I returned home from vacation to find Kodak decided to stop production of Kodachrome slide film. This is no surprise as clearly the demand for most film products has dropped significantly with the digital age and the fact producing Kodachrome is complex.

Being I’m over 40 years old I grew up in the era when the little yellow boxes were everywhere and Paul Simon’s hit “Kodachrome” played on the radio. In the 70s camera’s, even SLRs, were fairly simple and getting the best quality film was your first step to success after good glass. The film of choice? Kodachrome of course.

What’s the attraction for railfans? Kodachrome had vibrant colors and the slides lasted darn near forever. Both of these features helped to solidify it as the film of choice in the hobby. Being one who always wanted something better I jumped to Kodachrome and used it exclusively once I saw what print film did in my SLR.

I moved over to Kodachrome 64 slide film in 1988. My first K64 photo was Amtrak 7 entering the east portal of the Cascade tunnel on June 7, 1988. Over the next 4+ years I shot K64 and K200 in the Northwest and in Michigan finally finishing my Kodachrome run on July 24, 1992 with a Central Michigan B23-7 stopped at signal 2D at Durand.

Why did I stop shooting Kodachrome and film in general? Over the next 3 years my life changed dramatically with a move from Michigan back to the Northwest and the birth of my first child. Moreover I became increasingly frustrated with the whole film process (shoot today, mail tomorrow, results back to you in two weeks) and the limited capability to improve the image in any way without dark room equipment. I desperately wanted something more flexible than what Kodachrome and film in general offered.

Despite my feelings about its post production limits Kodachrome was magical. Yes, the colors were vibrant and accurate and capturing a good sky (quite important to railfans) was easy. I’m proud to say I used it and I still occasionally sing Mr. Simon’s song when I look out and see a deep blue sky with puffy white clouds. So with fond memories of railfan adventures with Kodachrome in the camera I say so long Kodachrome….and everything looks worse in black and white.

Addendum: While researching the Kodachrome song for this post I found several interesting interpretations of the lyrics. The funniest is that the song is actually about LSD. Apparently replacing the word Kodachrome with LSD throughout works just fine. I wouldn’t know.

The popular belief is the song was originally written to fly in the face of those that didn’t believe artists should include commercial references in their songs. Clearly with its repeated mentions of Kodachrome and Nikon this song archives that. Apparently there were several songs at the time that had commercial references in them and were banned from the radio for a time.

Another interpretation is that Paul was just reminiscing about about the good old days of the 50’s and 60’s when color photography really came into its own. Anyway you look at it, the song is great and really memorializes a great product from Kodak.

As Lon mentioned in a reply to my post last week the BNSF 9316 was pulled off the empty Rawhide coal train at Vancouver due to flat spots. This left me with a hole in my coal train monitoring for the week.

Running an hour and a half behind the C-RHMCEC coal train last week was a C-SCMCEC (Spring Creek Mine) load. The Spring Creek train was lead by an ES44AC BNSF 5892. When I arrived at the depot Sunday morning I heard the BNSF 5892 announce its arrival at Felida so this gives me another week where I can post stats on the Centralia coal train cycle.

Last week the SCMCEC passed 39th St. at 6:30pm on its loaded trek (above) to Centralia. This week Lon tells me that it passed at approximately 5:30pm giving this train an average speed of 13.1 MPH for the week.

So what would speed up this cycle and is it worth the investment to improve the cycle? Both of parts of that question require quite a bit of research and analysis. I’m sure the class Is do that sort of analysis on critical delivery lanes but how important is it for coal delivered to Centralia? I’m sure if the cost of providing delivery service could be improved the railroads would be interested even for Centralia coal. For now though I’m betting the 13-14 MPH average speed is close enough to the sweet spot.

Thank you Lon for the spotting notes.

Brut·ish

Pronunciation: \ˈbrü-tish\
Function: adjective
1: resembling, befitting, or typical of a brute or beast
2 a: strongly and grossly sensual b: showing little intelligence or sensibility

SD70ACe’s sure are imposing when they are coming straight at you. Instead of the sleek, elegant lines of an F unit, they were given utilitarian features to improve their safety and performance. Their square, boxy nose is designed to maximize crew safety but arguably their worst feature somehow gives these brutes appeal.

