Two weeks from today I’ll be headed to Southern California for some spring railfanning. Bring it on!
The Cadiz local summits Ash Hill in September ‘07.
The KCKBAR rolls through the desert between Cadiz and Danby
For several years now I’ve taken advantage of my company’s President’s Day holiday to visit the Columbia River Gorge for a bit of February railfanning. This year I spent the day west of the west siding switch Maryhill which can be characterized as an area with lots of rock cuts and sweeping curves. I’ve always enjoyed this location thanks to the notoriety brought to it by Dan Schwanz but just have never spent enough time here.
Just after 9am the M-TACPAS, with an SD75 leading, rounds
a curve about 1/2 mile west of west Maryhill
Generally the day was overcast. Early on the fog hung low on the sides of the gorge but not low enough to make for interesting photographs of trains. The sun did pop out for a while but when it was at its best (and I was set up for a great photo) the trains dried up. During the drought I did have the pleasure of listening to the radio conversations of Mad Dog and his conductor making a pick up at Wishram.
With its rear end just clearing west Maryhill, a loaded grain
passes below the grape vines of the Maryhill Winery
Around 3pm the clouds rolled in so much that I ended up not photographing a couple of westbound trains because the scene was so flat. Instead I prepared for a couple of night photos. As it ends up I saw 11 trains in 11 hours.
Headed East. Amtrak 28 sweeps through the curves on its way east to Pasco and Spokane.
Back from the snow? Well I wouldn’t say I was in the snow that much on Stevens Pass because west of Scenic (west portal of the Cascade tunnel) there was none. East of the tunnel there was snow down to Peshastin. Yikes! I hope we have cool summer because there really isn’t anything to keep us wet through the summer.
As it ends up I took one photograph with the trees covered in snow. On Saturday morning an eastbound Z train just happened to be across the pass while it was still cool enough out that the overnight precipitation had fallen as snow and stuck to the trees. Thanks to the light amount of snow I was able to photograph the train at west Berne. Normally this location is so snowed in that getting a photo here would require snow shoes.
The next photograph of an empty grain train shows just what the entire west side of the pass looked like…green. Normally there’s a foot or less at Foss River in January but not this year!
This year Robert, Aaron and spent more time between Leavenworth and the Chumstick tunnel than ever before. There are a few photo locations in the Chumstick and the longer we poke around in there the more we’d like to see. The photo below is a coal car mid-train in an east bound coal empty crossing the Chumstick Highway where the tracks head into the Chumstick tunnel. Definitely there are a few locations here that I’ll visit again.
I’ve posted a few more of my photos on railroadforums.com in a thread containing many photos from the group of us at Tracks in the Snow. There are some great photos in this from many of the group so I encourage everyone to hope over there and take a peek. Ken and Greg caught a couple I particularly like. Hopefully there will be snow next year.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, bnsf, stevens pass, snow
This morning I’m on my way to Stevens Pass for a winter railfanning adventure. From other railfan reports there isn’t much snow up there this year. In fact 6″ is the report from “the slot” where the photo below was taken in January 2008. During that winter several snowfall records were set and BNSF was one big snow storm away from not having any where to put snow in some locations. Fortunately for them the weather held and a concentrated effort with the slot train through February cleared out the tight spots. Thanks El Niño.
BNSF’s S-CHCTAC climbs Stevens Pass after meeting the S-TACSTP3 at Merritt
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, snow, BNSF, El Niño
As the recipient of branch lines shed by the Class I’s, Portland & Western inherited some of the Northwest’s most unique railroading situations. They have tunnels, spindly wooden trestles, modern commuter rail, drawbridges, and street running all within a few hundred miles. Today I visited Rainier, OR where I witnessed Portland & Western’s Wauna Turn thread its way through downtown streets on its way out to Avon to work USG Wallboard and the Teevin Brothers log yard.
Get out of the way!
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, portland&western, rainier, oregon
During our day on Providence Hill the clouds rolled in. Unfortunately the next day they were still around only now they were producing rain. Goody, nothing like railfanning in the rain. Our group headed over to Plymouth where we spent some time on the bluffs above McNary dam. After a few trains there we headed west to Paterson to hang around the bridge at Glade Creek and explore the scenery there. After watching an eastbound Z and westbound manifest pass we moved on to Roosevelt.
