opportunity to share your preferences for a route.

I'm not so big on the timeline - Overlake Station by 2021 - but it's not like I could build a route any quicker. I feel the Eastside needs it no matter what.

3000 Injury-Free Days on Sounder

You read right...3000 days. Amazing! BNSF announced that their crews have had more than eight injury-free years running Sounder trains. They've also achieved a 99% on-time performance record for 2008, while seeing a ten-fold increase in ridership since the start of service.

I think some of these folks need to have coffee with the Coast Starlight crews sometime...

North End Trains Center in Seattle-PI

Nice little PI write-up on a favorite haunt of mine - North End Train Center.

It's funny that the article mentions "Rivet Counters," referring to the friendless loners dedicated hobbyists who find so much happiness in insisting on the most minute of details (like rivets on model trains). Heck, I'm hard pressed to even have a working model train, let alone one that is rivetly correct. Model accuracy aside, North End Train Center is a great place to go.

My first visit was at their old store within earshot of Dick's in Lake City. Their new spot isn't too far away, due north on Lake City Way. Two favorite areas for the boys are the Thomas table and the backroom where the model railroading club is running trains from time to time.

One thing I have never been able to figure out - and this isn't North End Train's fault - is why are railroad books and magazines so darned expensive?

Light Rail U-Link Contract Bid Below Estimate

The first major bid from a contractor for building the Sound Transit U-Link from Downtown Seattle to the UW is a stunning 34% below estimates. Some analysts are attributing this to the economy's downturn, which makes for heavy competition from contractors looking for work. Of course the bid is being checked over, to make sure it's not a fantasy lowball number.

In the article linked above we also discover that the segment of Interstate 5 that runs through the area served by the proposed link operates at levels "over capacity" for up to 8 hours a day. It's not surprising to me; since the 1980s a person hasn't been able to even go southbound on a Saturday through this area, without hitting heavy congestion. And with population in that area predicted to grow, it's no wonder the U-Link project got high priority in DC when federal money was doled out.

This is exciting stuff for a railfan like me, because it's like the rebirth of The Interurban!

SD9 In The Deadline

It's a slow news week for trains if you live in Washington. If this was a blog about California railroading we would be discussing a BNSF grant given to a San Bernardino organization or a spill of some sort outside Barstow. But we're here...waiting...

In light of this I've decided to dig into the wayback files and pull out this photo of an SD9 in what appears to be the deadline at the Interbay yard. Built in 1957 as #438 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CBQ), 6185 survived at least until 2004 when this photo was taken.

What happened to it after that is anybody's guess; I find no records or pictures on the Internet more recent than this one. Possibly scrapped? The road number 6185, however, is again in use on the BNSF - this time as an ES44AC.

Rail Trail Spotlight - Snoqualmie Valley Trail

View Rail Trail Map

Sometimes the best way to understand history is to see what's left of it. That's what makes rail trails such a great resource to us, because we can see our state from the perspective of the railroader who contributed so much to making Washington a viable place. The routes left after railroads have abandoned them are usually easy to ride and a great way to view nature.

This quiet abandoned line was home to the once mighty Milwaukee Road. It's now part of a comprehensive trail system within King County that spans roughly 31 miles - past fast-flowing rivers, across highways, spanning massive trestles, and climbs effortlessly to Snoqualmie Falls then southeast towards Snoqualmie Pass. By horse or bike, the trail reintroduces even the hardest of urban visitors to what the whole of the Northwest once was - green, overcast, and undisturbed.

It's quiet and not well known. I started bicycling on this line back in the early 1990s, before King County began making improvements. Back then a person could ride from the intersection of State Route 203 & NE124th to SE 356th St between Fall City and Snoqualmie; at that point there was a bridge missing over a deep chasm in the hillside. Now the trail follows most of the old line, with the exception of a stretch of a couple miles that was reclaimed by landowners (riders are pointed towards SR 203 to get back to the trail). A person can still find rail spikes here and there along the route. While I've ridden most of it I've never ridden the entire length, which is a testament to its length of 31 miles.

Stories exist about the route,which ran from Monroe to the MILW connection at Cedar Falls, but to date I've been able to locate only a few photos of anything on the line - and nothing more recent than the early 1900s. I understand from one person who grew up in the area that the Milwaukee started running heavy U-Boats on the line in the 1970s in an attempt to reduce the amount of northbound runs over trackage-rights lines, which completely obliterated the light-grade rails and ballast. Derailments were pushed over the side and into the oxbow lakes that lined the route near Stillwater. While I don't know exactly when it was abandoned, I can't imagine it was in any usable shape by 1980 when MILW pulled out of Washington entirely.

Here's a few photos in a slideshow that I snapped recently along the route!

New Seattle Streetcar Lines Proposed

Seattle passed $600 million city streetcar proposal that would add lines to Capital Hill/First Hill, Ballard, and the U-District. Of course there are opponents and proponents already, within hours of the vote, which is the Seattle way; nobody agrees on how to execute or even fund the work, so it ends up getting delayed and more costly. In the end Seattle will have the most expensive streetcar lines ever, because of warring factions.

Oh, did I go off on a tangient? Sorry...I just want to see more streetcars and few buses on the streets of Seattle!

Sound Transit's UW Link Gets Fed Funding

In November Sound Transit got its $813 million funding boost from the federal government, for the UW Link for Light Rail. Check out their handy interactive map to see what that link will look like!

Amtrak Leavenworth Station NOT a Bust!

Wow, talk about turnaround!

Within hours of the last blog post about Leavenworth's Icicle Station, I received an email from a Leavenworth Real Estate agent telling me the project was actually a go. He then put me in touch with the mayor of Leavenworth, who told me it's active and moving forward.

"We have passed 65% construction documents and will have our 100% plans on Jan 15, 2009," he says. "We will go out to bid for construction in Feb, with construction anticipated to start mid-March 2009. We are currently working on our agreements with Amtrak for Operations and Maintenance. We are estimating service start in mid to late September 2009."

