Oregon Gov won't bend to railroad demands

Just when we thought the Central Oregon and Pacific would be up and operating the fractured branch line by the end of 2008...

The World Link: Gov won't bend to railroad demands

Battling Rail Congestion in Kalama

The Daily News Online - Easing rail congestion still on track?

The Port of Kalama is still part of a rail upgrade plan, although the start date is still five years out. Money is scarce for these types of improvement, so fighting for the funds can get messy.

The above article outlines the plan and some of the struggle.

Stranger in My Backyard

Spotted today along Airport Way South is a stranger from the East - Norfolk Southern 8985 - a GE C40-9W. Borrowed power? Run through? It's hard to say. My son calls these "Horse Trains" because of the logo on the nose.

Check out the dramatic cloud formations above the engines.

"Little-Used" Branchline Works All Week

Clearly at the crossroads in terms of future usage, the Woodinville Subdivision of the BNSF has been labeled by the media as "as little-used branch line." Whether this term was fed to the papers with a goal in mind is uncertain. However what is certain would include trains - at least one per day - and regular shots like the one above just north of the Wilburton Trestle.

The reasons behind that traffic include one big customer and a truckload of circumstance. BNSF delivers 737 fuselages to Boeing over this line from the north, because it was not able to navigate a tight corner through Renton from the south. That corner is being realigned in preparation for the railroad's upcoming sale of the Woodinville Subdivision to the Port of Seattle, which times perfectly with construction on Interstate 405 that will literally cut the line in two just south of Bellevue.

But for the time being these fuselage trains run past my current employer almost every day on their way south through Kirkland. What does the future hold for this line? It depends on who you talk to; options for commuter service, rail trails, continued freight service, and residential development surround this line like sharks. Everyone close to it seems to want a piece of this right-of-way for their purpose. I watch the news regularly for stories from "the front" about the line, and some surprise development seems to pop up quarterly.

But while the leaders talk, the trains still run. It's indeed a wonderful site.

Central Oregon & Pacific to Get Repairs

After closing a Central Oregon & Pacific branch line suddenly last year - to the dismay and shock of the region that used it - RailAmerica has agreed to repair potentially dangerous tunnels along the line running from Eugene to Coquille. This came after a financial standoff between RailAmerica, the State of Oregon, and cities along the line that use it to keep trucks off the roads. RailAmerica has spent a lot of money keeping the line open, and some financial agreements between them and the State seem to have broken down. This may have played a part in the sudden and politically-charged line closure that put shippers - in particular the Port of Coos Bay - back in trucks.

There is the possibility that the line could become publicly owned, since the State seems to see more benefits in having it than RailAmerica does.