After a few hours in the rain at east Bates we moved on west to Maryhill, North Dalles, and Lyle eventually landing on the rock bluffs east of the rest area. From these bluffs I captured one of my favorite fall colors photos of the trip, a photo of the Z-CHCPTL crossing the causeway west of Lyle amid the fabulous fall colors of the central Columbia River gorge.
After realizing the usual pile up for Amtrak and the evening Z train was going to shut down the Fallbridge sub west of North Dalles we moved ahead to St. Cloud crossing for both trains and a westbound manifest that was relieved with Mad Dog’s “girlfriend’s” . In the low light I captured the guys and two visitors from the east photographing the Z.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, columbia river, paterson, lyle, skamania, washington, bnsf
With friends from California in tow I headed east to help Robert show off the Blues. We made a few stops in the gorge at places along the UP that I’d never visited. Its amazing how many times I’ve driven through the gorge and have never stopped at some of these fabulous locations.
Between Biggs and Rufus
As train traffic in the gorge petered out (and the local out of The Dalles derailed at Hood River) we headed to Kamela summit for what was a reasonably busy afternoon. It was really fun to see and hear the excitement as the foreign guests witnessed their first train topping over amid the Tamarck’s changing for the season. The 10,000ft long stack train didn’t hurt anything either.
Topping over Kamela Summit
After a night in LaGrande we headed over Telocaset in mixed fog and sun. The Baker valley always seems to deliver good light in the morning! The last train on the pass was a westbound inspection train after which we ended our brief tour of the Blues.
Nothing like North Powder in the morning!
Technorati Tags: trains, railroad, railfan, photos, photography, blue mountains, the blues, union pacific
The past two weeks have been a blur. It all started 10/20 with the return of the 4449 from its epic journey. After photographing the Daylight I….
1. Railfanned the UP side of the gorge
2. Railfanned the Blue Mountains as far east as North Powder
3. Railfanned Providence Hill as far east as Lind
4. Railfanned the BNSF side of the gorge
5. Railfanned the Seattle sub
6. Did all the computer and audio work for the Autumn Leaf Slideshow
7. Railfanned in the gorge again with someone who helped me gain an entirely different perspective on railfan photography and writing
Needless to say last week was spent catching up on sleep and loose ends. Look for more posts around this journey of the next few weeks!
Technorati Tags: railroad, photo, photography, train, BNSF, vancouver, washington
Railroads Illustrated magazine’s A Day in North America brings railfans all over the North American continent track side on a single day each year to capture railroading as it is. For my day I headed to the Columbia River gorge with the goal of photographing a couple of places I have never spent much time at. For the most part I was able to capture what I wanted however the right trains and the right light weren’t always at the same location at the same time. I guess that’s the challenge of railfan photography even when its not DINA.
An empty grainer sprints between tunnels 5 and 6 east of Cooks
As the day wore on rain showers became more regular and between about 2:30 and 4:30 west of Bingen it was pretty much a rain out. At 4:30 the skies cleared and the light was fabulous. I think the trains however were afraid of getting wet because they all ran away and hid. Such is life on DINA.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, railroads illustrated, white river productions, day in north america, DINA, BNSF, columbia river gorge
Railroad business is down and this isn’t a surprise to anyone who follows our economy. My next statement won’t surprise you either. Business is down in Central Montana too. Last year at this time BNSF ran daily trains between Sweet Grass, MT and Laurel, MT. This year they are no longer daily and only go as far as Shelby, MT with a local handling the CP interchange to Sweet Grass.
Looking at things from a manager perspective fewer trains and different management of power at Shelby probably are more “efficient” for the bottom line. In a tough economy, that’s what you have to do. These changes do mean delays to freight though as cars can sit at Laurel, Shelby, or Sweet Grass for an extra day before being moved to the opposite end of the line for delivery. A calculated decision I’m sure.
In addition to the reduced traffic cars are stored everywhere. In the back tracks at Armington, Geyser, and Stanford are enough 1970s steel coal cars to make a full coal train. Down at Cushman the passing siding is full of TOFC flats. The Lewistown Sub, which has traditionally been storage, is packed. The most telling sign of our economy is the 120+ aluminum coal hoppers stored on the Central Montana at Moccasin. Modern cars that were part of the constant growth of Powder River basin coal shipping are now just sitting.
