BNSF 2759 Crossing The Duwamish

The elements of this shot developed within minutes.

While out train watching with David on Thursday night, he insisted that we go to Harbor Island. H.I. is still a bit of a mystery to me, and I'm always afraid that I will end up driving down some road with a security booth and no way out. But in the late evening light of March - thank you New Daylight Savings Schedule - I was able to see the roads of the Island a bit better than in the past. Our driving led us to SW Klickitat Way, near the bridge you see in the picture. Klickitat runs along the Duwamish River, an estuary in peril from over 100 years of industry along its banks. Efforts to clean up the river are serious and ongoing.

When we got there the bridge was up. Within seconds it started to go down. Then David saw a rumbling road switcher heading down the other side of the river, pulling a few empty hoppers. We grabbed the camera and hopped out of the truck to stand in a convenient clear spot near the tracks. Not long after, a brakeman walked across the bridge towards the switches on the other side. "Just going to get some ice cream," he smiled. We reminded him to bring two back for us.

Eventually BNSF 2759 lumbered its way over the span and I shot photos as fast as I could wind the AE-1! SODO and Harbor Island are both great places to catch urban railroading at its gritty best. Thanks to David's keen eye and persistence, we were able to get another great shot for our archives.

View Location in Google Maps

Eastern Washington Gateway Line in Trouble

View Map of EWGRR

We seem to be getting all sorts of new out of Eastern WA lately. While Old MILW trackage near Othello is on the radar for recovery, another shortline is at risk.

The State of Washington and a shortline operator may part ways on the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad, which is owned by the State and operated by US Rail Partners Ltd. A number of issues are in play with the shortline that runs from Cheney to Coulee City. Required rail tie maintenance has not been done. Also, a rough wheat harvest would typically be a majority of the traffic on the line, but this year the harvest was bad. It's hard to point blame at one thing here, but the end result is one less railroad and a ton more trucks on the road.

Talks are ongoing

Eastside Rail Corrider Purchase Delayed

Short Version: Economy forces Port of Seattle to hold off buying the $107 million corridor from BNSF:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/164833.asp

Long Version: Port of Seattle thought twice about issuing bonds to purchase the Woodinville Subdivision, mainly because of current state of the economy. In addition, the Federal Transportation Board hasn't completed its analysis of the deal. I don't think there is any indication it wouldn't go through, but given some of the notoriety the Port had last year I'd say the head honcho is being nice and conservative.

What's interesting about the above-linked article is that the P-I focuses on the bike trail angle of the transaction, rather than the potential transportation perspective that the line could become for the region. The media sees this as a bicycle resource, not a transportation resource for more than two wheels.

Not too balanced if you ask me.