Yep, I ran into the BNSF 9316 again this week while out enjoying some afternoon railfanning with friends. This time it passed 39th St. around 5pm on Saturday which gives it an average speed of 14.5 mph. That’s up a bit from last week’s 13 mph figure. I can just hear a bean counter somewhere scream for joy!

Richard from Centralia tells me the coal trains spend about 8 1/2 - 9 hours off the main line. That includes the dumping time (just over 4 hours for this train), down time waiting for his crew to get on the train and coordinate with Trans-Alta, and down time waiting for a BNSF crew to retrieve the train and get it on the main line again. Richard gives the BNSF a 2 hour ‘pre-release’ call but BNSF doesn’t always have a crew there two hours later thanks to the vagaries of railroading and the economy.

Its been fun keeping track of this train, I wonder if I can make it 4 weeks in a row?

UP’s A-SENP heels into the 45mph curve at the Wildlife crossing south of Ridgefield, WA

Birders and Foamers Unite! Ridgefield South is the place!

Last Sunday when I visited Ridgefield South not only did I see three trains but I saw enumerable birders out enjoying the nice weather. I photographed the coal train from the main 2 side and after it passed a gentleman set up his gear on the main 1 side. He however pointed his very long, very camouflaged, Canon lens into the trees at a woodpecker nest. In the mean time other folks showed up and acted very interested in what he and I were shooting. Finally someone walked down and asked what all the excitement was about. I explained a southbound freight was coming while the other gentlemen discussed the nesting habits of the woodpecker he was photographing.

It was a beautiful day for the pursuit of a hobby at Ridgefield South err…ahh…Ridgefield NWR S Unit.

Two Sundays in a row I’ve run across the BNSF 9316 and its coal train. Last week (5/3) I photographed it northbound at 39th St. around 9:30am. This week it passed the same point just a few minutes after 10am.

Think about this for a minute. That train was dumped by Richard and his crew in Centralia last Sunday, taken empty back to Rawhide mine in Wyoming, loaded again, and returned in one week’s time. I calculate the average speed over the one week period at right at 13mph. That’s pretty darn good considering what this train went through….

1. approximately 2200 mile round trip
2. two 1000 mile inspections
3. multiple fuel stops
4. helpers at Helena for Mullan Pass
5. unloading at Centralia
6. loading at Rawhide
7. crew changes in Gillette, Sheridan, Laurel, Helena, Hauser, Pasco, Vancouver, and Centralia

Impressive bit of work I say…

Today is National Train Day in the United States. So, is it a national holiday? No it isn’t but maybe it should be.

National Train Day originated by Amtrak in 2008 as a what I would consider a marketing campaign. With the declaration they opened their depots, encouraged people to ride trains, and generally brought attention to train travel. In the end I’m certain Amtrak’s hope was more people would take the train thus leading to increased ridership which means more good things for them.

Since it is National “Train” Day, what about the rest of rail transportation outside of Amtrak’s intercity passenger travel? Where does rail transportation get public recognition for the sheer volume of raw materials and finished goods it hauls? Or the sheer numbers of commuters riding heavy rail, light rail, and other mass rail transit? Or the utility freight rail supplies through the transport of coal? How are the freight railroad’s needs communicated to the general public so they are not blindsided by requests for transportation dollars?

For me National Train Day could be an opportunity to whisper in the American public’s ear about these very issues. I think an organization like the Association of American Railroads has a golden opportunity to piggy back off what Amtrak started and raise awareness about the value railroading provides to this country (the AAR did issue a press release where two sentences are dedicated to this). My hope is each year National Train Day grows. Absolutely Amtrak should keep up what they are doing with it however I’d like to see it expand to other agencies from the AAR down to regional transit agencies so the value of all forms of rail transportation can be shared.

