The morning of Saturday 5-12-12 I had a work safety meeting to attend in Kent.  Once the meeting was over I headed down to Auburn for lunch at Herfys. Waiting for my order I saw grain hoppers moving out of Auburn yard eastward. Love the timing!

After getting my food I headed out to the high wide detector and shot the BNSF 6603 there first at 1:02 PM. BNSF 6603/4713 were on the head end and are starting to accelerate as they approach the detector.

BNSF Warbonnet 4713 still looks pretty good and worthy of a photo.

Back shot showing my 1987 Camaro waiting for the run east to Kanaskat for one more photo.

The train had a rear DPU (BNSF 4880) on the rear as DPU but I did not wait for it as I wanted to get out to Palmer Jct as quickly as possible.  Then it was eastward on Highway 18 out to the Maple Valley exit and back to 4corners where I headed east through Ravensdale and on out to Palmer Jct beating the train by 10 minutes or so. Much better than going through Covington. This routing was suggested to me by someone on RR Forums to whom I am most grateful.  There was a bike race going on westbound on the road out to Palmer Jct from 4corners. Glad they were not going east! Covington police had a cruiser stationed at the intersection near the Kanaskat overpass to make sure no the cyclists got through it safely.

I arrived at Palmer Jct well ahead of the train and it was fun having time to listen to those GE’s working up into Kanaskat.  Soon the horns were blowing and the 6603 East was around the curve and crossing the Green River on its way towards Stampede Pass.

For as many times as I have shot trains at Palmer Jct (my first train photographed here was the BN 842 East on 6-30-80) I never get tired of this location.

From here I headed for home and listened to the BNSF 6603 between Easton and Ellensburg. Temperature at the MP 20 detector east of Cle Elum was 72 degrees and axle count was 470. The train gave up track warrant 431-8 CTC Stampede Wye to CTC Ellensburg at 16:36. Beautiful day on the west side and was glad to catch this eastbound.

Saturday morning 3-31-12 was one of those bright sunny mornings you never forget.  OK, so I am writing this on April 1, April Fools day.  Typical northwest rain was the actual weather.

While at home late that morning I had looked at ATCS and noticed there was a westbound lined into Kanaskat. As soon as I saw it on the approach I took off for East Auburn to see if I could beat a westbound from Kanaskat to the Green River bridge. (I did by about 10 minutes)

As they came into Auburn the 765 gave up track warrant 431-6 from West Lester to Stampede Wye. It was rather wet as they came around curve 100 across the Green River headed towards East Auburn.

This was the M-PASVBT with BNSF C44-9W’s 765/4389/4645 up front.  I got back on Highway 18 and took these photos from the shoulder.  Yes, it was still raining as can be seen by the smears from a wet camera lens.

I had briefly considered heading over to Easton this morning as it looked like some snow had fallen overnight as this DOT snapshot showed this morning.

And then compare this to the shot about 3 and 1/2 hours ago. 

What a difference a few hours can make. Glad I didn’t go over to Easton for any snow shots today!

As I had a company meeting to attend in Kent I was not able to head over the Cascades to catch the eastbound I saw lined up on ATCS this morning at 09:00 AM.

But after the meeting I drove on down to Auburn and after getting some lunch parked by the yard office to eat. As I arrived I saw a crew van pull up to a train in the yard and a crew get out. About 5 minutes later they are asking Centralia North for a light onto the Stampede as they are ready to head east calling themselves the X-KALWOL. Love timing like that. I headed east to the high wide detector to wait as the train started moving out.

BNSF 7887/1004 were on the head end and BNSF 5298 on the rear.  BNSF 7887 East at MP 100.6 east of Auburn 2-4-12. The time was 1:25 PM.

BNSF H1 1004 was the second unit. Still like the H1 GE’s!

With the important photos out of the way I turned around for a quick back shot. I wasn’t trying to get my Camaro in the shot but it just happened.

When the DPU went by I did want the 1987 Camaro in the shot.

Reason being was when I bought the car in 1987 the Stampede was shut down to through traffic. I just recently got the Camaro running again (4 years it sat dead in the front yard, some people have pink flamingos, I had a Camaro as a lawn ornament) and it is nice to know I have that along with the car back in service, the Stampede Pass line is running trains too. It’s not my primary train chasing vehicle but it’ll be a nice change of pace from the Focus now and then. It was a good day.