So now we've got a clear idea of what's going on. Visit the Icicle Station Website or read the Official Press Release from the City of Leavenworth HERE!

Amtrak Leavenworth Station a Bust?

Back in January the Seattle PI reported that Amtrak was adding a new Leavenworth Station. I dutifully added my blog post with a map. Since that time there apparently has been zero movement on the project, and repeated contact with the town officials who championed the project for so many years have gone unanswered. Amtrak is even telling me they have no plans to build a station there.

So unless we hear otherwise, we can imagine that folks won't be stopping in Leavenworth while on the Empire Builder any time soon.

Sound Transit Link Light Rail Concept Videos

After a hard day of watching really bad videos on YouTube, why not sit down to some concept videos showing how Sound Transit's Link Light Rail stations will look in the future? It's pretty cool they can actually show people what they layout will be and how the movements look.

My favorite? Northgate Station, because that it shows Interstate 5 exactly as it is and has been since I was in high school during the Disco Pandemic, crowded and moving slowly. Now that's progress!

Milwaukee #356 - Then and Now

Welcome to another Then and Now segment at WARail! In this post we focus on the once mighty Milwaukee Road.

EMD Serial #74610-1 was one of the many GP38-2 units built for the MILW in the early 1970s. This first Then and Now photo was taken at the Morton Depot in the summer of 1977. Morton is in the eastern part of Lewis County, near the southern end of former Milwaukee Road trackage (now owned by Tacoma Rail). MILW #356 was photographed by John Crosby, former Milwaukee Road employee and railroader. John had the sense to document a lot of MILW activity in the 1970s when he worked there; what he compiled then is now a rare look at a "Fallen Flag." This picture is only one of the many he has on file.

The second picture is of the same unit - now known as SOO 4506 - and was taken by Frank Rizzo during the summer of 2008 in North Dakota. That's 34 years to date on the rails...and counting! For those who might not know why this unit is now in SOO paint (and technically owned by Canadian Pacific), #356 was one of the many locomotives purchased by SOO Line when they bought all the bankrupt Milwaukee Road assets in the mid 1980s. For more pictures of the same unit over the years - in various paint schemes - click HERE!

In recent years there has been an awakening to the history of The Milwaukee Road and the years it served Washington. The Lost Rail blog does a great job of documenting the relics left from the line. There is a beautiful restored depot in South Cle Elum. Streets around former locations of Milwaukee Road properties are named things like...you guessed it...Milwaukee Rd, Milwaukee St, and Milwaukee Way. In Tacoma one can still see the tilted red rectangle of its logo painted on a trestle Sound Transit uses day in day out. The Milwaukee Road's "Tideflats Yard" is now the "Tideflats Division" of Tacoma Rail. The underdog of the Western rail expansion pulled out of Washington in 1980 before eventually disappearing into a paper trail around 1987. In its wake the Milwaukee left legends, stories, a kickin' logo, and a large number of Washington-based former employees spread from Port Angeles to the Idaho Border.

It's no secret that I love the Milwaukee Road. I won't hide that fact. My oldest son wears a Milwaukee Road hat because he too loves the Milwaukee Road. I even created a fictitious railroad called The Wilburton Line and based the logo on the famous angled rectangle. It's something in the colors, the versatility, and the fact that it ran here when I was in my formative years, even using trackage rights through East King County within earshot of my home.

If a person knows where to look, bits of "The Road" can be found all over Washington. Thankfully we have pictures like the ones above to see what was and what is still today!

Other Then and Now segments:

• Great Northern SDP40 - Then and Now
• Kingdome - Then and Now
• Easton WA - Then and Now
• White Pass & Yukon #114 - Then and Now
• Under Jackson Street - Then and Now
• Interbay Yard - Then and Now
  

Happy Thanksgiving from WARail

Nothing like a picture of a "Great Pumpkin" to get you in the mood for some pie!

Best wishes to all WARail readers, on this special day of Thanksgiving. If you're like me, you'll probably find some time before the family get-together for a little train watching. Thanks for your patronage in 2008; we now have over 200 posts and a consistent amount of traffic. And I'm thankful for each visit. I'm also thankful to live in a country where there is much to be thankful for. An appreciative heart makes a big difference in a world filled with so much to the contrary. May this day be light hearted and positive for all of you.

Enjoy yourself and thanks again!

Rail Grinder in Vancouver

BNSF LORAM Rail Grinder near Vancouver WA - 11/25/2008 from M FlightVids on Vimeo

Thanks for Meisterdorf for taking/locating this cool video of some equipment we rarely see on the railroads!

BNSF 894 at SODO

Spokane and Colorado Streets, Seattle 4/27/2008

This old warrior shot down in SODO is starting to show some age. Despite that it still gets around, as evidenced by the photos at RRPictureArchives for this unit.

It's been 13 years since the BN/ATSF merger, and it's nice to see Warbonnets in a new century - even if they look like they've been through the ringer!

$1 Billion Pricetag on Eastside Rail Upgrades

Ouch!

With a purchase price of $107 million, spending another billion and change is obviously a hard sell. I still think it's a good investment for the future, but can understand why people are gritting their teeth and squinting heavily when seeing the costs involved.

Video - Trains Hitting Cars

Before you cross those tracks, consider what a locomotive can do to your ride. This short video on YouTube from Pentrex gives you a good visual!

I'm a huge advocate for rail safety, so I think this one is a good thing to show kids so they can see just how much damage a train can do.

Thoughts on Expanding Sounder Service

If you have the time for two cups of coffee, Seattle Transit Blog's post about expanding Sounder service is a good read and reflection piece. Brian Bundridge lays out his thoughts on sending trains out to the suburbs (or not so much in some cases). Comments to the post are also showing a high level of interest in seeing something like this work.

