Track Fatality in Seattle

A man was killed on Saturday night on the tracks at Carkeek Park, according to this KIRO write-up. The locomotive horn scattered a number of people who were on the tracks, and the one killed was the one who didn't move. The group was not at a sanctioned crossing.

This sad tale is repeated every year along that line, at Golden Gardens and Carkeek. My heart goes out to the family and friends of this man.



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Random 1892 Wreck Photo in Ontario

Collision between two engines, Bay of Quinte Railway, ON, 1892, originally uploaded by Musée McCord Museum.

UP Railroad Crossing Sting

Awesome...UP and law enforcement got together and cited about 40 people with $140 infractions for crossing against the flashing lights in Centralia. The two comments posted in the article? "It's crooked," and "they're defrauding people."

I'll tell you what's crooked: the spine of a person who gets T-boned by a Big ACE at a crossing when they don't heed the warnings. UP just got done with the same sting in North Idaho; the reaction there was more amiable, understanding the risk and accepting the tickets.

I wonder what's different between the two areas! Here's a link to the KIRO Article about the Centralia sting:

Police Use Train In Railroad Crossing Sting - Seattle News Story - KIRO Seattle


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BNSF 6185 - Then and Now

Recently I did a piece on SD9 BNSF 1551, which is still trucking around Balmer Yard like an old soldier. Putting that post together made me think of a Interbay deadline occupant that my son and I photographed back in 2003 and 2004, also an SD9 numbered 6185. In order to get the shot, I had to climb ont the bed rail of my truck and stabilize myself against the cab - all in the effort to get the camera line above the fence between the road and the deadline (click HERE to see the location on a Google Map). Like 1551 this SD9 made it to the 21st century, only to be retired early into the decade. I had posted the pic above in an earlier post, but decided to expand a bit on this engine.

6185 started life as CB&Q 438 in 1957. Photos of 438 don't seem to exist so, thanks to Joe Hughes and #430, this is what 438 would have looked like in 1965:

Photo courtesy of Joe Hughes

By 1969 the unit may have received this paint scheme, portrayed here by CBQ 439:

Photo courtesy of Joe Hughes

BN Merger brought a new number, and it became 6185. By 1982 it was working Interbay, pictured HERE. By 2004 it was tied up in the yard and apparently done working. In April 2009, a picture was taken of the "new" BNSF 6185 in Ohio.

There aren't any details on what happened to the old SD9, but I'm certain it hasn't survived.