May 18, 2006
last updated: 01/01/07
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© 2000-2007 Dave Honan
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David.Honan
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GorgeRail Day 0Now that I was living in the Northwest I was excited to have the opportunity to attend the annual GorgeRail railfan convention in the Columbia River Gorge. I took a day of vacation on Friday, May 19th, and headed southeast for The Dalls, Oregon, after work on Thursday. Coming into Ellensburg on I-90, I was surprised to hear the Northwest Branch Dispatcher give a track warrant to an eastbound train, which meant that not only had I never been in the amazing Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg, I now had to figure it out on the fly as I chased a train! |
| Umtanum, WA |
 |
To be honest, I really wasn't dead-set on taking every possible photo in the canyon, and really wanted to explore it as I went along. I took my first shot of empty grain train X-INBNUM9-17A at Umtanum. |
| Roza, WA |
 |
I made it all the way to Roza before setting up for another shot, and it turned out this would be my last shot in the canyon. |
| Selah, WA |
 |
Abruptly existing the canyon at Pomona I was surprised to find that the sun had come out, but all my attempts to find a location with the sun still on the tracks failed. I finally decided to settle with the best thing I could find: This view off the SR 823 overpass near Selah with the hazy last rays of sunlight bathing the Umtanum Ridge with a reddish hue. |