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.