Washington Railblog

Jalopnik Repost: Ten Worst Train Stations

2009-07-03T03:51:00.000-07:00

Jalopnik typically writes about auto-related issues, because they're gear heads and like big diesels. But in an odd twist recently they wrote about the Ten Worst Train Stations in The World. It's a real crop.

Their post goes hand-in-hand with another blog post from The Infrastructurist on Eleven train stations that got the wrecking ball (six more listed HERE).

Great reading!

Video - Sound Transit Light Rail Testing

2009-07-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

Oran Viriyincy posted this video of Light Rail testing in the Rainier Valley. It's 9 minutes of crossings, honks, bells, and traffic. Great stuff when you like trains, that's for sure!

If you can't see the embedded video below, click HERE to see it directly on YouTube.

Waiting...

2009-06-25T09:07:00.001-07:00

"The past is behind me. My destiny is on the other side of that tank car. For now, I stand and wait."

Photo: DSC09011, originally uploaded by emilie_roulet

Track Fatality in Seattle

2009-06-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

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.

View Larger Map

Random 1892 Wreck Photo in Ontario

2009-06-20T07:26:00.001-07:00

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

UP Railroad Crossing Sting

2009-06-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

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

BNSF 6185 - Then and Now

2009-06-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

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.

BNSF Exploring Electrification

2009-06-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.railwayage.com/content/view/931/121/

Great Railway Age article about BNSF exploring the idea of electrifying some of its mainlines, by getting power from utility companies who want to use the railroad right-of-way for building out their services. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Let's get ~~EMD~~ GE to build an homage to the Little Joe and unleash them in Eastern WA!

Photo - UP Georgetown Lo-Fidelity

2009-06-10T00:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

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!

News - One Post Leads To Another

2009-06-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

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

Photo - UP Georgetown Dustbowl

2009-05-31T01:55:00.000-07:00

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

Alaskan Way and Broad Street - Then and Now

2009-05-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

Today's Then and Now segment isn't as extreme in terms of years as others that have been posted here. It's only a matter of half a decade. Check out the video embedded below (click HERE if you can't see it). It shows a BNSF freight heading south under the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Video courtesy of Citywalker on Flickr

Now compare it to the photos below, taken in 2005 and 2006 before the park was completed. First one - like the video - shows a BNSF freight heading south through Broad Street crossing.

Second picture shows riders getting off Metro's Waterfront Trolley. Where the bridge stands now was once the car barn for these machines. Promises back in 2005 to reinstate the line once a new car barn was built near Pioneer Square have fallen through; thankfully the trolleys are in "deep storage."

The trolley service is the element I miss the most from this spot.

View Area Map

Fatality on BNSF Tracks In Ephrata

2009-05-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Pedestrian fatality on the BNSF Mainline through Ephrata, away from a designated crossing. A very tragic story, sadly repeated many times throughout the year.

View Larger Map

Sunday Morning Rail Shot

2009-05-24T06:02:00.001-07:00

09-03
Originally uploaded by Atomic Taco

Just a quiet moody Black & White shot taken by Atomic Taco and posted on Flickr.

Wet Rails - New Overpass Near the Stadiums

2009-05-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Posted a great track photo taken by WSDOT from stadium parking down onto Royal Brougham. Check it out here:

New Overpass Near the Stadiums

New Blog on The P-I - Wet Rails

2009-05-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

A new opportunity has arisen, and I have started a new blog that is hosted by the Seattle Post-Intellingencer - Wet Rails. Just posted the first article this morning. My goal for Wet Rails is not lofty; I wanted to bring real-world language and understanding to readers unfamiliar with Rail Fanning, and discuss rail topics that impact the Northwest. I'll be moving news-related posts about railroading to Wet Rails, and linking to them from WARail and Twitter. There will also be some cross pollenation between WARail and Wet Rails while the new blog 'finds its voice."

I hope you all have a chance to visit the new blog!

Ferromex Sighting in Vancouver

2009-05-13T14:06:00.001-07:00

Ferromex in the PNW I
Originally uploaded by steveeshom

Here we see the colorful southern iron of Ferromex from Mexico! After living in a sea of Great Pumpkins in Seattle, it's nice to see some variety in the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks Steve for the unique sighting in Vancouver WA!

Video - Air Freight and Commuter Trains

2009-05-13T06:01:00.000-07:00

Here's some mixed video I shot at Horton St in Seattle. A UPS Plane flying overhead during some of the footage - backed by beautiful blue sky - was a nice surprise!

Electric On The Skagit River Hydro Project

2009-05-08T10:15:00.001-07:00

Train at Skagit Project, 1947
Originally uploaded by Seattle Municipal Archives

Nice archive shot from 1947 of what appears to be electric trolley being used on the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. The photo was posted by Seattle City Light on Flickr; one of the best parts of the Internet lately has been Creative Commons, which allows shots like this to be viewed by a new generation of rail fans. Some more experienced readers here may know where to find info about this car, but my search came up empty!

I love these old photos; black & white has so much emotion, oddly enough, even in the absence of color. For a current color picture of a more famous unit, check out "Old Number 6" in Newhalem:

http://www.railpixonline.com/SCL_6.htm

To find out more about the project visit here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Dam

Photo courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives

News - Coast Engine and Equipment Closing

2009-05-07T08:33:00.001-07:00

After 60+ years of railroad and boat engine repairs, Tacoma's CEECO is closing shop due to the recession. I hate reading news about veteran companies going under, especially ones involving railroad operations and maintenance.

They did great work on White Pass & Yukon 114 when it was nearly destroyed in an accident in 2006. It's a shame that they couldn't hold out any longer. While I don't know the depth of the issue, it seems that their services will be needed at some time in the future.

KING5 News, in conjunction with Northwest Cable News, posted a news clip here:
http://www.nwcn.com/business/stories/NW_050509WAB-railroad-repair-company-SW.21fb82ee.html

Photo - North Bonneville Speed Shot

2009-05-06T05:38:00.001-07:00

BNSF Reflection.
Originally uploaded by Darrell Wyatt (out looking for work)

Found this photo by Darrell Wyatt this morning on Flickr. It was taken east of Vancouver at North Bonneville, and shows a vivid reflection of BNSF 9316, an SD70 "Big Ace" on its way east. Check out a detail pic of this unit here: http://ow.ly/5ony

Nice way to start the day, with the greens of the trees, the greys of the skies, and the oranges of commerce. Go Washington!