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

Stevens Pass - Wellington Avalanche of 1910

Everett Herald: Stevens Pass train disaster of 1910: History's valuable lesson

"They know that Mother Nature has the upper hand.."

Truer words never spoken. The 1910 avalanche that killed 96 (and possibly more) on Stevens Pass continues to reign supreme as the worst avalanche disaster in U.S. History. With all the snow that has fallen in the Cascades this winter, visions of 1910 have returned with the unfortunate loss of at 9 people so far this year.

This newspaper article is a great compilation of historic data, plus accounts handed down to descendants of first responders and victims. Martin Burwash, quoted as a rail historian in the article, also is quite shot with a camera and specializes in Black & White photography. You can see some of his rail photos HERE.

Seattle's Great Northern Tunnel

Another mobile moment. A second day of Jury Duty took me back to Seattle...and back to the trains. Built in 1904, the Great Northern Tunnel literally goes under the City of Seattle. The dig was so accurate that the two ends were said to be perfectly aligned when one team broke through to the other side in October 1904.

The mile-long tunnel is now heavily used and has two tracks running through the entire length. Typical traffic through the tunnel includes BNSF, Amtrak, and Sounder trains. The roof of the tunnel has been notched on the sides to allow for "Double-Stack" railcars to pass through, something that is still not possible with more famous tunnels like Stampede Pass.

A great place to watch movements is right along 4th Avenue between Washington and Main Street.

Interbay Yard - Then and Now

This post has two pictures, each taken from nearly the same spot but 35 years apart. The area is called Interbay Yard, which is on the BNSF mainline heading north out of downtown Seattle. In these two photos one can see the development change, but the depicted industry is more or less the same right down to the grit and grime on the outside of the loco.

The first photo was taken by Robert McDonald in May 1969, of Great Northern 425. Robert took a lot of photos back in the day. The pictures he has added to his blog Oil-Electric go back to 1958 and show historic views of our past up and down the West Coast - including British Columbia and Alaska. Thankfully for us train lovers, he took those picture with quality equipment depicting locomotives and scenery that are now only memories. His photographic record, and ability to describe each one in great detail, is a treasure to everyone who loves railroading history.

Robert calls GN 425 "absolutely dingy" because of the road grime over spectacular colors, Robert chose to shoot the picture anyway not realizing the impact it would have on a world of railfans when posted on the Internet in 2007. What he captured was a real-world vision of railroading in the late 1960s, dirt and all. We can appreciate this more than a posed photo of a clean unit.

The second photo was taken by yours truly in March 2004 of a worn-out Warbonnet with stenciled "BNSF" letters on the side. I shot the picture as the crew was leaving the unit and walking away. The photo is from the same vantage point of Robert's photograph - along the east side of Gilman Ave W. You'll see that my photo is slightly to the left of the spot that Robert snapped, but you can't miss the extensive additions of buildings both at the yard and on the streets behind the engine. In the original photo you can see Standard station, which is now the site of a bank. The roads behind the GN engine are now shrouded by two-story buildings serving small businesses and art galleries. None of this is visible in the final photo because of the erector set buildings put up on-site at the yard. But you get the idea. Lots has changed in 35 years. In this post-9/11 world this viewing area is an unsung spot for railfans, far enough from the trains for safety and close enough for pictures.

Open these photos each in a separate browser window, and then toggle back and forth between them. You'll see the development of 35 years right before your eyes. It's nice to know that I had Robert's archive to use as the "Then" photo for this series.