John W. Van Amburg

The first of four new pictures shows the BNSF Naches, WA branch west of Yakima in 1997.  The line has since been abandoned.

Next, on 7/2/09, is an eastbound 110 car empty grain train starting up Stampede Pass east of Auburn.

The northbound Amtrak #500 passes through Auburn on 7/22/09.

A southbound work train is on the Seattle Sub south of Auburn on 7/22/09.

I got both a train and a semi tractor in one picture that I kind of like.  It was taken in Auburn on 4/26/09.  See the one picture down in the Gallery.

A couple of the new BNSF ES44C4s were spotted in Auburn on 4/26/09.  They were the two trailing units on a vehicle/stack train from Chicago bound for Tacoma.  The BNSF 6610 is shown in the Gallery.

BNSF has been moving lots of power around, as seen in these two trains in the Auburn area, also last week.  There have been some large light power moves, too.

 And finally, I combined a truck and a train in one picture.  Taken in Auburn on 4/26/09.

Hooray!  Stampede Pass has been reopened.  The first revenue train was an eastbound empty grain which left Auburn in the early afternoon on Monday, April 20, 2009.  It had three units, lead by ES44DC 7258.  I was lucky enough to observe this train on Stampede Wye in Auburn.  I was too late to catch it at the detector at MP 100.6, but I did catch it at Covington and coming off the Green River bridge between Kanaskat and Palmer Junction.  I have posted a picture taken at each location in the Photo Gallery.

I added three 1998 pictures today, all taken on the Stampede Sub.  First is BNSF SD70MAC 9722 leading a 108 car coal empty over the Green River Bridge at Palmer Junction on 4/22/98.  Next is the trough train parked at Ellensburg on 4/24/98, and finally BN GP50 3133 is passing under the high/wide detector at East Auburn on 10/5/98.

I uploaded three pictures from July of 1997 today.  The first was taken at the garbage container transfer site at Roosevelt, WA.  The containers were taken, at least at that time, up the hill away from the River to the land fill by a fleet of Peterbilts.

The second picture shows Conrail SD60M 5537 leading a BNSF train westbound near Towal at the east end of the Columbia River Gorge.

The third picture is a new, at the time, C44-9W at Auburn, in front of Mt. Rainier.  Oh for a wire filter. 

BNSF garbage trains from the Puget Sound Area to Roosevelt, WA, have long used SD40-2 and maybe Geep power. As seen in this picture taken on 2/3/09 at MP 26.4X, BNSF C44-9W 4717 is leading another red and silver warbonnet. The UP garbage trains to Gilliam, OR, have normally used SD70Ms. But here is a northbound empty at McCarver Street in Tacoma on 2/4/09 with an ES44AC in the lead.

Here is a nice matched set of an Amtrak NPCU and a P32-8 in Phase V paint.  But on a Cascades Talgo train!  Caught at Tacoma's McCarver Street on 2/4/09.

On 10/19/09 we made a trip to Stevens Pass.  We crossed to the east side and stopped at MP 1694.1, popularly known as "The Slot", just west of Merritt and east of the Gaynor Bridge.  We were soon rewarded with a westbound.  And even more interesting was the Boeing 737 fuselages at the head of the train.

We then crossed back over to the west side of the pass at Scenic to wait for the train to come out of the tunnel.  A pleasant surprise was a coal empty waiting on the Scenic siding to go east.  After the westbound with the Boeings cleared it wasn't long before the coal empty entered the tunnel.  They don't take all that long to clear the tunnel after a westbound.

There are six pictures of these two trains in the gallery.   

BNSF conducted Electronic Train Management System (ETMS) testing on Stampede Pass for more than a week starting on 11/2/09.  They were using loaded ballast gons and seven locomotives, three on one end of the train and four on the other.

I went to the east side near Martin on 11/2 and caught the train climbing the mountain grade.

On 11/4 I went back with another fan.  We started at Easton shooting the train while they were getting ready for the day's testing.  We then went up on the hill and caught it climbing the grade a little east of where I had shot it two days before.  We crossed the pass and discovered they were making multiple runs from Borup Loop west down the mountain past MP 52 for apparent braking tests.  We watched about three of those runs before they started back to Easton and we were able to catch them exiting the east portal of Tunnel 4 from above.

A bonus of the day involved a helicopter.  It was sitting on the ground under the power lines on the east side.  On our way to the west side we stopped above to photograph it sitting under the power lines, and were lucky enough to see it fire up and leave.  It was an incredible show how it backed out from under the power lines, moved sideways, climbed up and was gone.

