Mile-Long Union Pacific Dead Line

It started with about 15 engines a few months ago. Tired-looking veterans in a variety of conditions. Some were faded, some were burned, and others were tagged with spray paint. They represented models owned by the UP that we rarely see here in the Seattle area. Older boxey GEs, "Triclops" SD60Ms, Snoots (SD40s with long low noses), etc. The line, now two tracks wide, is literally a mile long. Why they are there, I can only guess. My thought, considering the overall condition of each one, is that this is a dead line. Given the economy and reduced rail traffic lately, it would make sense to trim the herd of engines that have become costly to repair.

Here are three examples of what is sitting there, and media from their earlier lives:

2279, 9115, and 2371 sitting together, Sept 27 2009

UP 9115 - GE C40-8 (Dash 8-40C) Built: 12/1987

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1029152

UP 2371 - EMD SD60M "Triclops" Built: 8/1989

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=987148

UP 2279 - EMD SD60M "Triclops" Built: 4/1989

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=155040

Video - BNSF & UP Meet in Vancouver WA

BNSF #4582 Meets UP #7772 in Vancouver, WA
by Tran77

Sit back for the next four minutes or so and check out the embedded video above. If you don't see it, click HERE to view directly in DailyMotion!

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


View Centralia on Map

Photo - UP Georgetown Lo-Fidelity

Ever heard of a Holga? I hadn't until about two years ago, when the world of Lomography was introduced to me merely by chance when searching for something on Amazon.com. Since I don't want to duplicate posts, read my personal blog if you want to know more about Holgas:

http://www.clarkblog.net/2009/06/foo-photo-my-first-holga-roll.html

Anyway, the above photo was one from the first roll of film I shot with a Holga. After he viewed the resulting slide show, one of the comments I got from a high school friend was:

"I liked the slide show, all very cool pics, the train pics almost look depression era, except the locomotive is a bit too new."

If the Holga does anything well, it's paying homage to The Depression! It's a great camera to release yourself from the world of editing your shots and placing you smack dab in the world of just taking pictures. What freedom!

Video - Train Report for School Project

My son was able to do a video report about trains for his class, and this is the result. He picked the media, took a lot of the photos and footage, and even chose the song used for the soundtrack. I edited, but tried to keep his voice primary in the video. You won't find much data accuracy here; David explains switcher movements in the rail yard as "fooling around." It's cool that he has a desire to explain what he sees in terms he understands. What you will discover by watching this is that an elementary schooler knows more about things like Balmer Yard and Amtrak Cascades than a lot of other kids his age!

Bottom line: starting kids early on trains can give them a reason to explore other things like video editing or photography, two areas that my son has already expressed interest in. If you don't see the embedded video below, click HERE to watch it directly on YouTube!

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

Building America

Orderly and Chaotic, all on one hopper that passed me at speed on 4/21/09. Graffiti on train cars can cause arguments for many (I'm personally against someone defacing property that doesn't belong to them). But it also can pull a person into the tag through use of color and confidence. This one, cropped with the Orderly on top and the Chaotic below, signifies more than just a tagged car. It shows - despite the mix of color and form - order continues to rise above the illegal.

Taken with a Canon AE-1 with ISO 200 Film and a 135mm lens.

Mainline Steam Meets Online Masses

Making steam-powered locomotives relevant in the 21st Century is a daunting task. It means taking technology from the 1800s and teaching current generations about the legends and history of US Railroading. After steam was removed like the plague from railroads in the 1950s, the task of telling that American story was handed to the men and women who worked on them coast to coast. Then a second generation took over, people who were too young to work on mainline steam in revenue service but grew up listening to the hiss and spit of these big beasts from trackside. With each passing generation, their story was farther removed from what it meant to live and breath steam engine service. In the early 1990s we lost the Norfolk & Western 611 - one of the most beautiful steam engines I've ever seen - from excursion service. Many of the massive machines that remain are beyond functional repair and are only suitable for display.

Only a fraction of these legendary monsters of history still operate in the US, bound by obvious safety laws that have made them antiquated in appearance only, but very modern under the skin. Thanks to dedicated railfans, engines like SP 4449, SP&S 700, UP 844 & 3985 and others have been preserved for future generations to see and experience with a full head of steam. But with fewer steam engines on the tracks, it means the story of steam is tougher to tell. But despite their reduced numbers, steam locomotives are still amazing and mesmerizing new generations of kids all over the country.

Now an extra arrow has been added to the quiver of steam awareness; Union Pacific has entered the world of Social Networking by starting a Twitter account for the UP Steam Program. If you're not familiar with the service, think of it as an extremely small version of what you're viewing right here - a mini-blog with 140-character posts. Much of the media surrounding Twitter lately has been filled with excitement, because as a communication tool it is simple and effective. It forces a person to make smart word choices, because there are only 140 characters to work with. If you're not long winded, and you just want people to know where you're at, then Twitter is for you.

