Woodinville Sub Sale to Close Soon

Mark December 15th on your calendars, because after that time the BNSF Woodinville Subdivision will be under new ownership! Price: $107 million.

Since we are in tough financial times, a group of buyers joined forces to save this right-of-way from abandonment. And here's the best part: the new owners will include Port of Seattle, King County, Sound Transit, and the City of Redmond. The northern part is still being used for freight, and will be operated by the Port. An email from their spokesperson a few months ago indicated that they were still looking for a short-line carrier to manage the line; sadly, the Temple family - owners of Washington Central and the Dinner Train - chose not to bid at that time. Redmond is interested in the stretch between Woodinville and Redmond for trail and rail access. I've long considered this portion to be a sleeper of sorts, because it runs from the busiest part of Woodinville to the busiest part of Redmond. Also imagine this: an interurban ride between the two cities through the valley and surrounded by some of the finest views in East King County. Sweet!

King County is still interested in building into their extensive trail system, and considers this corridor a vital link to many of those trails already in use. With 100 feet of right-of-way in many spots along the Woodinville Sub, operating both rails and trails can be a reality. Will Sound Transit's Link Light Rail run on part of this route? Only time and planning will tell.

Ever since late 2005, when BNSF announced that the line was for sale, I've been watching this activity as closely as possible. I even started a simple one-page website called Save The Railroad to get the word out that a priceless opportunity was ahead. That one page put me in touch with several of our elected leaders and a fair share of community organizations who were all interested in seeing the line used for the good of all. It was a great lesson in activism. Redmond's current vision for their part of of purchase mirrors almost exactly the idea I had for it back in early 2006. Amazing!

Frankly I'm thrilled to see this sale happen for several reasons. Keeping rail on this route is far too important for addressing future transportation needs. Creating more trail opportunities also makes me happy, because they not only create safer routes for peds and bicycles, but also a place for rail fans to potentially see trains up close from the safety of a dedicated walkway.

Kudos to all the groups involved!
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Article Link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010221495_raildeal07m.html
More Subject Reading: http://www.warail.com/search?q=woodinville+subdivision

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!

Rail Trail Spotlight - Snoqualmie Valley Trail

View Rail Trail Map

Sometimes the best way to understand history is to see what's left of it. That's what makes rail trails such a great resource to us, because we can see our state from the perspective of the railroader who contributed so much to making Washington a viable place. The routes left after railroads have abandoned them are usually easy to ride and a great way to view nature.

This quiet abandoned line was home to the once mighty Milwaukee Road. It's now part of a comprehensive trail system within King County that spans roughly 31 miles - past fast-flowing rivers, across highways, spanning massive trestles, and climbs effortlessly to Snoqualmie Falls then southeast towards Snoqualmie Pass. By horse or bike, the trail reintroduces even the hardest of urban visitors to what the whole of the Northwest once was - green, overcast, and undisturbed.

It's quiet and not well known. I started bicycling on this line back in the early 1990s, before King County began making improvements. Back then a person could ride from the intersection of State Route 203 & NE124th to SE 356th St between Fall City and Snoqualmie; at that point there was a bridge missing over a deep chasm in the hillside. Now the trail follows most of the old line, with the exception of a stretch of a couple miles that was reclaimed by landowners (riders are pointed towards SR 203 to get back to the trail). A person can still find rail spikes here and there along the route. While I've ridden most of it I've never ridden the entire length, which is a testament to its length of 31 miles.

Stories exist about the route,which ran from Monroe to the MILW connection at Cedar Falls, but to date I've been able to locate only a few photos of anything on the line - and nothing more recent than the early 1900s. I understand from one person who grew up in the area that the Milwaukee started running heavy U-Boats on the line in the 1970s in an attempt to reduce the amount of northbound runs over trackage-rights lines, which completely obliterated the light-grade rails and ballast. Derailments were pushed over the side and into the oxbow lakes that lined the route near Stillwater. While I don't know exactly when it was abandoned, I can't imagine it was in any usable shape by 1980 when MILW pulled out of Washington entirely.

Here's a few photos in a slideshow that I snapped recently along the route!

Sound Transit Prop 1 - Who Gets What?

Sound Transit's Proposition 1 beat it up at the poles. I was actually shocked that this package made it through, given the state of the economy right now. So how does it settle out, come January when the sales tax money starts coming?

Well, this Seattle Times Internet equivalent of a flannel graph will show you what the region pays and what we receive for the money. In short:

1. More Sounder Trains to Pierce County in 2011
2. Possible Passenger service on the old Woodinville Sub in East King County in 2012 (if other donors match Sound Transit's $50 million)
   
3. More Southend expansion in 2015
4. More Seattle Streetcars in 2016
5. Light Rail to Husky Stadium in 2016
   
6. Light Rail to Northgate by 2020
7. Light Rail to Redmond/Overlake by 2021
8. Light Rail to Lynnwood by 2023

Yes, the timeline is a long one. I look at it and realize that legal battles like likely add a few years to some of it. Proponents are calling this a gift to the future generations, something that a lot of us may not benefit from at least in the short term. I cringe at the idea that this may all be final when I'm in my 60s, but granted it needs to be done. We can't move the region without rail any longer. And it's going to cost money.

Time to shake your fist at the sky and yell Rhubarb at the forces who abandoned the Interurban back in the day!