After getting home later I followed that train through Easton on ATCS and the Stampede Radio stream, it passed by the Easton detector with 454 axles.  Passing the 20.5 detector at 4:25 PM, it’s gave a reading of 34 degrees there.

Saturday morning 1-28-12 was cloudy and cool but I still decided to head on over to Easton for some lunch and if lucky enough see a train.  I-90 was bare and wet over Snoqualmie Pass, no restrictions so it was a quick trip to Easton.

I found lots of snow on the ground and a sno-dozer tied up with three BNSF geeps.  Shortly after my arrival at 11:00 AM I heard Pasco East give a warrant to the BNSF 4742 East at Ellensburg.  Too bad, had missed an eastbound earlier.  I then headed over to photograph sno-dozer 940025 and the three geeps 2900/2842/2718 which were idling. 

The sno-dozer is former Great Northern X7306.

I could also hear the switch heaters running.  Don’t recall hearing that before.  Getting back to the car I could hear the tail end of a track warrant being given by North Branch.  Rats!  Didn’t know who it was given too.  I had an inkling it might be a westbound at Ellensburg considering an eastbound had just left.  Seemed to be the right amount of time for an arriving eastbound crew to get a ride to the head end of a westbound.  I was getting hungry so I headed over to the Parkside Cafe and got the spaghetti to go. 

Back over at the grade crossing with my lunch I soon heard the detector at MP 20.5 announce I indeed had a westbound coming.  At 1:08 PM it read off 271 axles and a temperature of 25.  I was just finishing eating as a railfan showed up saying he had followed the train from Ellensburg and it had a pair of B-units in the consist.  Different.  At 1:30 PM I could see the BNSF 4306 West approaching Easton.

I noticed the train was moving very slowly as the head end neared.  BNSF 4306/5426/339/336/4964 were up front.

Looked like the cigar band on the front end of the 4306 had been painted over.  Here is a shot of the two GP60B’s.

As they went by the power throttled out and I could only hear the three GE’s.  Both EMD’s were dead in consist.  Here’s a roster of the 336, built as the Santa Fe 336.

Back shot of the westbound, probably the M-PASVBC going through Easton headed for Stampede Pass. 

I figured that would be it for awhile so I headed back over Snoqualmie Pass for home after the train way by.  Nice to see an earlier running westbound!  I later learned BNSF had run another westbound earlier this morning that passed through East Auburn in daylight as well so maybe Stampede is getting busier.

I had to go out to Kent for a meeting early this afternoon and afterwards went on to the Auburn Herfys for a late lunch. Parked by the old engine facility I’m just about to start eating when the North Branch dispatcher gets toned up. BNSF 5082 East, an XKAL grain empty is ready to head over the hill and gets a track warrant from Stampede Wye to Ellensburg. It was raining pretty hard when I got onto Highway 18 and started for Covington. I first thought about stopping at Covington but decided to go on to Henrys between Covington and Ravensdale instead.

Out on the overpass I could soon hear the train heading my way above the passing highway traffic noise. You sure can hear them a long ways off! The rain had stopped when I shot the 5082/1095 passing the old Pacific Coast RR bridge supports at 2:27 PM but the scene still looked pretty gloomy.

A short while later DPU 4085 passed under the bridge. The head end would have been heading through Ravensdale when I took this photo.

I then headed back to Renton and did some errands before going on home. I’ve been listening to the Stampede Stream and the BNSF 5082′s progress while working on the photos I took of the train.

At 4:21 PM it passed MP 43.5 up on the hill
At 4:41 PM it was by MP 36.9 Easton (434 axles)
At 5:03 PM by MP 20.5, temperature 23 degrees.

As it was Saturday, December 31 I had kind of wanted to spend the last day of 2011 on the Stampede Sub.   There had been heavy snow overnight on I-90 Snoqualmie Pass and when I woke up it was traction tires required.  I waited a few hours and checked again to find it was now just an advisory.  A report on RR Forums.com stated there was going to be a meet of east and westbound trains at Lester around 10:00 AM.  I knew I would miss the westbound but that  eastbound should be easy to catch.  I was soon on the road headed east on I-90.

Arrived at Easton to sunshine about 10:45 AM after hearing the two BNSF trains meet at Lester around Cabin Creek Road on I-90.  Westbound was the BNSF 4758 and the eastbound the BNSF 4919.  First thing I wanted to do was take a few shots around town, starting with the old NP hotel.

The sun was short lived as clouds quickly came in and that was it for the bright sunshine.  I thought I would wait by the crossing for my old standby shot with the Easton sign.

