News - One Post Leads To Another

Idaho & Montana getting new passenger stations and service?

Occasionally when I'm researching railroad news that impacts the Northwest, I'll get more than I asked for. And now, the news...

Bonner County Daily Bee reported that the Amtrak Station in Sandpoint ID might be replaced by another depot in a different location. While reading the article online, my eyes happened to catch a small phrase that led to a bigger discovery:

“We’re going to study and produce a report that looks at the possibilities, and the costs and opportunities of restoring the North Coast Hiawatha service,” he said."

What?? That opened me up to yet another news story, which was made possible by stimulus money pointed straight at Amtrak. The carrier - in the face of ever-increasing rail passengers - is looking into reinstating the North Coast Hiawatha to run from Chicago, along the southern part of Montana, and on its way to Seattle. The route over Northern Pacific trackage was discontinued 30 years ago, which took many of Montana's major cities off the passenger service map. What's surprising - and a bit pathetic - is the NCH was discontinued because it fell below 150 passengers per mile - coming in at 149.

USA Today has this article about the potential route addition.

Will the North Coast Hiawatha once again run into King Street Station? Maybe not, because Seattle is well served by both the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight (along with the Cascades and regional Sound Transit routes). But the possibility of a newer NCH terminating in Spokane or Sandpoint is very real, allowing those passengers to simply connect with the Empire if they are coming out to "The Coast."



View North Coast Hiawatha Proposed Route in a Google map

BNSF 1551 - SD9 at Balmer Yard

I'm pretty sure that isn't the cab this veteran was built with back in the mid-1950s, but any day you can see a locomotive of this age running around Balmer Yard is a treat.

Here's a link to a blog post I did about how many numbers this engine has been given over the last nearly 40 years:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/wetrails/archives/170077.asp

There's also a video highlighting that awesome non-turbo sound of an old diesel. Enjoy!

News - New Pasco Branch in Design Soon

A new industrial park means a new BNSF branch line in Pasco. Design contract has been approved, and now the work to connect the railroad with this new commerce resource is underway.

It's nice for once to see "Add" instead of "Abandon" in terms of tracks!



View Larger Map

Video - First Full Run of LINK Light Rail

KOMO TV Video of first full-line run of the light rail, from Westlake Center to Tukwila. Great stuff!

Photo - UP Georgetown Dustbowl

At Lucile Street, just west of Airport Way, you'll find a little piece of switching track that runs between businesses and a park, then ends abruptly at a brick building. This is the world just outside the Union Pacific's Argo Yard. Regularly you can find UP switchers moving back and forth assembling trains at this spot. The engines used are a blend of old and sort-of-old GP38s and GP15s. The number boards might change but the activity never does, day or night.

I shot this with film; 200-speed film to be exact, using a nearly 30-year old Canon AE-1 and a 135mm lens. With the dust and the cowboy hat, one might think the photo was from Texas instead of Seattle. I'm here to tell you it's the latter. Click the photo to see a larger view.

Argo Yard sits just west of the BNSF Mainline the runs under Airport Way. UP 669 was once owned by the Missouri Pacific before that road was bought out by Uncle Pete in the 1980s.

View Map of 8th and Lucile