April 30, 2006



















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With my friend Corey visiting from back east and having a free day outside of his work obligations, I decided to show him the scenic wonder that is Stevens Pass. We were well up into the mountains before sunrise, but the only trains we knew about were two eastbounds just leaving Everett, so we had plenty of time to explore.

Grotto, WA Corey wanted a shot of the fog and the Skykomish River, so I paused near the Money Creek campground so we could photograph Bridge 1735.2. I also photographed the only tunnel that US 2 passes through on Stevens Pass.
Skykomish, WA I wanted Corey to see the curved bridge over the Foss River above Skykomish, which also gave us the opportunity to take time-lapse photos of this small creek at the side of the road.
Merritt, WA We ended up near Merritt before finding a scenic spot where we thought sun would be on the tracks. A westbound growled by and went in at Berne for the first eastbound, which arrived at our location before the sun had fully lit the valley. Behind the three EMDs leading the Q-TACDEN1-29A were some empty Boeing airplane compent cars.

We chased the train all the way to Winton but couldn't find any shots, so we headed back west in hopes of shooting a late-running No. 7, which also failed to yield a shot. Dejected, we returned to Merritt to await the second eastbound.

Merritt, WA This is more like it! BNSF 745 leads the S-SEALPC1-28A downgrade alongside Nason Creek.

We knew the train would be meeting a westbound at Winton, so we jumped out ahead to attempt to locate a shot around Leavenworth.

Peshastin, WA We settled on a hillside shot overlooking a curve near Peshastin, but after waiting a while and not seeing nor hearing the train, I happened to check the radio and discovered that Corey's knee had inadvertantly nudged the channel selector. Tuning back to AAR 66, I immeidately heard the stack train calling Wenatchee Yard to announce that they were coming to Olds Jct. and looking for a track in the yard. Frustrated at missing the train, I popped off a quick shot of a nearby apple orchard and we headed back to Winton for lunch.
Scenic, WA

Getting back on the road after lunch at the 59er Diner, we learned that a westbound was making its way up from Leavenworth, so we decided to head west over the summit and catch the train at Scenic. On the way, we paused on the side of US 2 to photograph the remains of the original Great Northern right-of-way over Stevens Pass. The 1910 Wellington avalanche was one of the contributing factors that led to the construction of...
Scenic, WA ...the 7.8-mile-long Cascade Tunnel. These two photos of the S-CHCSEA3-26A were taken 46 seconds apart; assuming the train was traveling at the permitted 25mph, the photo at left depicts the train about 1/3 of a mile from the west portal.
Index, WA Since we eventually had to be back in Seattle, Corey and I decided to chase the train westward and see what other shots we could find. The only other spot we found on the pass that we really liked was west of Index where the Scenic Sub crosses the Skykomish River.
Picnic Point, WA I suggested to Corey that on the way back to town we stop at Picnic Point to shoot No. 8; much to our surprise, we ascended the pedestrian bridge to find the Chick-Sea coming past the signals a mile and a half to the east. How often does one get to shoot the same train near the summit of a mountain pass at 2,247 feet above sea level, and then a little while later along the coast at seven feet above sea level?
Picnic Point, WA The tail end of the stack train had barely passed from sight around the curve at Norma Beach when we saw the headlight of No. 8 heading towards us.
Picnic Point, WA I happened to look over my shoulder just after taking the photo above and noticed two idiots strolling along down the middle of Main 1 with their backs to the approaching fast-moving (55mph) Amtrak train that was about to pop out from around a blind curve. As the train swept around the corner in the foreground of the photo above I stood at the edge of the pedestrian bridge and gave the universal "blow your horn" arm gesture while pointing up the tracks ahead of the train; the engineer got the the message and leaned on his horn, giving the two idiots just enough warning to lazily walk off the tracks. Of course, as soon as the train was by they went right back to their unconcerned stroll.
Picnic Point, WA We hung around for an hour and a half before another train showed up. After shooting the crazy collection of EMD power on the M-VBCPAS1-30A, we departed and headed back to Seattle so Corey could get a decent night's sleep before having to get up at 3am for work.

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