It all comes down to one observation and one question: there is definitely some evidence to the benefits of establishing service to outlying areas of Western Washington. How is it paid for? The evidence for that is not so clear.

Milwaukee Road at Othello, 1972

CZ17 took this photo in Othello back in 1972, when the wires were still up and the GEs still ran. If you visit Othello today there is very little left of the Milwaukee Road. Even a caboose left town for South Cle Elum. But the city still associates with its railroad heritage. After all, the Milwaukee Road provided jobs and a connection to the world for 60+ years.

Othello is on Washington State Route 26, which runs 133 miles from I-90 to Colfax. Over the miles you can literally see the terrain change from scrub land to wheat field!

Sound Transit Prop 1 - Who Gets What?

Sound Transit's Proposition 1 beat it up at the poles. I was actually shocked that this package made it through, given the state of the economy right now. So how does it settle out, come January when the sales tax money starts coming?

Well, this Seattle Times Internet equivalent of a flannel graph will show you what the region pays and what we receive for the money. In short:

1. More Sounder Trains to Pierce County in 2011
2. Possible Passenger service on the old Woodinville Sub in East King County in 2012 (if other donors match Sound Transit's $50 million)
   
3. More Southend expansion in 2015
4. More Seattle Streetcars in 2016
5. Light Rail to Husky Stadium in 2016
   
6. Light Rail to Northgate by 2020
7. Light Rail to Redmond/Overlake by 2021
8. Light Rail to Lynnwood by 2023

Yes, the timeline is a long one. I look at it and realize that legal battles like likely add a few years to some of it. Proponents are calling this a gift to the future generations, something that a lot of us may not benefit from at least in the short term. I cringe at the idea that this may all be final when I'm in my 60s, but granted it needs to be done. We can't move the region without rail any longer. And it's going to cost money.

Time to shake your fist at the sky and yell Rhubarb at the forces who abandoned the Interurban back in the day!

Economy delays sale of Eastside Corridor

Thankfully, it's only delayed and not deferred! The sale will go through once the value of some bonds increases.

Local News | Economy delays BNSF rail-line sale to Port of Seattle | Seattle Times Newspaper

Love For Trains Starts Early

If you're visiting WARail, you probably like a thing or two about railroading! It's clear that a typical railfan's love for trains must have started somewhere. For me, maybe it was the Northern Pacific and Milwaukee Road running through my backyard in Preston when I was young. I recall following with great interest and sadness when I heard that the tracks had been pulled, the Issaquah Trestle blown up, and no more trains would be running through. Or maybe it was my friend Jeff, whose Dad and Grandfather had both worked for the Great Northern. Maybe it was the UP and BN running in front of my college apartment in Pullman at all hours of the night; while I was irritated by the blaring but federally-mandated horn blowing of the UP, it was balanced out by the BN giving mere peeps from their horns at hours between 10pm and 6am.

Given my history with trains, I'm mostly to blame for my oldest son's love for a visit track side whenever we have the chance. While gas prices have really cut into those times, we value the opportunities we have to go search for trains in various parts of Seattle. And thanks to railroading, he has at least one healthy interest that can keep him away from unhealthy ones that could get him in trouble later. He draws trains now, and knows more about the BNSF than most 6-7 year olds. We don't have just one train set at home...we have various types of train sets from several manufacturers. He can speak more knowledgably about the Milwaukee Road than any other kid in the 1st grade, and can tell a yard switcher from a road switcher.

What I mean to say is that this pursuit of ours - Railfanning - is in my opinion a healthy thing to share with kids, and easily one that could occupy their time later in life when more dangerous pursuits could creep into their lives. My hope for David - and his brother Jack - is that trains are something they can enjoy as adults like we do, and then pass on to their kids.

What got you into trains and railroading? Share your comments below!

UP: Railroading Turns 160 Years Old in Chicago

Okay, so this post has only indirect relation to Washington and WARail, but a Railroad turning 160 Years Old in Chicago is quite a feat, and a huge piece of American history!

Motive Power and Mt. Rainier

Yes, it's true...I'm a photo junkie. I take photos for my own enjoyment and for family archives. However my skills with a camera aren't good enough to be consistently published on Railpictures.net (that's a whole other story that I will share offline with anyone who asks). I continue to experiment, both with digital and film, hoping for that next shot that just makes me go "whoa..."

This one, despite the grainy nature, is still one of my favorites. The only way to get the shot was to max out my digital zoom on the Olympus C4040, which made the picture kind of fuzzy. But I took the shot anyway, knowing that it wouldn't win awards but would document a Mt. Rainier that overwhelms everything within 100 miles on a clear day; and for me, blending trains with big mountain was a perfect idea.

Location is near the intersection of S. Norwalk Street and Airport Way South, just north of the Tukwila city line. You can see the Boeing Access Road behind the engines.

From the Workhorse Files

BNSF 6868 is an SD40-2, built as ATSF 5140. Check out the length of the nose, which is the reason for this unit's nickname of "The Snoot!"

King Street Station: Clocks Are Right On Time

The King Street Station clocks have been fixed and are showing the correct time again after a long silence!

Seattle P-I: Time no longer frozen on King Street Station clocks

UP gains operating lease to Tacoma port's intermodal yard

Union Pacific recently won a contract to provide service at the Port of Tacoma, starting later this year from a 10 acre site that could expand to 25 acres in the future.

This will allow Uncle Pete to shift some of its Argo Yard activity down to Tacoma, which will free up space to do more International business in Seattle.

TCRY Serves New Transload Facility in Richland

View Map of Richland

The Tri-City & Olympia is a feisty little railroad. Not only do they operate on both sides of the Cascade mountain range, but they have also been known to solve their problems with creative solutions.

Adding to their credentials, TCRY is now serving a new Richland transload facility, which connects with both UP and BNSF. A spectrum of Eastern WA products and produce is stored and then loaded on railcars from this new site. TCRY's connection on the Puget Sound allows those products to travel the miles on a Class 1 and then get loaded onto ships in Olympia.

