Photo Highlight - EMD F7A

To this day EMD F-Units remain as some of my favorite engines of all time. The fact that they continue to show up in the modern day is a testament not only to their strength but also to their popular shape.

Today's Photo Highlight comes from Renton, once the Land Of F7s when the Spirit Of Washington Dinner Train ran in this area. Unit 82 - sister 84 - were part of Maryland Transit System before their arrival in Washington.

Great Northern SDP40 - Then and Now

©1972 Kevin Piper

A rarity even when built, EMD's SDP40 totaled only 20 units when production ceased in 1970. The main difference that set them apart was a steam generator added to each unit for passenger train use. Other than that, they were pure 60s Diesel goodness. Kevin Piper took the above photo of Burlington Northern 9855 at Cicero IL in 1972; this was one of six built for the Great Northern as #325. That same unit, now known as BNSF 6327 and seen below in a photo taken by Aaron B. Hockley, was still in service as of 2003 in Vancouver WA.

©2003 Aaron B. Hockley

In January 2008, 6327 was seen in this photo by Steve Welch pulling freight in California:

©2008 Steve Welch

That means this unit has been riding the rails for four decades. It's entirely possible that some of the crews that operate this engine are younger than that.

Talk about longevity and recycling!

Thanks to these three guys for establishing our timeline on a rare unit! Be sure to check out more railfan photos from the trio.

• Kevin's photos are HERE
  
• Aaron's photos are HERE
  
• Steve's photos are HERE

Sound Transit Parking a Headache for Puyallup

Commuters try to do the right thing, by parking their car and taking the train to jobs in Seattle. But the cars left behind - especially in Puyallup - take up parking spaces that the city's Main Street Association say are vital to downtown growth and commerce. The city wants to end Sound Transit's lease on several of the spaces, and give them back to use for downtown activities. But this will cause strain for those who are driving into town to take the train. It's a neverending quagmire. The issue repeats itself in Sumner and Auburn too, where hundreds of people leave their cars and hit the rails.

Since parking is static, the first thought for many is a parking garage for the downtown area to handle the cars. Problem is, Puyallup doesn't want them. Hopefully the city and Sound Transit can come to some understanding because that would be quite an impasse if parking garages aren't an option to handle the ever-increasing commuters. With gas prices the way they are, parking will become even more of an issue as the year goes on.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/353103.html

Man talking on cellphone killed by train in Auburn

Another sad story from the Valley, after a girl in Kent also died the same way. If there is a lesson more important than safe motorcycle riding that you can teach your kids, it's to stay off the tracks.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004398403_webtrain07m.html

King County OKs Eastside Trail + Rail

Excellent news. The Eastside is now that much closer to keeping this line intact!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/361859_trail06.html

Down at The Pencil Yard

Steve Carter shot this photo at the new Light Rail yard next to Alaskan Way in Seattle. I call it The Pencil Yard because of the tall dangerous looking poles that pepper the property. This shot was taken at night, which gives is an otherwordly lighting perspective.

Look for more of Steve's great pictures HERE.

New 3-Mile Bypass Planned for Kalama

Like any other major project in this state, bypassing the congestion at Kalama's port on the Columbia has been a issue put on hold for lack of funds. But port authorities have come up with a smaller trimmer plan to create a 3-mile bypass, which is much shorter and cheaper than the original 18-mile line.