That's why UP's Twitter account for steam makes so much sense. Railfans can follow the progress online as UP 844 and 3985 move around the nation on their seasonal tours. No frills, just basic info saying where they are and what's happening with the units. Also, from the messages posted, I discovered that UP has 50 different Earth Day projects going on in 40 locations. Clearly this is a tool that will provide a 21st century view (including pix) into steam railroading, in a form not previously used. The online masses can now see and understand the machinery that made this country. Check out the feed right here:

http://twitter.com/UP_Steam

And while you're at it, you can follow Washington Railblog too!

http://twitter.com/warail

Video - Seattle Double Stack Train with Helper

Here's a little video of a Union Pacific double stack train that I shot along Airport Way South at Norfolk Street last January. It was the first time I ever saw something run through Seattle with a helper engine on the back end. While the train took a full four minutes to pass my location, I trimmed 2 minutes out of the middle of the footage because the whole thing looked the same; I may like trains but four minutes of sitting in a computer chair watching a unit train pass on the screen just isn't my thing. On a nice day this location will yield a stunning view of Mt. Rainier looking to the south. This day was more typical of Seattle winter - grey and 40 with some snow still on the ground.

Heading up the train is UP 7727 - a GE ES44AC. UP currently has over 700 of these. This particular engine really gets around; I found pictures on the Internet from what appears taken surfside in California and then also another in Illinois. I guess it's no surprise these things accrue a million miles with little effort.

Railroads and The Law Team Up for Safety at Crossings

The word "Sting" is usually associated with some seedy underworld dealings, typically a skin house or "massage" parlor. This time the word is used to describe cross-bureau operating teaming UP, BNSF, and local police to get the word out about safety at Railroad Crossings.

This is not a new subject for us her at WARail. Sadly, nine people died at crossings last year in Washington. I would love to see this go to Zero if possible, and this effort is well justified.

Archive Photo - UP in Pullman

Another example of motorcycles and trains...

The other day I found some negatives in the garage, black & white but with no prints to be found anywhere. They document the two motorcycles we owned at the time; I only remember vaguely taking these photos, and I would have never figured they would have any significance someday.

This particular one is significant for what is no longer there. Primarily the shot depicts my wife's 250 Rebel in 1990 along SE Riverview St, but also shows former Missouri Pacific railcars owned by the Union Pacific - presumably there after dropping coal at the university power plant. Behind it, the East Main Street bridge - then locally known as "The Viaduct." The UP no longer runs through Pullman, nor does the BNSF; both pulled out in the early 1990s and the area has been Short Line territory ever since - now under the ownership of the State and serviced by the Washington and Idaho Railroad.

For more archive shots of Pullman and other areas, visit Robert McDonald at Oil-Electric. For pictures in and around Pullman from the present day (and Washington at large), visit Mike Bjork's collection at Railpictures.net!

View Larger Map

UP: Railroading Turns 160 Years Old in Chicago

Okay, so this post has only indirect relation to Washington and WARail, but a Railroad turning 160 Years Old in Chicago is quite a feat, and a huge piece of American history!

UP gains operating lease to Tacoma port's intermodal yard

Union Pacific recently won a contract to provide service at the Port of Tacoma, starting later this year from a 10 acre site that could expand to 25 acres in the future.

This will allow Uncle Pete to shift some of its Argo Yard activity down to Tacoma, which will free up space to do more International business in Seattle.

UP Aerotrain Visits Seattle - 1956

Courtesy of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection
Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
All Rights Reserved

In 1956 the Aerotrain visited Seattle's Union Station, where this photo was taken. Lightweight and powered by a switcher engine, the Aerotrain was designed by GM and used modified bus bodies for the car consist. It's still one of my favorite trains, because of its outlandish style and relationship to the classic cars that I already enjoy. Union Station can be seen in this photo behind the train; consists were backed into the line, unlike the run-through style used at King Street Station just a block away. Another view of the station can be seen HERE.

This photo would be impossible today, as all the ground and tracks have been filled in and tall buildings now occupy the site. All that remains is the station itself, now headquarters to Sound Transit.

Welcome to Washington Railroading

Welcome to WARail! This blog is written for railfans, by railfans, and discusses the sites and sounds that make up the diverse pattern of rails that spans the State of Washington. Much of the culture and mobility of this state can thank the railroad for establishing ways to get around and move goods. The look of the rail industry is also very different in each corner of the region; the Central deserts, the high plains East, and the rainy urban West. Mountain railroading is also alive and well in Washington, with two busy mainlines crossing the Cascades. The land is also criss-crossed with the ghosts of "Fallen Flag" railroads like The Milwaukee Road, clearly evident in the track beds of a bygone era.

While today there are only two "Class 1" or major railroads in Washington, the state has tracks and routes that belonged to a teaming list of road names - most now lost to history. The railroading history here is vast, and the track miles sometimes seem endless.

WARail is here to tell the stories of Washington Railroading from a railfan's perspective. This includes commuter rail lines, light rail operations, and "Short Line" railroads. We also monitor new stories that impact tracks old and new, and provide commentary on interesting photos and trackside photo opportunities.

So thanks for stopping by; we're glad you came!

Kurt Clark