GorgeRail 2006 hit a significant milestone today… details will be made public in the next couple weeks, but I have to say I am really excited this year… I have a gut feeling this is the year we end up big. Stay tuned.
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From the monthly archives:
December 2005
As 2005 winds to a close, I look back and have many happy memories of railfanning this year.
The year began with a trip to the Seattle Sub, a day railfanning MAX, and then another Seattle Sub trip with a FoamersNW gathering and slideshow in the Centralia area hosted by Robert Scott. A good time was had by all. That weekend I found an AGBSE at Kelso South:
February brought some night shots, this one being a SW1200 leading a southbound herder at the Vancouver depot:
March was a busy month with a couple Gorge trips and I was invited to present at a slideshow in Seattle… to coincide with that in early March I made a 2-day trip north up the Seattle and Scenic Subs to explore some BNSF to the north. Here’s a P-TACKCM with a colorful consist at Sunset Falls:
In April I chased the Weyerhaeuser Woods train from Green Mountain down to Longview. Just outside Ostrander I captured a local child waving at the train:
May meant chasing the SP&S 700 to Salem, and of course GorgeRail. GorgeRail is as much about people as it is about trains. Here our emcee Gregg Pohll fields a question from the audience with presenter Jeff Bass doing Q&A about his show…
In June we spent a week in Alaska on a family vacation and of course I spent time railfanning the Alaska Railroad. Here’s a photo shot from the dome which portrays the beauty of this trip:
July was a busy month, beginning with doubleheaded mainline steam for the NRHS convention, with a mid-month trip to shoot the Mt. Hood Railroad and an end-of-the-month after work trip to catch some sunset sunlight in the Gorge. Here’s a M-PASLYD in that sunset lighting along Drano Lake:
In August I’d been at my new job for a few weeks and began heading trackside at lunch. A mid-month Gorge trip lead again to the Mt. Hood Railroad, this time involving a cab ride:
September brought more lunch shots and another Gorge trip, but the highlight of September was a 2-day rubber band trip to Boise and back to chase the UP 3985 on the Huntington Sub. My favorite shot from the trip is on the Idaho Northern just outside Nampa alongside a golf course:
I searched for fall colors in October but it was very dry this year and it seems as soon as the leaves started to change, they died. I didn’t shoot other than locally, but at the end of the month was the FoamersNW slideshow so that was good for some Seattle Sub action. Between rain showers we shot the M-EVEABN at Chehalis:
November was a dud for railfanning. No real trips at all, just some photos from around town which have already been posted here.
December on the other hand was a busy month… it started with a Gorge trip… the then Holiday Express Derailment, a lot of shooting around town, and some night shots in the snow. Just as I’m finishing up this post and going away for the night, here’s a going away shot of the morning Z about to duck under the service road for The Dalles Dam.
May 2006 bring good lighting, good lenses, and good luck to all my readers…
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Today’s lunch activities occurred entirely at 8th street with that being the hot spot for action. A few westbounds needed to come off the Fallbridge so that was the place to be. The weather was just about crap. Bright white skies, but not even any rain to go for any rain shots. Instead you get the mediocre stuff you see below.
When I got down there, an S-CHCTAC had completed its crew change and was waiting to go north. I decided I was going to try a new angle when he moved, but first I’d have to wait for a stinky U-INBROO to come through. It had a GP50 in faded Heritage paint with a defective numberboard:
After he cleared the stack train moved. I found my position and took a few shots. This is definitely an angle I want to explore further with some decent weather and light. It has possibilities both for close-in shots and for a wider angle such as this:
A couple more westbounds arrived (a grain train and a late Z) but I wasn’t inspired to shoot the same old crap in this light, so that was that, and that’s the end of this post.
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Table of contents for Railfanning Vancouver
- Railfanning Vancouver Washington: Overview
- Railfanning Vancouver Washington: the Wye
- Railfanning Vancouver Washington: 39th Street
- Railfanning Vancouver Washington: Wintler
- Railfanning Vancouver Washington: Rye Junction
Rye Junction marks where the single-track Lewis & Clark Railway meets the BNSF north-south mainline.
- There is room for about 2 vehicles to park just south of the grade crossing on the west side of Fruit Valley Road. There are also prominent “No Trespassing” signs in this area but it’s not a bad angle for a southbound train even from the road.
- The overpass on Fruit Valley Road just south of this location offers some good overhead shots when trains are present.
- Continuing south on Fruit Valley Road, turn right after coming back to ground level and the side road loops back alongside the tracks where there is room for several vehicles to park and you can get some good track-level photos. I have also had a tire punctured by numerous nails on the ground in this area.
Map & Directions
From any direction: Take I-5 to the 78th Street exit and proceed west. After approximately 2 miles you will go down a hill to a “T” junction with Fruit Valley Road. Turn left, in approximately 1/4 mile you will reach a grade crossing (this is the Lewis & Clark Railway); the BNSF main is immediately to your right.
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It was a busy lunchtime today, with a fleet of westbounds providing most of the action. I went down to 8th street to meet the first one. I got there right as the crew van was pulling down for the crew change so I knew my timing was good. The train was the M-PASVAW with EMD 9090 (SD60, Oakway) and MRL 263 (SD40-2XR, blue/black Operation Lifesaver) for power.
Steve showed up and I gave him a copy of a show I’m screening for potential GorgeRail material, and before too long Bob showed up as well so we chatted for a bit. We drove over to the depot and caught the GSETKA coming off the Columbia River drawbridge with the CEFX 104 (SD90, maroon/white) and UP 5636 (AC4400CW-CTE, Building America).
I drove back to 8th street and saw the M-PASINB now up ready for its crew change. The power was BNSF 7074 (SD40-2, green/black), NREX 8543 (, gray/red), NREX 5078 (SD50, yellow/gray), BNSF 8085 (SD40-2, green/black), and MRL 262 (SD40-2XR, blue/black). Driving east I would catch two more westbounds… a G-PASEVE with BNSF 5120 (C44-9W, Heritage II), CP 6016 (SD40-2, Multi-mark), and CP 5819 (sd40-2, Dual Flags) and a unit train with CSX 7916 (C40-8W) and CSX 7575 (C40-8). Definitely a worthwhile lunch trip to add some new locomotives to my log. One of my buddies just passed 25,000 unique locomotives spotted.
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