The BNSF 4919 went by the detector up on the hill and was soon through Easton at 11:40 AM.  I never tire of this location. Big mountain and little train.

Power on the head end of the X-train was 4919/4736.  As I chased it out of Easton I saw it was kicking up some snow so I pulled off at Golf Course Road to see if I could get some of the “blowing snow” back in the train but the shot was pretty crappy.  I went on past Cle Elum for a broadside of the BNSF 4919 crossing the Teanaway River on Bridge 19 west of Bristol.  I also noticed all that snow on the ground was quickly thinning out. 

I then went further east to MP 13 for a shot of the train passing the approach signal.  This was an angle I had not photographed before and might be nicer under sunnier conditions.

As the train passed by I set up for a shot of the DPU crossing bridge 13.  BNSF 5458 was the trains DPU.

At this point I decided to turn back as the bare ground and overcast skies made for dismal looking photos.  I had my Easton shot on the last day of 2011 and that made the whole trip over here worth while.  A very good way to end the year.

OS Easton – Nov 12, 1970

It’s been awhile since I’ve gone back into the past at Easton, WA and while waiting for the BNSF 8184 last weekend I was looking through my Easton Train Movement book for November of 1970 and saw something that caught my eye.  It was the BN 6606 West on 11-12-70, this date 41 years ago.

I remember photographing the 6606 back on 8-2-74 and it was still in GN’s big sky blue paint looking pretty good. 

But almost four years earlier on 11-12-70 it was westbound in daylight hours over Stampede Pass.  Now that would have been nice to see!  Two other ex-GN Sky Blue units were also seen leading trains at Easton that day.  SDP45 9862 and SD45 6452.  And two brand new BN SD45′s too, the 6478 and 6492.  Rounding out the trains that day from the NP were F7A 734, U25C 5615 and SD45 6424.  Nice collection of power.  Kind of fun to think back and imagine being there that day to see all that action.

It was one week ago today on Saturday 11-5-11 that I made a quick dash out the door for Easton after reading on RR Forums a BNSF eastbound had left Kanaskat thirty minutes previous (about 11:00 AM) with green SD60M 8184 leading.  That was worth trying to catch!  I made quick time over Snoqualmie Pass thanks in part to some construction on I-90 just east of Hyak being completed. 

I had the scanner going but heard nothing on it.  It was at 1:40 PM when I took Eastons Exit 70 off ramp thinking I must be ahead of the train.  Slowing for the stop sign I heard loudly “BNSF detector…” and I said “yessss!” and then came “MP 36.9….” and I said “nooooo!” knowing the train was ahead of me by about a mile.

So it was back onto I-90 to catch up to the train which was pretty easy to do.  I caught the last car just before West Nelson Siding Road.  The train was a grain empty.   At Golf Course Rd I passed the the 8184/5243/6779 on the trains head end.  The weather was perfect and I planned to get as many photos as possible.  I was a bit concerned about sun angles as it was well into the afternoon now.  First stop was the overpass east of Cle Elum and the sun angle here was decent enough.

Then the chase was on again but the train wasn’t really going that fast which took me by surprise.  At Bristol I was way ahead of the train.  As the baretables were clear of the siding I decided to get a shot passing the station sign.

Back shot shows the lines of a BNSF SD60M.  Note some fall color is still in the trees.

A train of grain empties at Bristol siding.  Note all the jointed rail still in place.

Once the last car was by I headed towards MP 12 and the sweeping S-curve but again I quickly overtook the slow moving train.  At the MP 13 river curve I was way ahead and I liked the sun angle and background here so decided to stop and head down a fisherman’s path towards the river.  What a beautiful scene!  Some fall color was in view too.  The train came around the curve and it was showtime!

And then the best shot of the day.  This made the trip well worth it.

The train went on to Thorp and was instructed to stop at Milepost 6 and wait for further instructions.  A broken rail had been found and MOW were going to walk the grain empty across it.  This all took place near a grade crossing so I was about to get some nice photos as the train crept up to the broken rail at walking speed as instructed.

At the very slow speed a roster shot of the 8184 was easy to take.  The 8184 was built as BN 9284.

Once the last car was by the broken rail I took off for the head end again as the train picked up speed for the last leg into Ellensburg.   I was up on the overpass for these last two shots of the train before it tied up.

I wasn’t planning a drive across the mountains today but the chase of the 8184 was really a lot of fun and I am glad I was able to catch up to the train, though Easton would have been a great shot!!