Economic doom and gloom aside there are some positives. Despite being less than daily the trains are running longer than last year which means there is still business. Farming around Central Montana appears on the outside like it did a year ago. The wheat is ripe and being harvested, the cattle are every where and are being shipped for processing, and the grass is green and being cut for winter feed. The Great Falls local pulled a cut of 50+ stored boxcars off the Lewistown sub Thursday an whether they are headed back to service or for scrap it means something good for someone.
Healing the economy will most likely take some time so hopefully by next year’s visit operations around here will be back to normal.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, BNSF, Central Montana, economy, farming, Armington, Stanford, Geyser, Judith Gap, Montana
Never heard of it? You are not alone…
BNSF’s Broadview sub is a new spur into the Bull Mountain mine north west of Billings, MT. The spur was recently constructed as part of an overall upgrade to the Bull Mountain facilities. The line is 35 miles long and leaves BNSF’s Laurel subdivision at a new station called Walter about 2 miles south of little town of Broadview.
While exploring the south end of the Laurel sub yesterday I took some time between trains to drive out to the mine and see what a brand new railroad looks like. As you might guess any railroad that will see coal trains will be built ruggedly and this is no exception. There are quite a few grade crossings but there are also a few overpasses and underpasses where the terrain dictates.
My goal for this visit was to take some pictures for myself of the completed line. Then a funny thing happened. The Montana branch dispatcher called the BNSF 5214 and asked what time they’d be back to the mainline at Walter. During this discussion it was revealed that the 5214 was leading a geometry train up the branch. I couldn’t believe it, all of my photos wouldn’t be sans trains!
The Broadview sub is easily accessible for the railfan thanks to parallel roads. Some of the roads follow a grid pattern so chasing may be a bit challenging though. Yesterday it helped that the geo train was moving slowly so I could easily leap frog and get to the next location ahead of it. I’m not sure what the final speed on the branch will be, but if its any faster than 25 mph keeping up with a train on the gravel roads will be tough. To see the line for yourself leave MT 3 at 21 Mile Rd. in Broadview. This road takes you to MP 11. Next turn north on Cushman Rd/Gooding Creek Rd then right on Majerus Rd for the rest of the line to US 87.
I don’t know that I’ve heard a schedule for running the first train out to the mine but from the looks of it the railroad is ready. Chatting with a local yesterday he told me that the geometry train was the first thing other than ballast and rail trains he’d seen. Once the trains start to roll its likely many of us will hear much more about the scenic Broadview sub.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, bnsf, montana, broadview, bull mountain, coal, mine
Returning to your home turf after a refreshing vacation can spark all sorts of creativity. For me I look at things with a whole different view point and desire after I’m away. Before I headed to Stevens Pass last week I had almost no desire to get out of my vehicle (it is comfortable after all) and make some photographs happen. Thanks to last week’s vacation the juices were flowing and the motivation was on this week. I hope this euphoria continues for a few more weeks until my next vacation!
Directions
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, photo, photography, bnsf, amtrak, vancouver, washington
As I mentioned last week I made a visit to Stevens Pass and Trinidad Hill over the weekend. The weather was expected to be hot but turned out to be cooler than expected with highs barely reaching 90 at Wenatchee. Saturday dawned with thunderstorms east of the hill which persisted throughout the entire day. Not all was lost though as one small thunder-bumper near Plain helped me produce one of my favorite images of the trip.
The sun did pop out from time to time making for some interesting photos like the photo below.
These poor guys were really screwed by the dispatcher. She called and asked them if they could get the train started at Berne to which they replied “yes!”. Instead of maintaining track speed up the east side she stopped them on the main at Merritt. They waited for over an hour while an eastbound Z passed through the tunnel and down the hill. Upon meeting the chit chat between the trains resulted in the agreement that there was plenty of time for a Scenic meet and a flush which would have resulted in a more efficient meet. All that said, this photo would not have been possible without that delay.
I posted some additional photos along with the group at railroadforums.com.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, BNSF, Stevens Pass, Wentachee River, Nason Creek
As I alluded to in this post I spent on time on Pengra Pass a couple of weeks ago. Pengra is one of my favorites places thanks to the long mountain grade, interesting scenery, and heavy tonnage. In addition to the usual photographs I tried to capture some additional photos to portray the essence of the pass. My hope is to combine all these photos into a segment of program for this fall’s Autumn Leaf slide show.
