Tacoma’s Prairie Line Might Become Trail

BNSF and Tacoma are in complex negotiations currently to transfer ownership of the railroad's "Prairie Line" to the City, in exchange for the closure of a dangerous road crossing near the waterfront. If completed, this unused right-of-way could become part of a comprehensive trail system that cuts through the UW Tacoma campus.

The Prairie Line is the oldest line in Tacoma, being part of the original Northern Pacific route to the waterfront.

Northern Pacific Freight in Tacoma - 1888

Found this Government Archive photo today, showing the crew from the schooner Oscar and Hattie unloading the first halibut catch to be shipped on the Northern Pacific in Tacoma, September 20, 1888. The boxcar can be seen in the right side of the photo.

The Oscar and Hattie was one of a trio of fishing vessels that sailed from Massachusetts to the North Pacific, going around South America to get there. How times have changed!

Tacoma Wants to Buy BNSF's Prairie Line

Tacoma sees benefits in this unused line that runs through the UW-Tacoma campus, for use as a trail. The proposal, in its first stages, could benefit a lot of people in terms of mobility.

Tacoma Editorial about Light Rail

It took this pointy editorial for me to recall that we as a region hatched this dream of light rail in 1996. Wow. Before Nintendo 64. Before Columbine. Before 9/11. It feels like a lifetime since we voted in the Puget Sound for Light Rail.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/318324.html

Editorial: Light Rail in South Sound

It's refreshing to see that adding light rail in the South Puget Sound - connecting with SeaTac and Seattle - has once again gathered interest with Sound Transit and other agencies. After initially cooling to the idea because of cost concerns, they are now looking for funding to put a line in from the airport to Tacoma - one that runs on the west side I-5 instead of down in the valley to the east.

Have you ever driven in Federal Way? Anytime of the the day? It's a zoo, plain and simple. There is so much traffic that it literally keeps me from doing any shopping there. All those people need relief from the congestion. And people like me, who want to visit there but hate the traffic, want it so we don't have to be part of the congestion. If there ever was a part of this region that needs light rail, it would be this corridor from SeaTac to Tacoma.

Demand for light rail will defy predictions | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA

Demand for light rail will defy predictions | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA

This opinion piece speaks to the idea that "if you build it they will come." Sound Transit added average 12% ridership last year, with spikes as high as 30% in some spots. That's an impressive number surely caused by the hike in fuel prices seen by the common commuter. People are finding out that some public transit options actually work for them.

This is an interesting trend that I'll be watching!

White Pass 114 Heads Home

On October 24th I blogged about the White Pass & Yukon 114 in a Then and Now segment. This week my buddy Robert McDonald also blogged about the rare narrow gauge diesel in a couple of posts:

Oil-Electric: "Going home!"

Oil-Electric: White Pass & Yukon Arrives in Skagway

In short, the first one has photos of the engine being loaded on a barge for Alaska, and the second has a link to Skagway's news about the engines arrival.

Nice to see this unique machine get home!

Tacoma approves Sounder route over Pacific Avenue

Last week Sound Transit got approval to build over Pacific Avenue to connect with South Tacoma. It's a mere distance of 1.2 miles, but will bring rail service back to South Tacoma by 2012. Some people are concerned that Pacific Avenue will suffer from being lowered; guess we'll have to see how this plays out.

If you don't know what this project will look like, here's a handy map courtesy of Google.

White Pass & Yukon #114 - Then and Now

Today's Then and Now segment is a bit different from previous ones, focusing this time on a locomotive project that some shops wouldn't even attempt...

The White Pass & Yukon 114 was involved in a 2006 derailment that injured three crew members and tragically killed one. When photos of the poor mangled engine were first posted on the Internet, people were shocked. "Hard to believe that there's much left worth saving..." is what one person wrote in Railroad Forums about this special engine. The entire body was crushed end to end. The cab had been pushed over to one side so badly that a huge chunk of it had to be cut off in order to transport it over the road from the Seattle docks to the Tacoma repair shop. Most large railroads would have scrapped something that had incurred this much damage, electing to pull the motor and generators in favor of a nicer replacement. But thankfully White Pass is not a large railroad. Either out of necessity or tradition, they chose to rebuild.

So what makes the 114 special? Well for starters the WP&Y runs on an unusual 3-foot Narrow Gauge track (Standard Gauge railroads place their tracks 4-feet 8 1/2 inches apart). Given that the majority of North American railroad equipment is built for Standard Gauge you can imagine that Narrow Gauge equipment is pretty hard to find, especially when you consider that much of the Narrow Gauge stuff in the world is vintage steam rather than modern diesel. Add to mix the rarity of this particular engine. The DL 535 shown here was built by Bombardier in Canada, being one of maybe four or five in the world. White Pass is a traditional railroad and probably found more benefit in having it repaired instead of searching out new equipment. Insurance paid for the repairs and the work was done here in Washington, at Coast Engine and Equipment in Tacoma.