As it was a nice day Saturday 10-15-11 I headed east of the Cascades to see the fall colors around Easton. Saw the BNSF snow dozer 972511 recently sent here from Auburn at Easton and first thing got a shot of it.

Beautiful Autumn day at Easton. Looking east and west in the early afternoon. If only there had been an eastbound while I was there!

I then decided to take a few photos of myself using the cameras timer.  I did like all the Fall color!

Some more of that color at Easton.

While at Easton I could hear an eastbound at Ellensburg leaving around 2 PM. That would have been a nice chase down the Canyon towards Yakima.

It was past lunchtime so I headed to Cle Elum to do some shopping at the Safeway and stop for lunch at DQ. 

Before heading for home I took a few photos of the ex-NP around Cle Elum.  First the crossovers just east of Oak Street.

And some spur tracks at the west end of Cle Elum including an old NP switch stand minus the yellow target.

Leaving I had to take a double look at this signal box. Cle Ellum?  Just had to stop for a photo of it.  Even funnier as the station sign with the correct spelling is in plain view.

And before going I did take one last photo of the NP switch stand, with yellow target at Cle Elum.

Then it was west back on I-90 towards Easton.  Scanner was quiet as I passed shortly after 4 PM so I shut it off.   Later I learned BNSF ran a pair of eastbound grain empties later this afternoon over Stampede Pass.  First one would have been by Easton around 5:15 PM and the second around 8:30 PM.  Apparently a westbound work train also went through Easton around 11:00 AM this morning and stopped at Kanaskat.

Wish those trains had shown up while I was at Easton today!

Saturday I drove south to Napavine on the BNSF’s Seattle Sub and was headed back towards home early in the afternoon.  Up around Tacoma I could hear a track inspector tone up the North Branch and ask for a track warrant from Auburn up to Kanaskat.  The dispatcher replied he would have to wait as he’d just given one to the empty in the yard which should be leaving in around 5 minutes! 

That got my attention!  I quickly made my way to Highway 18 and coming down the hill into Auburn heard the train tell a Special Agent there were some trespassers under the Highway 18 bridge near the Stampede Wye.  The Agent asked the train for his symbol and X-TACNIL9-26A was given.  I stayed on Highway 18 over the tracks and saw the grain empty moving out of the yard and passed the head end right at the east switch of the Wye.  This was a pleasant surprise as this is the first freight train I have seen on the Stampede Sub since March 23 of this year!  There were three GE’s on the head end led by the 7850.  My first thought was straight out to Palmer Jct but saw the sun angle wasn’t that bad at the high/wide detector so I got off 18 and waited for the 7850 East to arrive.  It didn’t take long to show up and soon the 7850/4626/4433 were by the detector at 14:21.

Trailing unit was H2 C44-9W 4433 in the “Bold Heritage” scheme.

I was then back in the car and headed out towards Kanaskat.  Got some lights red at Covington but was soon headed out towards 4Corners, just north of Henrys.  Waiting for the light to turn green the train passed the 91.6 detector with a 450 axle count.  The approach to Ravensdale was called out with a speed of 38 MPH telling me I should be able to stay ahead of it out to Kanaskat.  I crossed over the tracks at Kanaskat as the train called out the approach and I was soon parked at the Palmer Jct grade crossing and waiting outside the car.  I could hear the train working up towards Kanaskat and I really enjoyed that.  Then the horns started blowing for the crossing east of Kanaskat and I waited a few moments and saw the train round the curve and out onto the Green River bridge.  The sun angle was pretty nose on but the shot still looked really nice as I took the photos at 1455.

I then watched those 450 axles pass by (three units and 108 grain cars) before one last photo as the last car passed by headed up towards Stampede Pass. 

I then drove home and listened to the Railroad Radio Net as the train came into Easton and on past Bristol.  Here are some of the transmissions:

16:50 detector at MP 36.9 goes off 450 axles no defects
16:55 Approach Bullfrog 48 mph
17:01 Approach Cle Elum 49 mph
17:08 Approach Bristol 49 mph
17:11 detector at MP 20.5 goes off 88 degrees no defects

BNSF 7850 clears track warrant 431-3 at West Bristol 17:14 to let Track Inspector out at Easton.  I wasn’t expecting to see anything on the Stampede Sub at all so the 7850 was really a pleasant surprise!  Looking forward for more “pleasant surprises” to come.