ALCO FAs on the BN

The Spokane, Portland and Seattle seems to be the forgotten child of two mammoth parents, but despite its lack of notoriety it still has a very colorful past in Washington. And they loved ALCOs. Kevin Piper shot the above photo in June 1971 while visiting Vancouver with his grandfather. He described the trip like this:

"My grandfather had a thing about Alco FA's. He also had several "Lionel" ones. We went looking for BN FA's still in service on that trip in June '71, but only found one (the one in the photo you mentioned) and it was in dead storage. My grandpa hated Cascade Green, so we ignored all the green stuff we saw. (I secretly liked it though.) Oh well."

You can see the rest of Kevin's great archive shots HERE!

Tacoma rail project to get federal money

Federal funding came through for the Point Defiance Bypass project scheduled to bring commuter service to Lakewood (not to be confused with the "Lakewood" neighborhood near Smokey Point). To add a side note, the City of Lakewood refuses to pay for security at the new Lakewood Transit Center opened by Sound Transit, because the trains aren't there yet.

Sound Transit is taking it in stride and paying for the security themselves...

Happy Birthday WARail!

We've successfully passed the first anniversary of the first post on WARail (9/18/08). Due to family matters, and a generally busy environment at my day job, I missed the date entirely myself!

We've had a great year and found that Washington houses a lot of rail news, sites and sounds. One thing I've noticed is that more photos from Washington are posted on sites like RailPictures.net or RRPictureArchives than in 2007.

Thanks to all the blog readers and commentators for visiting WARail today and for the past year!

Negotiations Begin for Eastside Freight Service

Port of Seattle is beginning negotiations with GNP and Ballard Terminal Railroad to provide freight service on the Woodinville Subdivision. Freight Service is expected to continue in the north end of the line, between Snohomish and Woodinville, because the southern link is currently severed south of the Wilburton Trestle.

The opportunities for freight service on the line south of Woodinville are kind of scarce at this time anyway.

Bellingham's Old Rail Cars to Become Coffeehouse

Best quote of the day: 'I'm going to make it pimp, like people are going to be stoked to go here.'

Bellingham, Whatcom County Local News | Bellingham Herald

Kirkland City Council and The Rail vs. Trail Question

View City's Rail Map HERE

Yikes...not a lot of notice on this one...

Tonight - Tuesday September 16th (probably when you're reading this) - the Kirkland City Council is discussing the fate of the Woodinville subdivision as it stands within the city's borders. Nearly 7 miles of track exists within the city lines, including some of the most scenic sections and some of the tightest fits for the tracks running through places like Houghton. Eastside Trail Advocates will be at the meeting, and I'm hoping Rail Advocates like Eastside Rail Now! will be there as well. I can't make it, but I've done my part to raise awareness already.

In 2007 I was invited to speak before the Moss Bay Neighborhood Association, and I had the opportunity to share my vision of a rail line through the city that could easily serve some of the transportation needs of the region. My discussion was well received, and at the very least planted the idea that the rail line was a resource that should be saved.

My message today is the same as it was in 2006 when I heard that the line was up for sale. We need a rail line through the Eastside to serve the transportation needs of the region; without it, we are merely a region that is thinking big rather than taking the tough steps to make "World Class" happen for suburban Seattle. The argument from the Trail Advocate side has often been, "Look at all the grade crossings that will hold up traffic in the area." Yeah, look at them. They were there last year, and they were there 100 years ago. Get over it. It's a right-of-way, and cities like Chicago are littered with them. Last I checked, Chicago and its bustling suburbs were the center of the Midwest Universe - purely World Class. People deal with commuter trains there every day, and have for over a century. A commuter train will take maybe 20 seconds out of someone's day if they get caught at a crossing; if 20 seconds is that important on the wrong side of a train then maybe it's time to switch careers.

I love trails as much as the next person, because I'm also a big Bicycle Advocate. But as our region gets more congested the reality of life shows the vital need for transportation options that impact more people than those who ride bikes to work. I support an option that preserves the rail corridor first, and provides for a trail second.

Hopefully there will be someone at the meeting tonight who feels the same.

BNSF on Budoca Collision: Crossing Arms were Working

View Larger Map

The Chronicle Online reports that BNSF reviewed video from the lead locomotive involved in a tragic accident down in Bucoda. Witnesses say the crossing arms were not working correctly earlier in the day, but video showed the arms down and functional when the train passed through. The tape has also been made available to local authorities.

9/11

One of my neighbors put it like this:

"7 years later. No major domestic terrorist attacks. I guess we're doing something right."

I take this day each year to think of ways to be thankful for what I have, because 9/11 is a tragic lesson that all can be taken away in an instant. But in that loss for some, there was gain for many. We gained a renewed sense of American pride, a strong (and sometimes overachieving) defense of our borders, and most importantly a feeling that we should appreciate what it means to be a US Citizen.

Today I honor those who preceded us in death 7 years ago; they will never know what they accomplished, just being regular people in the wrong place at the wrong time. Destiny turned each one into a hero. For those of us in our early 40s or younger, this day is the equivalent to Pearl Harbor or JFK's assassination. Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when it happened. And we will never forget.

God Bless America.

Oil-Electric: Milwaukee Road Box Cabs

I monitor the blog Oil-Electric, and when I see something about Milwaukee Road Box Cabs I just have to share it!

Oil-Electric: Milwaukee Road GE Motors - The "World's Mightiest!"

Wanna Be a Conductor for BNSF?

They're looking for trainees in Vancouver!

Conductor Trainee - BNSF Railway - Vancouver, WA | Washington Job Listings

BNSF Woodinville Abandonment Notice

Here is a notice of BNSF's abandonment application at the Surface Transportation Board site. It notes abandonment between Bellevue and Woodinville, but does not make mention of anything south to Renton.

The Snohomish County section appears to fall under a different application.