The weather turned very wintery the next day.  11/4 may have been about the last day wheeled vehicles were able to cross Stampede Pass on the forest road this year.

I have put pictures of both days, including the helicopter, in the gallery.

During September of 2009 we undertook our longest field trip to date, journeying to Durango, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico to check out narrow gauge steam in the mountains.  We travelled via Salt Lake City, Soldier Summit, and Moab, Utah.  We worked in some other activites such as visiting Arches National Park and Deadhorse Point State Park, and shopping in Moab, Durango and Chama (Chama shopping is better than you might think).  But the highlight, of course, was the two railroads.  What a great show they put on in incredible scenery.

Please see the Southwest Narrow Gauge Steam page, the Photos, and go to the Links page and to my flickr site.

The first two of this group of eight pictures are Amtrak trains passing the depot and ferry dock at Steilacoom on 7/28/09.  First is the northbound #500 led by a cab car.  Second is the Coast Starlight, #11, led by P32-8 AMTK 509.  A P32-8 leading the Coast Starlight is pretty unusual these days.

Next is the BNSF 1520, a GP28M, leading a southbound through Auburn, WA on 8/16/09.  This locomotive was built as a Great Northern GP5 in 1959 and rebuilt in 1992.

The next picture is back to Steilacoom for a southbound UP manifest on 8/18/09.

BNSF 4811 leads an eastbound over the reinforced concrete trestle (RCT) at MP 100.2 on the Stampede Sub east of Auburn on 8/19/09.  The RCT was built in 1912.  (Thanks to Brian Ambrose's Stampede Blog for the information on this bridge.)

BNSF 1025 southbound through Sumner on 8/21/09.  It is always good to see these original H1 Dash-9s.  Especially when they look good.

Have to include a truck here.  This dump truck is a Mack Superliner, photographed in Sumner on 8/22/09.  The Superliners were built from 1977 to 1993.  This operator still runs a number of them, both as dump trucks and semi tractors.

Finally, I made another trip to Stampede Pass on 8/24/09 and got this picture of an empty grain train climbing the west side of the Pass at MP 51.

The first of the last six pictures added features the UP SEGL unit garbage train southbound in Auburn.  This train is a mid-afternoon fixture on the Seattle Sub.

The next three pictures were taken just north of Steilacoom at or near Bridge 14 on the BNSF Seattle Sub.  First is an Amtrak Cascades just off the bridge, followed by a BNSF freight on the bridge.  This bridge is a pretty bizarre looking structure.  The fourth picture in that row is another BNSF freight just off the bridge.

The last two pictures show two different empty grain trains climbing Stampede Pass on 7/1/09.  The first picture was taken at MP 51 and the second picture was taken at the daylighted Tunnel 6 a little further up the hill.  Both these sites are between the two 180 degree loops where these eastbound trains are traveling geographic west for about a mile.  The second train was an hour or so behind the first one; it left Lester after the first one cleared up at Easton.

On 6/17/09 I made a trip to Martin at the east portal of the Stampede Tunnel.  This is where the worst washout was in the January, 2009 floods.  Revenue trains have been running since 4/20/09, but Martin has been snowed in until recently.

I just posted five pictures to the gallery from this trip, plus a picture from 11/29/09.

I caught an eastbound empty grain exiting the tunnel.  The first two pictures show the portal and the Martin area, including the west end of the not-yet-repaired short Martin siding.

The third picture is the lead locomotive on the right hand curve just east of the portal, showing the bank behind where the material came from to fix the washout.

The fourth shot is looking west back toward the red flag on the siding just before the cement block and where the track becomes unuseable.

The fifth picture is the end of the train going by the curve where the material came from.

The sixth picture shows the bank in November of 2008 for comparison purposes.

It was nice to get back up there and catch a revenue train.

We just made a quick trip to the Columbia River Gorge. spending three nights in Bingen.  While there we explored the site of the old Klickitat Mill and toured up the Hood River Valley, looking at Odell, Dee, and Parkdale.

We also took enough time to catch three westbound BNSF trains west of Bingen.  I just added six pictures of these trains to the Gallery.  On 6/11 we caught a coal train exiting Tunnel 6, powered by four ES44ACs.  A Roosevelt empty garbage train soon followed, lead by Dash-9 5153.

On 6/12 we got another coal load a little furthur west, passing Cooks.  This one was also powered by four ES44ACs.

 The weather was nice and sunny, with ample wind to power the wind surfers.  It looks like boarding with kites or parasails for power has about taken over (I'm sure I don't have the terminology right!).

