by Steve Eshom on April 12, 2012
On the second morning of my Montana visit a unit windmill train passed through Stanford. The south siding switch was still reversed from a meet the night before so they had to stop to line the switch and copy a new warrant. The sight of a train of blades strung out through town made quite an impression on the residents It seemed like several times over the next few days people were talking about the wind mills. Of course Stanford is already excited about the Spion Kop wind farm so the sight of blade made everyone very talkative.
It will be interesting to see where the construction materials for Spion Kop will be off loaded. Stanford and Geyser don’t exactly have the best locations for removing heavy loads from a train due to cramped quarters. I suppose a spur could be built right at the wind farm since the track passes right through. Most likely that won’t be cost effective so they will likely be offloaded somewhere with available land and access to cranes and then trucked in. A spur would be interesting though…
by Steve Eshom on April 5, 2012
Yesterday it was 70 degrees here in Central Montana. Today it is 30 and snowing. Welcome to spring in Montana!
The train in this image is a unit train from Great Falls and is headed to Pipestone pit near Whitehall, Mt. This is one of several trains expected today including the Lost local which is on its way to Moore as I write this. Since it was so warm yesterday the roads are mostly wet so getting around to photograph trains in the snow is fairly easy. Hopefully I’ll have a few more snow images from today.
by Steve Eshom on April 4, 2012
This week I’m spending spring break with my family in Central Montana which of course means you all get to see some BNSF Laurel Sub action here on dogcaught. The good news is the action seems to be plentiful.
So far traffic has been much improved over the last two years. I’ve seen…
1. Daily Laurel-Shelby and Shelby-Laurel trains. During the economic downturn this symbol was cut back and it seemed there was one train in one direction each day. Back to one each way each day!
2. Windmill blades. A loaded blades train headed for Canada passed on Sunday. With the Spion Kop wind farm in the planning there will like be more blades visiting these parts.
3. Loaded coal for the Sweetgrass, MT interchange. I’m not sure where the coal goes once it reaches Canada (probably Prince Rupert) but there seems to be a train every 3 days or so.
4. Fewer slow orders. Trains are getting over the road much quicker now. The speed through Stanford has even increased from 25 to 40! Sometime after July last year about a mile of concrete ties were installed in the canyon between Armington an Raynesford.
For the rest of my visit it looks like I’ll get to see the daily manifests, a coal empty and a load, as well as the lost local on its wanderings. It should be a good couple of days of railfanning!
by Steve Eshom on March 28, 2012
16 minutes before sunrise an eastbound Union Pacific manifest train nears the summit at Telocaset, Oregon. By the time the train crosses the summit and descends to the Baker valley the sun will be up and a new day will have dawned. Right now though the train is illuminated by the twilight reflecting off the atmosphere and giving me the hint a new day is coming.
Getting up early has its rewards!
by Steve Eshom on March 21, 2012
I’ve had a long history with Providence Washington which started when I explored the area extensively during my college years. It was right at the time when BN was in the process of shutting down the SP&S and moving everything over to what is today’s Lakeside sub. It was exciting times for the line since it was going to be THE route between Pasco and Spokane. I loved it!
I didn’t get to visit much while school was in session but at breaks I made Providence summit my stop. I would leave Pullman early and arrive at Providence for some serious train watching. I’d tear up and down the Lind-Hatton road finding just the right spot. I explored all the back roads and visited a few access roads. My most favorite spot was the summit though. I could sit there for hours listening to the scanner, studying, reading, or just staring out the window. It was a peaceful place without parallel for me.
Of course the peace would be broken occasionally when a train would pass. In the 80s when SD40-2s, GP50, and B30-7As were king, trains could be heard climbing out of Hatton and Lind. They screamed and barked for some 20 minutes or more before reaching the narrow cut at the summit. Pure music for sure! I always left my window open a crack, even in the dead of winter, to make sure I could hear a train approaching.
While I can’t go back to those days I still enjoy visiting Providence. It still has a special place despite all the changes over the years. While Dash 9′s aren’t my favorite they still make for an impressive sight and sound cresting my favorite summit.
