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

BNSF 1030 Night Shot

BNSF 1030 Night Shot, originally uploaded by KDavidClark.

It's not very often that these three items cross paths: The Moon, BNSF 1030, and a passing Union Pacific unit train of hoppers. I took this photo with my $35 Olympus 4MP digital. Despite the age, and so-called 'smaller' megapixel size, it has the handy feature of Night Shot - allowing for the equivalent of a 4-second open shutter.

The conditions outside that night were almost completely dark (short of the moon and stair lighting on the locomotive) and the camera had very little to even grab for auto-focus. The resulting shot had a lot of digital noise that thankfully went away when I converted it to a filtered grey scale and used the Despeckle feature in Photoshop Elements 6.

The cropping is wide and skinny on purpose; it seemed to be the type of border that called out to me based on what was in the shot!

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

Seattle Archive Trolley Photo, 1929

Harbor Ave SW, 1929, originally uploaded by Seattle Municipal Archives.

History - especially Seattle history - really hooks me. What's amazing is that the region has been populated long enough now to have a diverse sense of what has gone on here for centuries. It's common to locate photos now that are well over 100 years old, with scenes that can be duplicated to some degree. Today's photo, sadly, would be a tough one for Now & Then.

This photo was taken looking toward West Seattle in 1929; the house near the middle of the photo is at 3039 SW Manning Street, which still stands. The tracks - for the most part - still exist on the right. To duplicate this photo today would be nearly impossible, as the area is covered in bridges and viaducts.

Thanks to Seattle Municipal Archives on Flickr for this great shot!

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Seconda Amtrak Cascades in Vancouver BC

Amtrak #513 Cascades Departing Vancouver, BC, originally uploaded by R R Horne.

While corresponding with my buddy Oil-Electric, he wrote that another railfan north of the border in BC caught an image showing one of the first runs of the second Amtrak Cascades train visiting Vancouver. That image, by RR Horne, captures the Cascades in early morning light on its way south.

Now our northern neighbors get two Cascades a day!