I just posted a dozen pictures in the Gallery from my late May efforts.

It starts with some loaded wood chip cars in a BNSF EVEVAW at Auburn on 5/21.  Wood chip loads are getting to be kind of rare, so it was interesting to see these.

Next is BN caboose 10726 that sat in Auburn yard on a lowboy trailer for about a week.  Origin and destination unknown.

Then some light power in front of Safeco Field at Holgate Street in Seattle.  Lead unit is SD70ACe 9316.  Taken 5/23.

Next is a UP local running light southbound, long hood forward, between Auburn and Sumner.  I'd been wanting to get a shot here with that old building, but when I heard the movement on the scanner little did I know it was a lone Geep running backwards.  5/24.

At Sumner a northbound Sounder Mariners' special is passing a freight.  5/24/09.

A P32-8 leads an Amtrack Cascaades southbound at MP 26.4X on 5/24.  These P32-8s have been quite common on the Cascades lately.

A southbound freight running elephant style at MP26.4X on 5/27.

A coal load northbound at Steilacoom on 5/28.

And this northbound UP freight was close on the heels on the BNSF loaded coal train at Steilacoom.

A local southbound in Kent on 5/28.

And lastly in this group is a northbound Talgo at MP 26.4X on 5/27.  The two powered units on one end of the train is kind of unusual, especially when one of them is a P32-8.

While making a trip around Washington's Olympic Penninsula we risked encounters with Twilight vampires, and stopped to photograph and admire the retired Rayonier Lima Shay #10 on display in Forks.

The three truck Shay, builder's number 3348, was built in April of 1930, and was donated to Forks in 1959.  She still looks pretty good after sitting there for 50 years.

I've added six pictures to the Gallery that were taken on May 10, 2009.

On 4/29/09 I ventured across Snoqualmie Pass to explore the Stampede Sub east of Easton for the first time since the route was reopened to revenue traffic on 4/20.  I was fortunate enough to catch a work train and an empty grain train at Easton.  After photographing the work train, the empty grainer passing the work train, and the grainer by itself, all at Easton, I chased the eastbound down the way to Golf Club Road crossing, and then on to West Bristol, east of Cle Elum.  The sixth picture in that line in the Gallery was actually taken at Easton, and is out of order.

I took a look up the 54 road toward Martin and Stampede Pass.  I couldn't even get off the flat up to the old Milwaukee crossing because of a couple of feet of snow.  It will be a while before we get across Stampede Pass!

Monday, April 6 was a beautiful day, demanding that I go somewhere, preferably to the mountains.  With no revenue traffic running on Stampede yet, I elected to go to Stevens.

I caught three trains, one in three different places on the west side of the Pass.  Some pictures have been uploaded to the Photos Section.

The first train shown is an eastbound empty coal train at Scenic, about to enter Cascade Tunnel.  This train had four EMDs for power, lead by a BNSF SD70ACe.  A Grinstein SD70MAC was on the head end with the ACe, and two other Grinsteins were on the back end pushing DPU.  This train was moving quite fast as it approached the tunnel.

 The next picture is of a westbound probable Z train along the river just west of Grotto.  The train included TOFC, making me think it might be a Z train.

The next train is an eastbound stack train at the same spot as the Z train.  The second picture of this train shows it coming off the Foss Trestle east of Skykomish.  I also caught this train at Scenic.

The empty coal train actually ran third, but my pictures got out of order in the gallery.

A statement was made on a railfan website on 3/29 that trains were hauling material from Veazey Pit over Stampede Pass to fix the Martin washout.  I doubted this for two reasons.  A BNSF MOW employee who I consider totally credible had said the Martin work was essentially complete a couple of weeks ago.  And last time I was out by Palmer Junction and Veazey, the spur from Palmer Junction to the pit was full of stored rail cars.  I thought it was possible they had reopened the pit and were hauling rip rap up along the Green River, or something.  So, as it was a pleasant afternoon, my wife and I decided to drive out and take a look.

Arriving at the pit, we found the pit gate closed and no evidence of activity within the pit for a very long time, as in years.  Driving up past Cumberland to Palmer Junction we observed many intermodal and centerbeam flats stored on the spur.  No, the pit was not being used.

I have posted four pictures under photos, showing the view through the pit gate, intermodal cars parked next to the pit, and two showing centerbeams at Cumberland.

Thanks to the gentleman with the erroneous information.  He caused us to take a nice drive.

