Waitin' For The Boat, Part II

It would appear that the ARR engines that are in Seattle currently have been sold to make way for four brand new engines! Here's a short bit about it:

Alaska Railroad Picture of the Week

ClarkBlog.net | The Clark Family Blog: End of The Line for Andy's Diner in Seattle

ClarkBlog.net The Clark Family Blog: End of The Line for Andy's Diner in Seattle

Family Trip by Rail: 1939

This photo of a migrant family was taken in Toppenish:

Family Trip: 1939 | Shorpy :: History in HD

Traveling by freight train was their way of getting around to the jobs. When this was taken, my mother-in-law was a year old and living down the road in Wapato.

Waitin' for The Boat?

Alaska Railroad GP49s 2802 and 2809 are currently sitting at the BNSF Stacy Yard in Seattle. It's common to see power from the Last Frontier in the area, since many of their units have been rebuilt here. Why these ones are here, I'm just not sure.

But they sure make a great pair in the sunshine!

Kingdome - Then and Now

Today's Then and Now segment celebrates the mainline running past what used to be called The Concrete Cheeseburger - King County's own Kingdome Stadium. John C. Benson took the above "Then" photo in 1981 in a spot that is now occupied by an exit ramp from I-90. BN 98 (here's another picture from 1977) was an EMD SW1 built prior to 1950 for the Great Northern Railway, based on the shape of the cab. The final days of this unit are unclear, but SW1 switchers were operating on U.S. railroads well into the 1990s

The "Now" photo was taken as close to the original spot as I could get without leaving my truck (and two sons) in a dangerous spot at the off-ramp:

Qwest Field is built in the footprint of the Kingdome after it was imploded in 2000, a mere 24 years after it hosted the first Seahawks game (they lost). This is a very busy part of the BNSF mainline through Seattle; commuter trains, Amtrak, and freight all run the same tracks, with 50+ "movements" per day being common!

Amtrak to Add New Leavenworth Station

Great news for folks who like Leavenworth! Amtrak will be adding service to the town with the Empire Builder. This is historic, since Leavenworth was bypassed with the Chumstick Cutoff in the 1920s. No tracks run through the town anymore, but the BNSF Stevens Pass line runs close enough for bus service.


For people like me who love Leavenworth, this comes as great news because it means my family can take the train there rather than drive. And someday we will!




View Larger Map

Derailment Video in Vader

So how DO you clean up after hitting a parked train? This You Tube goodie will show you how!

Freight rail likely to expand in South Sound

After the early December floods in the Western Washington devastated the transportation system, rail got a closer look in the following article:

Freight rail likely to expand - South Sound - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington

Clark County Railroad Success Story

The Railroad that could? You bet! A scrappy little stretch of track, owned by Clark County WA and operated by the Temple Family, is slowly becoming a viable short line after years of deterioration. Costs to fully restore the line to speeds above 10 miles per hour will take roughly $20 million, but for now the business along the tracks is growing.

Keep your eyes on the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad in the future!