Amtrak ridership up in Washington and Oregon

Not surprising to me that Amtrak ridership is up in Washington and Oregon, since the price of fuel has been all over the charts for the last year and a half. But the numbers overall - 12% increase overall from 2007 and a whopping 26% between Seattle and Portland - is impressive to say the least.

Equally impressive is the fact that Amtrak does this on a shoestring budget and with aging equipment. Hopefully in the coming years the funding will match the increase in ridership.

Light Rail Cheaper than Buses?

Great post...you be the judge!

Seattle Transit Blog » Light Rail and Bus Comparison

Trestle Fire in McKenna may be Arson

View Larger Map

Tacoma Rail's Nisqaully River trestle sustained about $20k in damage from possible arson. Read the linked article about this Tacoma Rail trestle fire.

Train Sounds and The City

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Seattle's freight operations got a surprise ally recently - Danny Westneat shared some great comments about the railroads' horn blowing in his Seattle Times column - Without sounds, it's not a city. To him, as well as others like myself, the sound of a train is the sound of the city; one doesn't exist without the other. Trains and their activity represent commerce. But that commerce does have a sound that might raise back hair on some individuals.

Seems there is a person in West Seattle - fairly close to Harbor Island freight operations - who wants nighttime operations to cease or to have the horns go quiet. My first thought when I read the article was what others might also say: "What were you thinking moving next to the tracks?" It's the equivalent of someone moving next to an airport that has been in operation since the 1930s and complaining about jets. Danny states truthfully that other cities have and deal with train noise as part of the local fabric. To think that an entire commercial sector would shut down operations in Seattle because someone moved next to a rail yard is...well...not very city oriented.

In any case, I loved Danny's article and though WARail Readers might enjoy it too.

Pedestrians and Trains

There have been a lot of accidents on Washington tracks this year involving people on the rails. Some have been fatal...all have been tragic. There is some discussion in a previous post about who's to blame over one incident in Stanwood. Others, like the incident above photographed by Steve Carter, are more clear cut.

Always expect a train. If you have no business there, stay off the tracks!

Oil-Electric: Milwaukee's Bipolars

Robert McDonald wrote a blog post recently about the most unusual locomotives from an unusual railroad: the Milwaukee Road's Bipolar Electric. Powered by electricity, the Bipolar was so silent in operation that it could sneak up on a brakeman working a yard!

Proposed Light Rail Good for Lynnwood

Known more for its congested traffic and sprawling section of Highway 99, Lynnwood wants to move past that and create a downtown corridor that rivals other suburban Seattle cities - complete with skyscrapers and condos. Sound Transit's proposal to bring a light rail station to the area would fortify this dream and make it easier for residents and visitors to see and experience 21st Century Lynnwood.

In a way, this is a story that shouldn't need to be written...

From the early 1900s to 1939, the Interurban ran through Lynnwood - then known as "Alderwood Manor" - on its way from Seattle to Everett. If it was still running today, nearly 70 years after the tracks were pulled, Lynnwood residents would have a station within a mile of where the new one is proposed.

HeraldNet: Light rail key to Lynnwood's big dreams

Eastside Rail Now! Gets the Word Out

In 2006 I hosted a website called "Save The Railroad" to inform people about what I called "A vital branch line in peril." Eastside Rail Now! now runs with that torch; it's a group whose sole purpose is to promote and protect the former Woodinville Subdivision. They have provided community level guidance to decision makers on the line, and all the while providing ideas for the tracks' use in this busy corridor.

Since 2003, BNSF has had the Woodinville Subdivision up for sale, with King County as the primary suitor. This line runs from Renton to Snohomish, plus a link to Redmond via Woodinville. Ultimately that line was purchased by the Port of Seattle, in a deal that keeps King County involved with the line in some measure.

For BNSF it was a low producer with minimal traffic from the perspective of a nationwide carrier. For short lines - currently bidding on the opportunity to serve the customers along those rails - it's a way to get more business. For history buffs it's one of the last vestiges of the Northern Pacific that exists in the area; NP once had tracks on both sides of Lake Washington, and the northbound route ran all the way to the Canadian border. What remains serves three big customers and few smaller ones. Some of the tracks date to the 1940s and maximum speed on the line is about 30mph in most places.

Plenty can be found on the Internet about the rough back-n-forth political battle that has shrouded this purchase. What lingers still is the uncertainty over what will happen with this route. Bits of it are being whittled away slowly from the south. In 2007 it was announced that the right-of-way just north of Interstate 90 would be abandoned because it was too costly to add rail into an upcoming freeway project that the line crossed over (the line has since been severed, and the crossover removed from I-405). This leaves the historic Wilburton Trestle unused, along with all the track between Factoria and Coulon Park in Renton.

Eastside Rail Now! has done a great job of keeping the potential uses of this line alive in the minds of the region's decision makers, and continues to remain involved as transportation plans for the are formulated.

Open Houses get Opinions about Woodinville Sub

Even before the feds have given their blessing to the Port of Seattle's purchase of the Woodinville Subdivision, The Port is doing what is has the time and ability to do: conduct open houses to get feedback from the community on the future of this line. According to the following blog post, it's pretty clear that there is a lot of support in the Kirkland area for a trail, and not so much for freight or commuter use of the line:

My “Take Away” From the Port of Seattle Eastside Rail Open House - Debra Sinick

I support dual-use of the corridor, with rail taking the pole position and trail doing follow up. My vision of this has been clear since the day it was announced that BNSF wanted to sell the line: Use it for moving people, whether it be by train, by foot, or by bicycle. It's ridiculous to think that we have a line that runs from one busy end of the Eastside to the other, and that tracks could be pulled forever.

We need to use this resource that has been put in our hands, to relieve congestion at some level through this populated region of the county.

Sound Transit - New Plan Coming to November Ballot

A trimmed-down version of the rejected 2007 Sound Transit plan will be back on the ballot this coming November. Thankfully it once again offers some transit relief to the Eastside.

