April 15, 2007



















last updated: 04/27/07


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In the hopes that Chelan County's famous apple orchards would be in bloom, I headed up to the Wenatchee area to spend a Saturday exploring the east end of BNSF's Scenic Subdivision. Indeed, the apple trees were flowering, the sun was shining and the trains were running...

Wenatchee, WA Just minutes after the sun climbed over the hills east of Wenatchee, the V-TACBLU1-14A slows to a stop at the Amtrak station on the main. The inbound crew would set off the third unit before tying up.
Malaga, WA The outbound crew boarded without much delay, so I headed east of town to the west end of Malaga siding to photograph the eastbound vehicle train passing an apple orchard. In the distance are the Colubmia River and, looming over the foothills that surround Wenatchee, Horse Lake Mountain.
Wenatchee, WA I returned to the Wenatchee Amtrak station a few minutes before the M-EVESPO1-14A trundled down the "Inside" track. Unusually, the train had a couple engines buried in the middle of the train.

After having a shot of this train at Malaga spoiled due to heat waves rising off the ground, I headed west of Wenatchee to explore potential photo spots.

Monitor, WA Westbound V-LPCPTL8-12E got out of Wenatchee ahead an eastbound coming through Leavenworth, which gave me ample time to set up for this shot at Monitor of the S-SEASTP3-14A. I wish I could have shot the EVESPO here in the early-morning sunlight, but at least now I have something to look forward to for next April.

Things quieted down as the stack train made its way into Wenatchee and a group of westbounds approached town from the east. I decided to spend the afternoon around Cashmere, and set up to wait for something to move...

Cashmere, WA The first westbound out of town was the Z-CHCSSE7-13A, which held the main at Cashmere for a meet with an eastbound. BNSF 4405 led the S-SEACHI1-14A through the siding and past the tail end of the Z.

I photographed the next three westbounds at the same curve just east of the siding; the first train departed Wenatchee shortly after the stack train arrived, but my shot isn't presented here because my subsequent results were better.

Cashmere, WA Following the Z out of Wenatchee was the S-CHCTAC1-12M; if you squint and use your imagination to pretend that NS Dash 9 isn't there, this shot could have been taken fifteen years ago when Burlington Northern's Cascade Green SD40-2s ruled the Northwest.
Cashmere, WA Later in the afternoon, the most unique train of the day departed Wenatchee: The U-LAUEDS5-11R, a loaded welded rail train running from Laurel, MT, to Edmonds, WA. BNSF 7888 leads two sister SD40-2s past a blooming apple orchard tucked into a bend in the Wenatchee River.
Dryden, WA The rail train took the siding at Leavenworth to meet another eastbound stack train, the Q-TACDEN1-15A, which I photographed against a stand of backit trees outside of the town of Dryden.

I had hoped the TACDEN would head in at Cashmere to meet yet another westbound I knew was swapping crews in Wenatchee, but when it passed through town without calling a restrictive signal, I knew the sun would set before the westbound could reach where I had set up, so I headed home.

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