Read more about my Pengra visit: Summer Solstice on Pengra Pass
After Pengra Pass I headed north for Stampede Pass. Stampede has always been a sentimental favorite for me because of my childhood love for the NP. Growing up I spent quite a bit of time studying the history of the pass so it became one my first efforts as a railfan. I visited in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 2006, and of course 2009. In 1977 the pass was closed due to the Borup washout and in 1978 I just didn’t see anything. In 1979 I saw my first train on the pass at old Stampede. In 1984 the pass was closed again, this time due to BN wanting to be rid of it. Of course 2006, and 2009 were much busier!
Like most railfans I can see the potential in Stampede Pass and I hold out hope that all the rumors at some point come true and Stampede traffic steps up. In the mean time I still visit because Stampede still has its charm and there are plenty of great photos to be made there. Look for more on Stampede this fall at the Autumn Leaf slide show.
Read more about my Stampede visit: Relaxing on Stampede
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, pengra, stampede, pass
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?
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, coal, BNSF, Centralia, Power River Basin, Rawhide
What is it about snow that attracts people so much? For railfans I believe it is the struggle between the railroad and the elements and the raw effort used to keep the freight and passengers moving. There’s something magic about seeing a train continue to roll through despite the obstacles placed in its way by mother nature. Its almost as if the railroad is saying “to hell with you we’ve got trains to run”.
On Saturday 12/13/2008 I had the privilege to witness Union Pacific thumb its nose at 24″ of snow in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. The storm began just after noon on Friday with light flurries and a dusting. By 8am Saturday snow depths had reached 24″ at Huron (west of Meacham) and 12″ at Kamela. By 3pm when I left the Kamela area there was over 18″. How’d the railroad fair? As you’d expect things slowed down a bit but the freight kept right on rolling. UP was in control.
On the east side of the pass things were in control. Near sundown on Saturday the Z-KCPD climbs up from a meet at Hilgard.
Not everything was perfect though. Around 10am an eastbound stack train went into emergency between Nordeen and Motanic. On a normal day the act of tying a train down is a bit of work. Add in the snow and its a major pain in the ass. I’m sure the conductor was not real happy to be out wandering up the right of way in 12+” of snow though given a choice I’m sure he’d take that over the alternative. Having this train stopped for nearly 2 hours did give the snow fighters a chance to get out of Meacham and head for Huron to get clean up started.
Back in control. The crew of the K-TALN6 was probably happy to be out of the elements and back on the move after their emergency stop at West Motanic.
Timing is everything. After the K-PDG1 passed Meacham there was a lull in train traffic so the snow fighters and signal maintainers got their chance at putting the Huron and Camp sidings back in service. Thanks to those guys the trains kept rolling all day long.
How’d I do? Well, thanks to four wheel drive and tire chains maneuvering through the snow was pretty easy. The Yukon did its job just as intended! I was regularly plowing snow with the front bumper on the unplowed road up to Kamela. The snow was up to the running boards but I had no problems being in control.
Thanks GMC!
Stay tuned for more photos from this adventure. Take a look at this thread on trainorders.com and this thread on rrf.com for more photos and commentary from Robert, Mike, and I.
Technorati Tags: train, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, union pacific, oregon, blue mountains, snow, Kamela, Meacham
This post could also be titled “SPOPAS Before and After”…
On January 7, 1989 on my return to Pullman and the start of my final semester at WSU, I photographed BN train 613 (Spokane to Pasco manifest) tipping over the top of Providence hill. Spring forward a few years(….ahhh….19 years). On September 13, 2008 I again found myself at Providence, this time photographing BNSF’s M-SPOPAS doing the same thing as 613 19 years earlier. This spot was my favorite place to take a break on the drive between home and Pullman and today it stands as one of the places I still love to visit even it if is just to reminisce.
BN train 613 reaches the summit of Providence hill on January 7, 1989.
BNSF train M-SPOPAS reaches the summit of Providence hill on September 13, 2008.
Technorati Tags: trains, railroad, photo, photography, BNSF, Providence, Spokane, Pasco, freight
On my recent visit to Eastern Washington I spent quite a bit of time around Keystone. In case you don’t really know where Keystone is, here’s a little aid. I’ve long wanted to spend a bit more time here with my camera. Keystone though is in between everything and doesn’t have a freeway exit making a visit something you have to plan. As you can see from these photos there are all sorts of photographic opportunities here. There’s the grain elevator, cattle pens, signals, trees, rolling wheat fields, and just the vast expanse of the area. What an interesting place to see trains!