I made several local trips in late March.  We had some good weather days interspersed with some not-so-good.  I tried to take advantage of the good days; on the 21st I was in Kent, and on the 26th I was back to Steilacoom.

The first Kent shot is Amtrak Cascades #507 passing the old Kent Depot.  The second shot at Kent is a BNSF manifest passing a pocket park near the depot.

In Steilacoom I got the Amtrak #500 gliding northbound into the curve between downtown and Sunnyside Park.  This is the Non Powered Control Unit, or Cab Car, or Cabbage, leading.  Then a southbound UP stack train is passing the Steilacoom ferry dock.  This train had a single DP unit on the back end.  A little unusual for a stack train.

The next three pictures are an Amtrak, a UP and a BNSF each on or near the Number 14 draw bridge.  The last picture in this group shows the BNSF train that was on the draw bridge in the above picture passing Steilacoom's Sunnyside Park.

We had some really nice sunny weather here in the Puget Sound area the last couple of weeks,  through March 13. I got out on most of the good days. On 3/11/09 I got a shot of a really old Kenworth logging truck. I have wanted a picture of this old veteran for quite a while, and finally caught the sun fairly favorable. I saw this truck being fueled at a local station a few years ago, but it probably hasn't moved for a while now.

The railroading last week was quite surprising. There was lots of traffic, with congestion around Auburn a couple of the days. The pictures I just added start with the Amtrak Cascades #507 at Kent on 3/7/09. This is a somewhat unusual consist in that it has a P42-9 for power. The next picture is a recently repainted Geep. BNSF has been cranking out a few of these. Then there is a southbound intermodal followed by a BNSF meet of a vehicle train and a manifest at MP 26.4X. The final picture of this new group shows a southbound Amtrack Cascades passing a stopped BNSF intermodal.

Now the rain and crummy weather are back, but it should get better soon.

I took some pictures in the last few days with some interesting power considerations.  First was the #11 Coast Starlight in the fog at Steilacoom on the 20th.  Behind the usual leading P42 was Sound Transit F59PHI 909.  Next was just something I like to see; one of the H1 Dash-9s leading a train.  This one was BNSF 1041 leading a southbound stack train through Puyallup, also on the 20th.  Perhaps the most unusual of the three, however, was the third train, a southbound manifest at MP 26.4X on the 21st.  In the lead was GP28M 1519 still in Cascade Green.  The second unit was Dash-9 4339.  According to Del Grosso, the 1519 started life as the Great Northern 909 in 1959!  And here it is 50 years laster leading an H2 Dash-9.  Beautiful! 

While visiting the restored Milwaukee depot at South Cle Elum on 2/6/09, I noticed this nice appearing B series tractor nearby. 

I heard a work train getting a warrant from Stampede Wye to Kanaskat on the Stampede Sub Tuesday morning, 2/3/09. I had to chase it. This would be the first train I had seen on the sub since the recent closure. I tried to catch it at the high/wide detector at MP 100.6, but I was too late. So I went to 216th AVE SE at MP 91.5. He soon came along with Cascade Green BNSF 2896 in the lead. This unit has the big BN logo on the nose and the high headlight, so it looked just like old times coming out of the shadows. I then caught him at the Cumberland-Kanaskat Road overpass at MP 83. They were going to be picking up cars and crew and rearranging the train at Palmer Junction, so I went onto the hillside above the Palmer Junction sign and watched and photographed the proceedings. Notice the pristine BN green caboose. I didn't see any graffiti on it at all. I wonder where they have been keeping it. After a while they were off on a warrant to Lester. I was really glad to hear that. At least they can get through the watershed.

After all the fog and bad weather, Monday was forecast to be clear and sunny, and a little cold.  Tuesday was forecast to be snow and rain.   So Monday I went to one of my favorite places for photography: Steilacoom.  The weather was as promised; very nice.

I saw a truck driver shining the chrome stack on his company truck.  I thought that was really a great scene.  He graciously agreed to have his picture taken.

The trains had some interesting power.  A BNSF GEVO on the Coast Starlight, a P42-9 on an Amtrak Cascades, an SD9043AC on a UP manifest, and four ACs on a BNSF coal load I caught at Titlow.

A great day! 

Last week's trip to the west side of Stevens Pass was a real pleasure, allowing us to get out of the fog and cold. Miller River turned out to be a good photo site with the sun and snow, even if it is a little cramped.

The last week or more has been constant fog and overcast and pretty cold for the Puget Sound country.  Photography has not enjoyed good light or conditions.  I have been trying to shoot in spite of that, and even get some results that are a little different for me.