Happy National Train Day!

We are having beautiful weather in Vancouver today! At 2:30pm the temperature is 72 headed for 75. The sun is out and spring is really springing as trees all over the area are greening up! The next few days should be fabulous too so I’m expecting some foamers to be out.

This morning’s train watching was pretty good with fabulous weather and decent train traffic including a bit of an unusual Sunday move. UP’s Z-LCSE rolled off the Columbia Draw just before 10am. This train usually works Brooklyn on Sunday morning which means it doesn’t pass through Vancouver until much later. It was nice to see the Z train in Vancouver for a change.

It always seems to take a major disaster to get people’s attention. I’m no different. I’ve been putting off creating a household inventory for, oh, 20 years now. After a good friend and his wife had their camera gear stolen from their vehicle I decided I’d better take their advice and put together an inventory of the gear I use when I’m railfanning.

Using the KISS principle I threw together a simple spreadsheet that contains the columns shown above. I then methodically proceeded through the camera bag documenting all the pieces including CF cards, extra batteries, remote cables, and lens hoods. I obviously included serial numbers where applicable. In many cases I filed away the original receipts in the fire safe so I pulled those out and documented the date of the receipt so I could locate it quickly.

After an hour and a half I had a complete inventory of my camera and radio gear that I use while railfanning. Its not a household inventory but is one step towards one. My hope is this data slowly rots in the fire safe and I never have to use it. If I do need it though I’ve got it all in one place.

How’s your inventory?

I’m lucky to have a wife who is a talented decorator. Tammy also respects my interest in trains and about 10 years ago she decided the family room would be decorated in a railroad theme. Soon it became known as the train room. She chose decorations from my collection of railroad artifacts including a station sign to act as a valence, several historic prints from around Vancouver as a focal point over the fire place, and some art from J. Craig Thorpe to represent some of my favorite train themes.

During our recent flooring project the train room was disassembled and stored so we could repaint. While Tammy considered what would go back she saw me playing with a triptych in Lightroom. She casually asked if there were three photos we could create an on the wall triptych with. I said sure and went about created a collection in Lightroom to give her my selects. Looking at the results we brainstormed various themes including tunnels, steam, and scenes from the Northwest.

Tammy settled on a steam theme and as of tonight three of my photos consisting of details from the CW 10 and the SP&S 700 now hang in the ‘gallery’ section in the train room. I guess this qualifies as my first ‘gallery’ exhibition and I’m thrilled! Here is one of the photos she used:

A while ago I posted possibly my last SD40-2 photo. It just happened to be a UP SD40-2 so I thought I’d better give the BNSF a chance so here’s the last BNSF Santa Fe SD40-2 I photographed.

BNSF 6723 leads the M-PASINB west at Towal, WA on October 26, 2008. Is this the last BNSF SD40-2 I’ll photograph?

Last week while in Old Town I spotted a pair of TriMet’s new Siemans Avanto light rail vehicles. They were on a test run, acting as a blue line train. The photo isn’t the greatest (windshield glare, anyone?) but this was the first time I’d seen a pair of these units on a test run in the daytime.

I didn’t see a manifest train today. I saw: 3 grain, one Z, one bare table, one herder, and 2 Amtraks.

To be fair I left as the M-PTFI was departing Lake Yard and the M-PTLPAS was lining out at 39th St. So, the regulars were there, they were just a bit behind.

BNSF 799 awaits it next assignment on the tail track in Vancouver

According to Trains news wire Amtrak has released a new photography policy. The new policy states that only photographers with tickets may photograph from station platforms. According to the article this comes in the wake of the photographer who was harassed in New York’s Penn Station and is to establish a uniform policy system wide.

So what does this mean for Vancouver where so many people photograph? Well strictly speaking its off limits to photographers without tickets. Does this make sense for a platform like Vancouver? I don’t believe so because there is really no way for Amtrak to enforce the policy. Sure, the agent can run people off if they are out on the platform, but honestly do they have the time?