But the controversy over this measure doesn't seem to end. Ron Sims, King County Executive, is the only member on the Sound Transit Board against the ballot measure, saying it's too early to put the proposal to voters. Greg Nickels, Seattle Mayor, dukes it out with Ron Sims in this Editorial.

From my point of view, we cleared this dinner table back in the 1930s when the Interurban Rail Line with abandoned - a point made more real down at the south end of Boeing Field when the new Light Rail crosses over the old Interurban right-0f-way. Now it's going to take a lot of effort and money to set the table again and get back to the point we were when the tracks were pulled in favor of busses and cars. Why wait? We'll have to pay no matter what...it may as well start now.

Waitin' For The Boat, Part III

Back in January I caught a couple of Alaska locomotives in SODO on their way to a new owner, who at that time was unknown. Well as of July we now know where at least one of the sister engines went - Chile! Couldn't be farther from home...from the Northern Lights to South America.

Check out this link to see Alaska 2808 on trailer with no trucks:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=243244

Railroad Testing Biodiesel This Summer

View EWGR Rail Line Map

The Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad is testing biodiesel on the 100 mile line over the next three months, at which point they will evaluate the project. Biodiesel fuel is locally made and easy for them to get.

The line runs along US Highway 2, between Cheney and Coulee City, and is owned by the State of Washington. EWGR is contracted to operate.

Tacoma’s Prairie Line Might Become Trail

BNSF and Tacoma are in complex negotiations currently to transfer ownership of the railroad's "Prairie Line" to the City, in exchange for the closure of a dangerous road crossing near the waterfront. If completed, this unused right-of-way could become part of a comprehensive trail system that cuts through the UW Tacoma campus.

The Prairie Line is the oldest line in Tacoma, being part of the original Northern Pacific route to the waterfront.

BNSF 1726 - An SD9 Survivor

While this engine is already documented fairly well on the Internet, nothing diminishes the fact that this EMD SD9 has been going strong for 55 years! That's astounding, and a testament to the workmanship and simplicity of these old "Cadillacs."

This engine was built for the B&O as #761 in the early 1950s; today it's going strong in the yards of Seattle. For a picture of what this engine looked like as Burlington Northern 6247, click HERE.

UP Aerotrain Visits Seattle - 1956

Courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection
Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
All Rights Reserved

In 1956 the Aerotrain visited Seattle's Union Station, where this photo was taken. Lightweight and powered by a switcher engine, the Aerotrain was designed by GM and used modified bus bodies for the car consist. It's still one of my favorite trains, because of its outlandish style and relationship to the classic cars that I already enjoy. Union Station can be seen in this photo behind the train; consists were backed into the line, unlike the run-through style used at King Street Station just a block away. Another view of the station can be seen HERE.

This photo would be impossible today, as all the ground and tracks have been filled in and tall buildings now occupy the site. All that remains is the station itself, now headquarters to Sound Transit.

Seattle Times : $4 gas to fuel new light-rail vote?

It was only a matter of time before this day came!

Local News | $4 gas to fuel new light-rail vote? | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Times - Train safety: Stop, look, listen — live

Mark Sidran, Chairman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, has written this vital opinion piece called Train safety: Stop, look, listen — live. The WUTC investigates all railroad fatalities. Anyone who comes in contact with tracks should read it - plain and simple.

Mark goes the distance to discuss safety and easy steps to keep yourself alive around the tracks. He also mentions by name the same people who have recently died on the tracks this year in Washington. It's a sad and avoidable end that I personally would like to see decrease in number over the coming years. My hope, like it has always been, is that their deaths aren't forgotten and that somehow at least one person will consider the danger the tracks represent.

Seattle and North Coast Video - 1982

Thankfully someone caught this short line on video before its demise! The Seattle & North Coast ran on former Milwaukee Road trackage on the Olympic Peninsula and had a very small yard in Seattle for the boat ride to Port Townsend. It's a shame it didn't last, because it operated in one of the most beautiful places in the state.

This blog post at Mile 15 gives a quick history of the SCN.

Northern Pacific Freight in Tacoma - 1888

Found this Government Archive photo today, showing the crew from the schooner Oscar and Hattie unloading the first halibut catch to be shipped on the Northern Pacific in Tacoma, September 20, 1888. The boxcar can be seen in the right side of the photo.

The Oscar and Hattie was one of a trio of fishing vessels that sailed from Massachusetts to the North Pacific, going around South America to get there. How times have changed!

Forbes: "Rails Running Hot"

Forbes currently sees the rail industry as a business sector that continues to make money despite an economic downturn. In fact they contend that the economy may not be as bad as some might say, considering the quantity and variety of the products that are running the rails. 2006 and 2007 turned out to be banner years for the rail industry, and 2008 is also turning out to be good as well.

Considering that locomotives are three times as efficient as big rigs (when you consider tonnage versus fuel efficiency), it's no surprise that rail carriers are seeing increased interest.

Foul Weather Rail Pic

©2008 Steve Eshom

Whoa! Check out the story about this photo HERE!

Bellevue Council Still Studying Light Rail

Despite the November 2007 defeat of the "Roads and Transit" proposition that was put before voters, Bellevue still feels that Light Rail is a viable option for the future in terms of transport between Seattle and the Eastside.

I agree with them.

The are continuing their research on the subject. I think if the fuel prices of today were in play last November that we wouldn't be scratching our heads, trying to figure out how to get more transit to East King County. A lot more people would have beeen behind the measure, had they been paying $4.00+ per gallon at the time.

Bellingham Crossing has Attention of Safety Advocates

View Location Map

A pedestrian crossing in Bellingham, the scene of a fatal accident last month, has now come under scrutiny by groups who have identified this spot in the past as both dangerous and in need of serious help. BNSF and the City of Bellingham entered an agreement in 2001 to rehab this pedestrian crossing; so far none of that proposed work has been done. A PDF of the 2001 plan is available HERE.

