Like shooting fish in a barrel!

While waiting for a BNSF coal train I saw being held up by a red signal I worked my way back to a spot where I could look down on the train for a better angle. Behind Sunset Junction hobby shop in downtown Spokane BNSF installed these relatively new signal towers. While I was waiting a Union Pacific empty Canopex unit train passed eastbound.

 

This is Canadian Potash that is sold to China for fertilizer and comes in on the UP/SI line from Canada thru Spokane.

 

Further delay on the famous coal train was maintenance equipment passing me eastbound, then 10 minutes later passing me westbound.

 

Specialized equipment like this tamper keeps the ties and rails at the proper alignment vertically so they wont sag when a train passes over.

 

After about an hour the coal train passes this spot with the new school and business buildings in the background where once was industrial warehouses.

 

Now the normal on many trains is a pusher locomotive that is controlled by the head engineer. No need to signal the pusher in the old days by whistle or telephone.  An engineer and a brakeman in the lead unit moving over 100 cars of 100 tons each. My how efficient. My coal dust meter did not detect any dust from these cars!

 

 

Playing with helpers

I have been not sending much the last week as my computer ate my Picasa program with all my photos on it!  I think I have recovered them but not in the order I like. Anyway here is a collection of stuff that would have never seen the light of day in real life! A Big Boy steam engine with Union Pacific markings on the point is not out of reason.

What is weird is that the train has a Southern Pacific Cab Forward doing the pasting on an SP&S caboose in the company of an NP coal car! Now I could tell you that I was pulling/pushing a 100 car train but then again I don't live in Washington, DC.

I gave these 4 SP&S Alcos some smoke because they are Alcos!

Allan had his good looking CP steamers working on the Green branch during the Open House last week pulling about 22 coal cars. I would guess we had about 180-200 people visit us. The newspaper had a 3 inch column on us and that helped from out the crowd.

Jimmy B. had his 3 Alaska F units doing a freight up the grade. Get those rings fixed before the EPA finds out!

Thursday night ramblings

New member Frank Spuler had his Union Pacific SD45s working a freight train eastbound over Beaver Canyon this afternoon.

Later in the day 3 different passenger trains clog up Bakersville. There must be a convention going on to have this much traffic.

The power to these passenger trains were varied heritage as steam and diesel units from different railroads are apparent.

The unique power is a dinner train doing a tour of the Green branch and the headlight is not Photoshopped but as the camera caught it!

Tommy Frank's BNSF freight passes the excursion dinner train owned by Don Brereton in the front of the layout. The Green Branch is not for long cars such as these passenger cars but who would know that?  See that photographer at the end of the bridge?

To prove we are dealing in models and not real trains I took this photo of Don setting up the shot. You would thing Don would be smiling when I shoot a candid shot of him moving his models into position! Somebody say something to him!

Big locomotive on tiny tracks

When big is mentioned in model railroading this Union Pacific DD40A Centennial locomotive should be on the top of the diesel list. Back in 1969 I saw my first one at the Golden Spike celebration in Ogden, Utah. It was so new the paint was barely dry. They took 2 GP40 engines and put it in one long carbody with the thinking they just doubled the horsepower of a single loco. So what could be the downside to that thinking?

Lloyd was running this 32 car coal train today (Sunday) and as you can see the difference in length to a normal diesel.  The downside to this thinking was when one engine failed they had 2 engines out of service. They lasted about 20 years before they were retired. There is still one in the UP Historical collection along with the operating UP 8444 Northern and the 3985 Challenger, a smaller version of the Big Boy.

Union Pacific...ship and travel everywhere on the Evergreen RR

Our buddy Steve Welton was running trains today at the club when I was heading for the Post Office so I stopped by to see what he was up too.

Steve had two sets of trains running and they were both Union Pacific! One coal train and the other general freight. No matter how good your equipment is I think they look better when running through good looking scenery. I hope you agree! The natural light coming through the windows adds a different hue.

The back side of the layout has this wide shot with the north end of Blue main yard in the foreground.  The caboose is now a relic of another day.

 This view is more to what us railfans see when we are out on the hunt looking for stuff to photograph. Nowadays,I do more shooting at the club than I do on the mainlines.

On the rails in Spokane Valley.‏

Herzog track maintenance train was seen on the secondary main heading east earlier this week. It had 5 gondola cars and a crane in the rear.

Note the tracks and wheels under the crane to allow it to travel the length of the train set to pick up or deliver materials to track side. This is the ex-NP main that is now the BNSF main coming into Spokane from the east. I may have stepped on the BNSF property but I'm not sure to take this photo for you. What...me worry? If you don't get caught there is no foul!

 

The effort to save the Union Station in Spokane.‏

If an atomic bomb blew up over Spokane the last standing building would be the Union Station on Trent Avenue.

That comment was to show how strong this building was. It was intergrated into the girder system that elevated the

tracks to the second story of this structure. When the vote failed to pass to save the stations Expo 74 was given

the green light to start destruction. When the contractors started ripping into it they realized that it was not

coming down easy.

Looking east we see the massive girder system that made up the approaches to the station. Division Street is in the

background, the GN station was to the left of this photo.

The waiting room was a pretty good size an it served the people of Spokane from 1914 to 1971. The railroads that used

it were the Union Pacific, Milwaukee Road and the Spokane International. Perhaps others but I'm not sure. Before the

vote was taken to save it or not something funny happened, There was a pile of trash put up against a wood door and

a fire was started....in a locked building!  I wonder how that happened?  The firemen arrived to a locked building!

So down she comes....ever so slowly. They changed the name of Trent Avenue to Spokane Falls Blvd to make it more

acceptable in a name. Someone explain that to me. The red wagon now sits on this location. How many uses could this

building have in Spokane's future?  I can count a dozen off the top of my head.

Along with losing 2 railroad stations for Expo 74 we also lost a mile long High Bridge just west on downtown Spokane.

The current Centennial Trail bridge now sits on the abutments from this bridge. By the way, I served on the Expo committee

to make this event possible but I think the current Riverfront Park would be a better year round park than the 8 month

useage we have today as there are no buildings to have events happen. When the snow flies hardly anyone uses the park.

What do I know, I'm just a guy from New Jersey. These photos are available on CDs. That's my point of view.  Jerry Quinn