The forum post about this engine provides back story, making the whole experience into something more than a mere rebuild. Allegations of ineffective low-priced labor, reuse of scrap-worthy metal, corner cutting in the project, and wiring issues keep the story juicy if somewhat off-base. Are the allegations true? It's not my place to surmise their validity, since I'm neither a mechanic or a railroader. Considering what CEECO had to work with coming in the door, I'd say they had their job cut out for them. Did the WP&Y get a good locomotive back? Well see for yourself....

CEECO accomplished something amazing here. We can marvel at the sharp metal work and paint that took this machine from a mangled pulp to a shining example of Narrow Gauge Goodness. Nice work CEECO! The shops in Skagway AK will apply the White Pass lettering and numbers. While some wince at the green and yellow paint scheme, I'm a huge fan of it. Finding a way to incorporate the WP&Y Thunderbird on the front would be a nice addition.

Thanks to Steve Carter for these great Before and After shots!

Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Railway

The Seattle-Tacoma Interburban Railway made its debut run on September 25th, 1902 - 105 years ago today. Originally it only ran between Tacoma and Seattle, but eventually expanded as far as Everett before it ran into financial trouble in the late 1920s. The final trains ran between Seattle and Everett no later than 1939. Much of the line has been reclaimed as a regional trail now. Thankfully a lot of the right-of-way remained, because it was shared with the power company. As a kid I remember riding minibikes over the old grade in places throughout Shoreline. Even back then we called it "The Interurban" without knowing why, other than some people knowing that a train used to run there.

As I write this, Sound Transit is bringing what used to be called "Interurban Transportation" back to the Puget Sound Region in the form of a light rail line that will eventually reach between Tacoma and Seattle. In some places, the new route and the old route are close enough to eyeball each other. In fact, at the Boeing Access Road in northern Tukwila, the new Light Rail line crosses over the old Interurban right-of-way. Was the Interurban ahead of its time? In my opinion yes, by about 100 years. In the early 1900s it was built to span the rustic distances between two urban centers. Now, the light rail spans the traffic congestion that is caused by having two urban centers, brought on by the cars that signaled the demise of the Interurban 70 years ago. While the focus is different, the result is the same - move people from one place to another.

Today we can sit back and celebrate rail history of our region by thinking about the Interurban and it's forward thinking mission to move people. I personally am looking forward to Light Rail, and hope to see it expand to my part of the region.

Tacoma Rail GP20 - Old Loco, Old Camera

Tacoma Rail has one of the more colorful paint schemes in Western Washington. Evidence is in this photo of their Red & White GP20 against dull grey rail cars. Some sources say that TMBL 2006 is a GP10 while others say GP20. Generally speaking, it's older than 1963 and it has four axles - which at the very least makes is an EMD GP series locomotive. Look around North America and you'll find Short Lines, Regionals, Rail Museums, and the like still running these soldiers of steel. The GP series locomotives were built between 1953 and 1994, with the GP60 being the most recent (and possibly final) version.

Look at the photo and you'll see a beautiful excursion train. But don't look at the graininess of the photo. Yep I said grain, as opposed to "noise." Noise would indicate that I am using a digital camera. Grain? That means I shot this photo old school, with a 35mm camera! Say hello to my trusty 1970s era Vivitar 220SL. This shot was taken through a 175mm lens. The camera kit includes elements of my late grandfather's photo kit; his camera body wore out about 8 years ago - my Dad said he took thousands of photos with it - so I replaced body with an identical one off eBay for a whopping $45. It even has an internal light meter. I have lenses ranging from 28mm to the 175, plus some kind of "2x converter" lens that apparently turns my 175 into a 350. Haven't tried that one yet but I'm told it degrades the image somewhat and also doesn't allow the same amount of light through. We'll see what it can do on a nice day sometime.

By taking this and some other photos with the 35mm SLR camera, I've rediscovered the interactive nature of photography in this old school kit that I don't feel with my digital. Maybe I'm sentimental because it was my Grandfather's, or maybe I just remember the enjoyment of taking pictures with a hand-me-down 35mm (now deceased) that served me well for about 8 years when I was younger. My Olympus C4040 is a 4 megapixel model that has been truck-strong and versatile, but as I have become more experienced with it I've discovered it's not as flexible as I would like. Not the fault of any camera, the big enemy in the Pacific Northwest is poor lighting. Finding any sort of situation with the right amount of light around here is difficult. At least with a film camera I can work more with the shutter speed than I can with my digital. That's why suddenly my old Vivitar has made it back into my kit. I'll probably try slide film, tripod, and remote shutter release the next time I head out; this would allow me to try even slower shutter speeds, at least on static subjects.

Posting railroading photos on the Internet has nurtured my desire to experiment with the equipment I have, since I really don't have the budget to replace any of it. Think about all the "off-brand" SLR cameras that may be languishing on shelves or garage sales; they may not be a Pentax, Nikon, or Olympus, but they are cheap and can take good photos with some practice.