Sounder's New Mukilteo Station Opens

View Route Map

While it's currently just a platform for commuters, Sounder started picking up riders in Mukilteo on Monday. This has been long in the works, with initial voter approval in 1996. The opening couldn't be more timely, with gas averaging around $4.05/gallon at the time of this writing. For the price of one gallon of fuel, riders can take a train from Mukilteo to Seattle - 26 miles by car.

An added benefit here is the enhanced access to Seattle afforded to residents of Island and Jefferson Counties. Port Townsend residents can hop a ferry to Whidbey Island, get on a free Island Transit bus to the Clinton Ferry Terminal, and then walk to the Sounder station when they arrive in Mukilteo.

This new stop is very strategic!

Tacoma Wants to Buy BNSF's Prairie Line

Tacoma sees benefits in this unused line that runs through the UW-Tacoma campus, for use as a trail. The proposal, in its first stages, could benefit a lot of people in terms of mobility.

SD60s in Eastern WA

Washington is a very diverse place geographically. What goes in terms of weather patterns for Western WA gets cut off at the Cascade Mountain Range, leaving Eastern WA with an entirely different set of weather rules. The sparsely vegetated hills and desolate beauty are testaments to the amount of sun and rain the area receives.

In one photo Kyle Weismann-Yee captured that desolation plus the quiet terrain of Eastern WA by shooting this photo of Oakway SD60 locomotives hauling freight past John Day Dam. Check out the color of the clouds. Yeah, that's real. Many of photos I've taken in and around Seattle have that same color, which means that the east and west parts of the State do share at least one thing.

See more of Kyles photos by visiting his PBase archive HERE!

Streetcar on track even if trains look empty

Some are confused on how to pay. Others think it should be free. And through it all the South Lake Union Streetcar line is doing exactly what the City of Seattle expected it would do by this point - move 1000+ people per day. More riders are anticipated as the weather gets better and as the streetcar becomes more of a neighborhood fixture.

One interesting point about this line. While never meant to cover the whole ride, a streetcar fare covers more than twice as much of the operating costs as a bus fare.

Locomotives Move More Stuff Per Gallon than Trucks

According to AAR.org and FactCheck.org, a locomotive on average can haul one ton of stuff over 430 miles...on one gallon of diesel fuel. Efficient? Darn straight it is. As fuel prices rise, we are finding that railroads can displace a large number of trucks with a single train. This should bode well for them in the future, and possibly create more track in an era when track has been pulled for decades.

Locally I think this may have railroads here evaluating all the right-of-way in the state to see how portions can be upgraded for more efficiency and service.

West Seattle Weighs In on Streetcar Service

View Map of West Seattle

Some folks in West Seattle have given up on ever seeing streetcar service return. Sad to think that streetcars could be gone entirely from the area, since historically West Seattle had them and thrived with them in place.

The big sticking point is that a streetcar system would have to go over "the Low Bridge" from the east. That bridge can sometimes be open to ships for an hour. Long time, when you're keeping a transit schedule. This is probably why extending service back to West Seattle is low on the priority list, because of costs to the area and logistics at the bridge.

As gas gets more expensive, the trolleys of Seattle's old days are looking better and better!

Amtrak train collides with bike; woman killed

Fatality number eight for Washington this year. A tragic - and often avoidable - situation.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004428802_webbiketrain21m.html

Seattle Times: A pause for the cause of light rail

This opinion piece offers that the best way to get Central Puget Sound behind light rail is to wait until 2010 for another vote on improvements, which would be after the light rail line to Sea-Tac is in place and also when people have become fed up with the cost of fuel for their cars. The writer states a time like that would be ripe for bringing the region's people a new option for creating options to congestion.

Opinion Piece on Rail Service in Central Puget Sound

Think it's new and modern to concoct huge over-arching transportation plans for the Central Puget Sound? Think again. Ross Anderson wrote this Opinion Piece on rail transit in Seattle; aside from discussing Seattle's streetcar future, he also reminds us that the region has a long history of "forward-thinking consultants" and lavishly grand schemes to advance the lifestyle of King County. Think transit tunnel under Lake Washington, huge civic centers, and all of Mercer Island turned into a city park....in 1912.

There is also a long history of people voting down those plans, and ultimately choosing the cheapest alternative available at the time. So in a way the message is "we want mobility now, but we don't want to pay for it."

Thieves Try to Recycle Old Rails

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The lowest of the low recycle what doesn't belong to them. These people stole rail from Humptulips and tried to recycle it in Hoquiam. I'm thinking that any potential profit from this theft would have been eaten up by the fuel necessary to move the contriband steel. A person with no decency might go so far as to call them Scumbags or Donkey Clowns.

Thankfully I'm a decent guy.

Seattle Streetcar Advocates Promoting More Lines

©2007 Mike Bjork

As mentioned yesterday, Seattle City Council heard reports from transportation officials about the pros, cons, and costs of street cars and electric buses.

Today the news reports that Seattle Streetcar Alliance is ready to promote the addition of more lines throughout the city. Not surprisingly, the routes mimic the lines that Seattle had prior to World War 2. It just goes to show the city was onto a good thing back then. Could be a good thing once again given enough support and funding, which the SSA is looking for now.

Lander Street Separation Project

View Larger Map

Look for this SODO project in the future, sending vehicle traffic above the BNSF mainline instead of through it. Currently the project ranks #22 in the 69 prioritized projects ahead of the Seattle Dept of Transportation, so it's not high on the list. Reasons include a vast funding gap for the estimated $155 million project. But when completed, it will create more movement east to west through this heavily industrial part of the city.

