Western Wednesday

[ctclibby]

this tunnel entrance looks cool

These are scans of chemical film. Kinda grainy but have good information. Guessing 1990 for the date.
1st is East Portal before the 2nd ventilation fan:

After the 2nd fan was installed:

Door closed, ventilation on:

Later

 

[KriegslokBR52]

this tunnel entrance looks cool

This the longest tunnel on American network. It's not even close to Swiss tunnels in length, but at almost 8 miles still very long. You can stand at the West Portal right on the track and see the headlight of a train for 20 minutes before it will get close. All you will hear is just a distant deep rumble. This tunnel was also electrified long time ago. Worlds largest in size, single unit electrics used to run through here; Great Northern W1 class. Too bad they went backwards and de electrified this line. Now it's sort of a bottle neck because it takes sometimes half hour to blow out the diesel smoke out if it. The infrastructure that you see on the picture is actually the fan system for blowing out the fumes.

 

[ctclibby]

This the longest tunnel on American network. It's not even close to Swiss tunnels in length, but at almost 8 miles still very long. You can stand at the West Portal right on the track and see the headlight of a train for 20 minutes before it will get close. All you will hear is just a distant deep rumble. This tunnel was also electrified long time ago. Worlds largest in size, single unit electrics used to run through here; Great Northern W1 class. Too bad they went backwards and de electrified this line. Now it's sort of a bottle neck because it takes sometimes half hour to blow out the diesel smoke out if it. The infrastructure that you see on the picture is actually the fan system for blowing out the fumes.

Ya, used to be the longest tunnel in the Western Hemisphere. Mt McDonald (sp?) tunnel at Rogers Pass came in something like 300 ft longer.
The thing about the Cascade Tunnel is if you stand just at the right spot at the West Portal, you can see the other end. Well, if the door is open. It is uphill all the way to about 200ft before the East Portal then the alignment heads down toward Berne ( and points east). When a train comes in Westbound from Berne, it is like the sun rising.
I happened to be at the West Portal for the 1st train West after the 2nd fan was installed. You could see it come in, then after about 10 minutes, the headlight disappeared. Apparently that 2nd fan blew all the smoke past the whole train. Scanner had the train crew really bitching. They did have O2 masks onboard. So when the ventilation was turned on was changed and ran at half power while a West bound was in the bore. So there still is about a 20 minute wait Eastbound for the tunnel to clear. Westbound can pretty much run one train after another, block signals depending.

I y'all are going through Cascade Pass, both East and West portals are worth planning for. Google map it to find those access roads.

Later

 

[Iron Horseman]

This gem was standing on one of the sidings in Spokane:View attachment 182697

For some reason, I just noticed this. Look at the difference in colors of the freshly painted one in the foreground vs the totally faded out one in the back.

 

[AemJaY1]

oh wow thnx for the historie teaching. never thaught about the diesel smoke in switzerland we are not used to it thank you for the insight

 

[KriegslokBR52]

oh wow thnx for the historie teaching. never thaught about the diesel smoke in switzerland we are not used to it thank you for the insight

I only wish Americans kept their electrifications. After World War II they went backward and eliminated hundreds of miles of them, instead of modernizing them.

 

[Iron Horseman]

I only wish Americans kept their electrifications. After World War II they went backward and eliminated hundreds of miles of them, instead of modernizing them.

Copper prices were through the roof, and the short sighted folks saw a quick profit.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Copper prices were through the roof, and the short sighted folks saw a quick profit.

Supposedly, but reading about Milwaukee Road, the management didn't exactly make a big profit at the end, at least not what they thought they would. But you're % right about the short sightedness.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Portola, California, and the Western Pacific RR museum:

First a comparison between styling of early EMD diesels. Next two, Baldwin AS616 diesel, ex Southern Pacific.

 

[kjd]

When I first moved to western Oregon, there was one of those red and orange Baldwins parked in Beaverton. I think from a logging railroad near Klamath Falls. The second time I went by all the cables had been taken. The last time, it was a pile of scrap metal.

Edit: so it was actually in Tigard (the ‘I’ in Tigard is long I sound) and was the Oregon Northwestern, which in spite of its name was in south east Oregon.

 

[TrucTrain55]

Portola, California, and the Western Pacific RR museum:View attachment 197555View attachment 197556View attachment 197557
First a comparison between styling of early EMD diesels. Next two, Baldwin AS616 diesel, ex Southern Pacific.

Nice pics thanks for sharing

 

[KriegslokBR52]

A huge Sierra Pacific wood mill in a town of Quincy, CA has their own little railroad with classic switchers:

Right outside their gate, stands an interesting modified Southern Pacific hopper:

I have no clue what was the purpose for that modification and it was the only one such car I've seen. Pictures taken this past August.

I'm posting all four shots I took, just in case someone is crazy enough to model the thing

 

[Rico]

That’s a railroad and a car just begging to be modelled, isn’t it?
Going by the last picture no one’s going to steal it at least!

 

[KriegslokBR52]

That’s a railroad and a car just begging to be modelled, isn’t it?
Going by the last picture no one’s going to steal it at least!

It's definitely a good modeling project for a limited amount of space. And a bonus is the interchange with an major railroad (Union Pacific), opportunity for hidden staging yards. The regular UP power for those short lumber trains is this:

Assigned to Portola yard, this diesel has brought a lumber train earlier in the day. Another thing of interest is the older ALCo in the near by Western Pacific museum, which obviously has worked at the mill in the past:

Quincy Railroad #4.
When I was there first time two years ago, I caught such a train at the Williams Loop. Definitely a lucky day:

 

[TRAINNUT]

A huge Sierra Pacific wood mill in a town of Quincy, CA has their own little railroad with classic switchers:View attachment 199370View attachment 199369
Right outside their gate, stands an interesting modified Southern Pacific hopper:View attachment 199372View attachment 199371
I have no clue what was the purpose for that modification and it was the only one such car I've seen. Pictures taken this past August.View attachment 199374View attachment 199373
I'm posting all four shots I took, just in case someone is crazy enough to model the thing

Startin to get some ideas

 

[kjd]

I would guess either to make loading it easier or to make sure it isn't overloaded. I think my preference is the former, train cars are tall and it takes a big (expensive) loader to clear the sides. Usually, the loader makes a ramp up to the side of the car but maybe it was loaded in a place that wasn't practical.

 

[TRAINNUT]

Technically it's Thursday morning when I post this but here are a couple of covered hoppers full of fertilizer roaming around the pike.
View attachment 151505View attachment 151506

It's an old post but I got SP #49685 and it's bit different than yours

 

[KriegslokBR52]

A few more from the Western Pacific museum in Portola, Ca:

Western Pacific MP15(?), and a Geep from its subsidiary Sacramento Northern. Next a Fairbanks Morse diesel switcher:

Something for the juice fans:

Electric with a side pantograph for top loading from a mine in Utah.
Last a different view of the famous Keddie Wye and yes i walked the whole thing this time, including the tunnel which is hidden from view when standing on the road.

 

[kjd]

I caught this one on SP Saturday. It was the DPU on a train arriving at a grain export terminal. It was cut off, the train pulled ahead and then backed into the terminal. Kalama, WA, 10/5/24

 

[skyliner]

A few more from the Western Pacific museum in Portola, Ca:View attachment 201342

[trimmed]

Ha! I've got that GP7 in HO scale! That's a great museum, I love that they basically let you climb on everything. Someday I'll have to go back and try running one of their locomotives.