Does this policy make sense in Penn Station, 30th Street, or any of the major stations where platform access is strictly controlled? I think so because Amtrak has monitored entrances to these locations and can easily verify the passengers ticket status. Additionally with the volume of trains that visit these stations moving and controlling people is very important so allowing unticketed passengers to remain on the platform may cause confusion or even a safety issue (have you seen how small the platforms are in Penn Station?)

What about all the platforms at stations without an agent? How would those be monitored? Where does the platform stop and start? Sadly I think this policy raises more questions than it answers. One thing is for sure the policy is clear so if you don’t have a ticket and you are on a platform be prepared to be asked to leave. Now will you get run out of Bingen Wishram or Essex…hard to say?

With the news of the mass storage of SD40-2s by UP and BNSF I thought I’d look up the last time I saw one working on the main line.

12/11/2008 11:55am Pritchard Creek, OR. Huntington Local.

Could this be the last SD40-2 I see in mainline service? I certainly hope not but even if the economy picks up I’m betting the railroads will opt for purchasing more fuel efficient ES44s and SD70s rather than rebuilding the run down former king of the mainline. SD40s may appear in local or switching service but I bet solid consists of them on the mainline are in the past.

Punk Rotten & Nasty

As most of you have already read, earlier this week the Port of Tillamook Bay (POTB) commissioners made the decision to discontinue freight service from Cochran (MP 802) into the Port at Tillamook. I think most railfans knew deep down that this decision would come eventually but held out hope in the year and a couple of months since the washouts that somehow the matching money would show up and the POTB would live. Its survived this long why not prolong it?

Setting up for a photo run by east of the tunnel at Enright.

For those that aren’t aware the POTB’s descent from Cochran to Salmonberry (western Oregon) is through what’s known as the Salmonberry River canyon. While this is only around 10 miles of railroad it is a tough spot. As shown in the photo above, the river and the railroad eke out a fragile existence in this narrow chasm. Most of the time the arragement is peaceful and commerce flows up and down the canyon. When heavy run off from rains and snow hit, the river breaks that peace, fills the chasm, and literally rips the railroad out (click here and scroll down for storm damage images). Its happened multiple times before and if rebuilt on the existing alignment would happen again.

Freight ruled the canyon…most of the time.

There are dozens of reasons why this rail line is a practical transportation solution for Tillamook county and the State of Oregon. When open the line was busy and eastbound trains ran heavy with lumber products that didn’t have to be on Highway 6. Despite the obvious business it had the line wasn’t earning enough to meet its cost of capital. If it was, the ancient SD-9s (that were failing) would have been rebuilt or replaced and more of the derailment causing roadbed would have been improved. Factor in the additional cost of rebuilding and this line isn’t something any businessman would want…even with subsidy. My opinion is the port made a sound decision.

In better days, a photo run by east of the tunnel at Enright.

While my business side says this line should close the railfan and tourist in me still wants to repeat many of the scenes in this post. Oregon has some spectacular scenery and I think this 10 miles of railroad shows off the coast range in a way that many will never see. It was the perfect excursion line thanks to its proximity to Portland, the coast, and of course the experience in between.

Has the last chapter in the Pacific Railway & Navigation been written? Who’s to say as none of us can predict the business climate of the future that may change this line’s direction. My sincere hope is that I do see passengers and freight once again ride from Banks to the coast. I have a feeling though the western part of the Punk Rotten & Nasty has lived up to its name and has seen its final train. With that thought on my mind I have to say PR&N, SP Tillamook Branch, or POTB (whichever you prefer) hang in there until we meet again…

For the foreseeable future empty track is all that the Wolf Creek trestle will see.

For a complete review of the Salmonberry Limited click here.

Recommended Reading: Punk Rotten & Nasty - The Saga of Pacific Railway & Navigation Co. by Paul Michael Clock

Recently grabbed a photo of the new heavy rail commuter service running in the Portland area.

    

 

 

 

 

WES DMU Departs Tualitan

With winter starting to wrap up, here’s a look at the leftovers of fall gathering around the president’s track in Vancouver.