Here's a 27MB Powerpoint download from the 5/12/2008 Seattle City Council meeting that outlines the projects:

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/download/4-1-08%20Major%20Projects%20Funding%20FINAL%20projection.ppt

Port of Seattle OKs Eastside trail deal

Agreement between Port of Seattle and BNSF has finally been signed for the Woodinville Subdivision. BNSF is choosing a short line operator for the customers still on the line, and advocacy groups are now jockeying for position as right-of-way uses by people and trains are proposed for the future. One group wants "further study" on the line's use; that group is made up of people who own property butting up against - or near to - the tracks in Kirkland. "Further Study" in advocacy speak means "We don't want trains in our back yard," or "I bought this property assuming the trains would no longer run someday."


We saw plenty of that when King County was struggling to put in a rail trail along the east shore of Lake Sammamish. Some of the property owners - once BNSF pulled the tracks - went so far as to fence across the right of way and keep the trail in court for years, under the assumption that the right of way would revert to private ownership once the line was no longer used. When that didn't happen, the fight got messy. Eventually King County won out and now the most level route between Redmond and Issaquah can be ridden by bicycle, in the shadow of the Northern Pacific.

As always, we're watching this situation closely. It's a pivotal event for the Eastside, and will have impact on the region's ability to move in, out, and around the east part of King County

Seattle Weighs Streetcars vs. Trolley Buses

Funny to think that for the future of Seattle surface transportation, technology with roots in the late 1800s is being compared to technology that is not much younger. Streetcars and Electric Trolley buses were in a shootout last night at the city council meeting after the city's department of transportation presented reports on which parts of Seattle would be best served by either one.

Up front, the costs for electric buses are lower, but the report stated that the system doesn't last as long as a streetcar system or light rail line - which both cost more per mile. Then there's the thing that nobody wants to mention here, because it's a heartstring argument: data indicates streetcars bring in ridership better than buses, even if the overall costs are higher.

Big Red Train - New Shirt for Little Train Lovers

The recent F7 Post got me thinking about creating another design for TrainShirts.net. The Big Red Train is a basic stylized streamliner, done in primary colors and portraying one of the most famous types of trains in American history. It's available in kid and adult sizes, on quality products!

Check out this and all the other designs when you have a chance!

The Secret of SODO

Most every railfan can understand the thrill of finding a perfect spot to watch trains do their thing. Seattle's SODO ("South Of Downtown") district is one such place that lies humbly due south of the Safeco and Qwest Fields. This mostly industrial heart of Seattle is usually known by the sports teams that play in the stadiums to the north, but SODO also harbors a secret that brings smiles to railfans young and old. Like trains? You'll find them here in a big way. There's a busy multi-track mainline running north/south through the center, commuter rail tracks running nearby, and a busy international switching yard for BNSF. Add some of the common regional cloud cover to the Seattle skyline to the north, and you have a railfanning experience that is unique to Washington.

Railfanning in an urban environment is a far cry from the leafy snowy scenes of many railfan photos we see on the Internet. But urban railfanning has its own character. It's gritty, showing trains in a true light because they themselves are gritty. Because of its closeness to our home, SODO is a favorite destination for me and my sons - day or night. Photo opportunities are everywhere. Parking is easy to find unless it's "Game Day." SODO is flat, so even walking or bicycling the area is easy. The trains run often enough that visitors are treated to at least one double-stack unit train, or if timed right the Amtrak Coast Starlight. There are "garbage trains," mixed freight trains, commuters, passenger trains, engines running without cars from one yard to another, and even scrap metal trains. Switching work along the mainline and in other areas occurs almost 24/7. If you don't see a train when you get there, find some coffee (Starbucks World HQ is in SODO, and has a store just to the north on 1st Ave) and wait another 1/2 hour. The variety will keep any camera happy.

Finding SODO is easy; take the 4th Avenue exit of either I-5 or I-90 and turn right (south). Once you cross Royal Brougham Way, you're there. The busy BNSF Mainline runs parallel with 4th Avenue S and 1st Avenue S down the length of the area before entering a large freight yard south of Spokane Street. It also runs - literally - underneath Safeco Field's eastern end, and provides another unique experience: federally mandated crossing blasts from trains during Mariners games. A few years back the media tried to get BNSF to stop blowing the horns during the All-Star game "because it would ruin the broadcast." They were laughed out of the meetings. Since then it has come to be an expected and welcome part of a Mariners game, much like the Green Monster is to Boston.

Four major streets in SODO cross the Mainline: Holgate, Lander, Horton, and Spokane. Holgate and Lander both offer close public parking that will allow a railfan to troll the area with a camera. In fact, there is a Krispy Kreme at the corner of 1st and Holgate within ear shot of the mainline. Horton is a true gritty industrial street; parking is minimal but walking the area can often find a hidden road switcher or two. Spokane Street runs underneath the Spokane St Viaduct towards West Seattle; parking areas there are more congested, and making a left turn anywhere near the viaduct is difficult unless you know the backroads.

The BNSF International Gateway Yard was once called "Stacy Yard" and named for a street that doesn't intersect with it; this is a bustling place filled with switchers, trucks, and railcars of all types. Once owned by the mighty Northern Pacific and used extensively by the Milwaukee Road, the yard is home to some of BNSF's big new orange loading cranes - seen easily from 1st Avenue S. One of the most interesting things I've seen there, parked right along Colorado Avenue, was a trio of locomotives from the Alaska Railroad awaiting their boat ride back to the North. They were close enough to touch (of course that wouldn't be a good idea). A drive down Colorado can look different every day; sometimes the yard is entirely clear while other days it's so full a person can't see anything from the road. On the north end of the yard (Atlantic Street), switch engines use a track that runs directly underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct to move their cars around. Parking nearby allows you to get out and get close to the action. Guaranteed dry railfanning in the winter time, thanks to the viaduct!

So if you're looking for a different railfan experience that doesn't include trees (unless those trees are bare and strung with wires), SODO can offer some uncharacteristic sites and sounds. Getting the true feeling for what goes on there takes several trips, or one really long one. But once you visit, it's sure to be a secret you'll share with all of your friends!