As I’ve been scanning and cataloging my older photos I ran across the first railroad photos I took with the Canon AE-1 Program I received for Christmas 1987. Are these photos anything special? At first glance not really, they are just wedgies of BN trains in the snow and gray skies. Going back to my comments in Historic Preservation I can say I’m very happy I did snap these relatively mundane photos.
The first photo of the east siding switch Cunningham (WA) depicts an approach signal to west Cunningham. Big deal right? On December 30, 1987 this former Northern Pacific line is into its first few months of being operated bi-directionally with CTC. During 1986 and 1987 the BN worked on a project that would end with the two lines between Spokane and Pasco narrowed to one. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear they chose to demote the former Spokane Portland & Seattle line and improve the former NP. The improvements to the NP line involved creating 8000+ foot sidings, replacing ABS with CTC, replacing 1920’s era bridges, and installing concrete ties. Cunningham was one of the new sidings guarded by CTC.
All was not well with the new operating plan though. Just two weeks before this photo was taken, the Lakeside sub had plugged up with trains. In fact one night while I was studying at WSU and listing to the scanner I heard the Wishram East dispatcher talking to Amtrak 27 as it entered the Lakeside near Cheney. He told them that they’d have clear blocks all the way to Pasco because he’d already filled all the sidings with trains and wasn’t taking any more from Pasco. At the time I remember not being all that impressed with all the ‘improvements’ that resulted in a plugged railroad. I guess the BN noticed too because by the early 90s construction was underway to add a second track over Providence hill (connecting the Cunningham and Sand sidings) and adding several new sidings.
I’m happy I have these photos of a meet between BN train 1 (now known as the Z-CHCPTL) and an empty grain train because the addition of the second track 6 years after my photo eliminated any chance of regular meets at this location. I caught a short lived piece of history with my first photos.
Approach!
BN Train #1 passes the elevators at Cunningham
Meet at east Cunningham
An empty grain train departs east Cunningham
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