Early on Saturday September 13, 2008 BNSF’s H-NTWPAS blows through Keystone, WA. Besides me the cattle were the only ones to witness this scene.
The eastbound control signals at east Keystone stand watch while the sun sets on the arid plain of Eastern Washington.
Technorati Tags: trains, photos, photograph, railroad, railfan, BNSF, Keystone, Washington, wheat, elevator, grain, cattle
This year instead of travelling outside the northwest I travelled into to Eastern Washington for a fall railfanning adventure. It ended up as Eastern Washington instead of the planned Colorado trip due to work obligations. For some reason they want me to be at work when we turn on a new computer system…go figure.
The weather over last weekend was just fabulous. The day time highs were in the 80s and sun was abundant. As you’ll see in the photos the sunsets were just gorgeous!
East of Ritzville, WA BNSF’s Lakeside sub is finally out of the coulees it has been in since Pasco. While this area appears flat from a distance the H-PASGAL shows the Keystone area isn’t flat at all!
I really enjoy grain elevators and the one at Hatton, WA is quite interesting as it is quite ‘aged’. The H-KCKPAS shown in this photo is the third westbound train to pass this location in a few minutes. Unfortunately the defect detector at MP 104 was malfunctioning so all three took well over an hour to get from this location to Connell.
Just after sunset on Saturday the Pasco East DS has west Tokio setup for the H-CSXPAS.
Technorati Tags: trains, railroad, railfan, photo, photography, BNSF, Washington, Lakeside, coulee, grain elevator, channeled scab land
The Great Falls subdivision is the northern half of the main line between Shelby and Laurel. At just under 100 miles it is not as long as the Laurel sub (224 miles) but packs in lots of fabulous Montana scenery. Along the way you can find scenic features such as river canyons, wheat fields, tall trestles and grain elevators. North of Ledger access becomes somewhat limited with no roads that parallel the track. This lack of roads is primarily due to the canyons used to descend to the Marias river crossing south of Naismith. The rest of the line is fairly easy to access and photograph however.
M-LAUSWE with three SD40-2s has just departed Great Falls and passes through Manchester, MT. This area is a mix of residential and agricultural.
For my Great Falls sub railfanning I chose several locations that would work well for a northbound train in the morning. The M-LAUSWE is on duty at Great Falls around 7am and usually departs at 8am so I had to work with that schedule. Unfortunately the southbound M-SWELAU usually traverses the Great Falls sub after dark so that isn’t an option for chasing. However in the summer and fall with grain running there is a good chance for a daytime southbound empty train. Of course detours help too!
Between Vaughn and Power the track climbs up a .5% grade to get out of the Missouri river valley. While the track speed is 49mph this train only made 25mph.
To cross the Teton River and Muddy Creek the railroad uses two steel viaducts. They are quite impressive since you can see them from top to bottom and from end to end unlike many of our trestles in Washington that are obscured by trees. As you drive the back roads into Collins you can begin to see them on the horizon. They look odd because if you look towards the horizon you’d never guess there is a deep chasm to cross so seeing a steel trestle seemingly crossing a wheat field looks a bit out of place. Once you arrive on the scene you can certainly see why they are needed.
The location of these trestles is highly recommended for photography not only for the trestles but for the Collins grain elevator, the Collins (CIM) grain shuttle elevator, and a couple of interesting curves. If there’s one place to visit on the Great Falls sub this is it!
Crossing the 2374′ long Teton River viaduct at Collins.
If you want a wide open spaces photo there are plenty of opportunities on the Great Falls sub. With parallel roads all you have to do is pull over to the side and point your camera at the tracks. And then there are the canyons…
Winding through the canyon between Brady and Conrad.
North of Ledger access becomes more limited. There are roads into Fowler and Naismith but there is not a way to chase trains through this segment. There are a few ranch roads around but those are clearly posted no tresspassing.
Station sign Naismith. Don’t bother with your cell phone down here!
This will be my last post from Montana as I am packing up for a leisurely 3 day trip home. Tonight there is a G-GVEVAW (Grove, MT to Vancouver, WA) grain train preparing to leave the shuttle elevator just down the road from Stanford. I’m expecting the train to head north to Great Falls tonight and then on to Shelby and the Hi-Line tomorrow. If all goes well on our trip home via Glacier Park I should see this train several times.
Technorati Tags: bnsf, stanford, montana, photography, trains, railroad, big sky country, photos
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