April 22, 2006
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last updated: 12/31/06
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© 2000-2006 Dave Honan
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I took my first trip to Stevens Pass on April 22nd, and arrived at the summit so early that
the sun hadn't even come up. I also hadn't passed any eastbound trains between Monroe and
Scenic, so I continued down the east slope all the way to Leavenworth, then back north (timetable
west) up the valley of Chumstick Creek. Knowing that there was a westbound just departing
Wenatchee, I tiptoed up Camp 12 Road to try a shot I thought I had found on TerraServer...
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| Chumstick, WA |
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...only to discover that the trees were much taller than I had anticipated. Disappointed
but not willing to waste the time and effort spent getting to this spot, I stuck around to shoot five
SD40-2s grinding upgrade out of Chumstick Tunnel with a long S-CHCSEA1-18A. |
| Chumstick, WA |
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I abandoned that hillside spot and headed south a little bit to try another shot I had spotted
on my way in. Before setting up for the next train, I photographed a small chunk of the Cascades.
I believe the peak at right (also visible in my shot above) is Grindstone Mountain. |
| Chumstick, WA |
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Two more westbounds were following the stack train, and I photographed the Z-CHCSSE2-20A and
the H-SUPVBT1-10A crossing the Wenatchee River. The dispatcher told the Z train that he would meet
one at Berne and informed the manifest that he'd be at Winton for one before going to Baring to tie
down, so I had an idea of the short-term eastbound train forecast. |
| Chumstick, WA |
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Before I left, I took a couple quick shots depicting Camp 12 Road and the little notch in which
I had parked my Jeep. |
| Chumstick, WA |
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I meandered over to the west end of the Wenatchee River bridge where, after a delay caused by
signal problems, the Z-SSECHC2-22C trundled eastward below Grindstone Mountain.
Without any sign of other eastbounds in the vicinity, I headed back west to explore the rest of the
line in daylight. |
| Scenic, WA |
| I eventually found myself at the west portal of Casade Tunnel, where I discovered that I had
missed an eastbound. An eastbound baretable train reported to the Dispatcher that they were
having issues with their power and were making 14mph struggling up the 2.2% grade out of Skykomish,
so I set up on top of the portal to wait for the train. To my surprise, the DS put the baretable
in the hole at Scenic, and told the crew that he wanted to run a faster empty grain train around
them. |
| Scenic, WA |
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A half-hour after baretable cleared up, the X-INBMSD9-20A rolled through East Scenic at an
easy 25mph. From having unwittingly driven over the first eastbound on my way over the pass, I knew the signal
(visible above the fifth car) would go dark once the end of train exited the east end of the tunnel,
so I waited for the train to work its way through the tunnel in the hopes it would meet a westbound
at Berne. After the signal had finally gone out and remained dark for ten minutes, I figured nothing
much would be happening for a bit, so I set my phone's timer for 15 minutes and took a nap.
I awoke with a start, and looked out the window to see the East Scenic signal showing an Approach
indication; after blinking and rubbing my eyes, I looked again, and now it showed Clear. Not having
a clue where the train might be, I quickly gathered up my gear and took off to find a spot from which
to shoot. |
| Skykomish, WA |
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I found the Foss River bridge and liked what I saw, although it took a bit of effort to make my
way out onto the slippery rocks so I could get out from under the overhanging branches and vines.
After a while the M-SPOEVE1-21A squealed downgrade at 20mph with smoke rising from the brake shoes;
unfortunately, I miscalculated when composing my photo and got horrible glare off the side of the
engine. |
| Skykomish, WA |
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The dispatcher informed the SPOEVE that they'd meet one at Skykomish, so I repositioned myself
to try a different angle. In a race between the train and the sun, the S-SEACHI1-20A bearely won. |
| Skykomish, WA |
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I took a photo looking back at the rocks upon which I had stood for my second shot, and then
moments later slipped and fell heavily into the river. Upon returning to the Jeep I posed for a
self-portrait detailing the damage. |
| Index, WA |
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The dispatcher told the Sea-Chi that he'd be at Scenic for one west, so I headed down the hill
in an effort to find a scenic location that still had sun. I ended up in Index, where I met a
friendly cat. |
| Index, WA |
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Twenty minutes later the Z-CHCSSE1-20A rumbled across the North Fork Skykomish River.
Seattle East told the Z he'd be meeting No. 8 at Monroe; I explored for a bit looking for another
shot but couldn't find any with good light for an afternoon eastbound, so I returned to Index. |
| Index, WA |
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While waiting for No. 8 I spent some time just gazing around, and couldn't help but be amazed at how
beautiful a town Index is. In addition to the view up the river, looking the other way reveals a scene
dominated by Mounts Index and Persis. |
| Index, WA |
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I could easily track the progress of No. 8 because I could hear defect detectors almost all the way
to Everett, some 30-odd miles to the west. As the train approached, the sun steadily sunk towards the
ridge looming over the west side of town, slowly lengthening the shadows and making me nervous that my
shot would be ruined. Finally, just as the first shadows were obscuring the west end of the bridge,
No. 8 rushed eastward in the proverbial shadow of Gunn Peak, which chares a name with former Amtrak
president David Gunn. |
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