Rounding The Curve At Deep Creek

Photo by Gary Durr.

June 2018

Gary says:

"One of the great things about working for a shortline railroad... knowing when the trains run...

Here is the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad train HM06=(Hiline Empties on the 6th day of the month)...with 2 former MRL SD45's and a former SSW SD40T-2 Pulling hard on the 1 Percent grade climbing out of Deep creek up to the High plains of North Central Washington, Photographed Rounding the big curve near Espanola as it crosses under Washington State HWY 2. Train is West bound to Hite with a final destination this day of Coulee City."

Longest Day At Hite

Photo by Gary Durr.

Gary says:

"EWG...East Bound.... Full daylight.... it's 06:30 in the morning ... the longest days of the year... June 20, 2017... and...with a 20 cylinder former MRL SD45 leading. Well seasoned and Highly skilled Engineer Bruce Butler is at the throttle this beautiful morning...The Location... Hite, Washington. A rather large cut of BNSF cars are on the head end of this days train. These were picked up from Govan, Wilbur and Davenport and are destined for interchange to the BNSF at Cheney... They will be cut out at Geiger Jct for the Geiger turn to take to Cheney Washington, while the rest of the train will be shoved back into the Grain facility at Four Lakes to be unloaded."

Tunnel Motors At Medical Lake

Photo by Roger Hepkema.

Roger sez:

"Dos Tunnel Motors-----Six years ago (4-24-13), the 8702 leads empties west through Medical Lake. Not sure who the hogger is on this day, but Mr. Butler is ensconced in the passenger seat."

WRIX 8702 At Four Lakes

Guest post by Bruce Butler.

Here is the power for today's train. SD40-T2 WRIX 8702, SD45-2 EWLX 329, and SD45-2 NIWX 328. 8702 was not running this day as the two SD45-2's provided adequate power (3200 hp each for 6400 total) to move this train.

EWG At Odair And Coulde City

May 29, 2018

I caught the power parked at Odair that morning, and by the time the crew arrived that afternoon, the weather had turned.

 

EWG Power At Coulee City

April 17, 2018

2013 EWG Storage Car Pickup

March 12, 2013. Starting at Odair where the power was split to pull cars off the wye, then combined with the few loads from Coulee City. The train then went to Cement where a car was set out and the power reassembled. Last shots are at Hartline, where no work was done that day.

“Tunnel Motor Blues”

Guest post by Frederick Manfred Simon.

January 24, 2019

Blue hour at Hanson, but a stub track of antiquated elevators in a non-existent community on the CW Sub, on a sunless overcasted January day, gaining elevation one crosstie at a time, though nothing like the tunneled Sierra grades, engineer Ted Curhpey with the usual file of laden CH’s in tow, spies his train in the mirror of former Cotton Belt to wheat belt tee-dash-two 8702 as her trident of ample candles electrifies the near parallel sticks like illuminated neon gas-filled glass tubes pointing the way. Combined exhaust and radiator heat deflection of the three-motor consist distorts the hibernal landscape so barren, yet so fertile rolling fields neath a cold cotton-white snow blanket in sharp contrast with the boiling wool-black exhaust plume. The momentary cacophony fades in a muffled doppler effect and the soundless vacuum is filled with emptiness, again. Every time I’m here I marvel at why the local farmer’s posted an unambiguous sign nearby. Says, “No Hunting, No Trespassing, No Excuses, Violators Will Be Prosecuted.” Seems no nefarious spirit would care to even kick a rock, out here. 

“Creston Crepusculum”

Guest post by Frederick Manfred Simon.

September 16, 2016 


Save for the trace of sunlight on the distant wheat country horizon, the sun has retracted its warming rays and left a crystal clear pale blue sky for the stars to emerge and begin to twinkle in. With the empty grain hoppers dropped and spotted; loaded ones picked up; the terminal brake test completed, it’s time to start heading homeward, towards Cheney, sixty some miles eastbound on what was once the Northern Pacific’s, later Burlington Northern’s “CW” branch that reaches Coulee City. One the last bastions of covered wagons and first generation geeps that brought long trains of 40-foot wheat service boxcars in and out with six or more unit consists in the 1980’s. The wagons and geeps are long gone just as the NP and BN are, predecessors of today’s BNSF. The line itself is now in the hands of the State and operated by the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad using six-axle Dash 2’s and Dash 8’s with plenty of tractive effort to muscle fifty-car-plus loaded ACF and PS2 covered hoppers but only at 10 miles an hour. With only a few hours left to work for this crew means another must bring the train into Cheney from wherever this one ties down at.

Govan Ghosts

Guest post by Frederick Manfred Simon.

January 10, 2018

Eerily silent – the florescent landing lights and glow of what at first glance appears to be an alien craft counting down to liftoff thrusting its rocket, spear-like plume of light cutting into the black, fog-cloaked pitch of Govan. A Ghost “town” of near nil inhabitants living, of a schoolhouse haunted, of infernos past repeated, and of bloody ax murders unsolved. A Dantean “place” that may as well be the netherworld: able to unnerve the steadiest of souls…in the dead of night. Mangy dogs unseen growling; howling packs of yipping coyotes in the distance near; faint shadows of concrete elevators monolithic; wraiths appear staring out from broken tattered-curtain windows of homesteads homeless. Ice-cased from the brume atmosphere the earthbound tunnel motor has just come to rest holding the CW main pending a relief crew to take her and train farther west. Further. Into twilight.

"Tunnel Queen"

Guest post by Frederick Manfred Simon.

November 8, 2017

Time to bring the “Tunnel Queen” from the Land of Cotton in for her 92-day inspection: not easy and quite a rigorous task, but with a competent team, it gets done. It’s not often, if ever that we think of, much less get to “see” this mechanical aspect of a locomotive aside from the various, proprietary nomenclatures used to technically differentiate models and makes and types of diesel engines, traction motors, and such. Thus this rarely witnessed image – in black and white for affect – from the inspection pit of her underbelly with a quick rundown of the industrial, wheel-to-rail business side of a “Unit” – Locomotives 101: Presently, we are looking at the front-to-back #6 (partially), #5, and #4 D77B traction motor-wheelset combos. The hardware at the top of the frame holds one set of four field coil assemblies in place within the motor casing. Below that is the brace that holds the snubber in position securing the motor to the Dash-2 introduced HTC (High-adhesion-Truck-C (six-axle)) truck frame while buffering the 1000-hp motor’s torque, in turn, allowing it to apply a combined six-motor maximum starting tractive effort of 92,000 lbs. The two cables are part of a four-cable-bundle-per-motor that delivers the juice and amps galore from the AR10 main alternator. To the left of the right wheel is the gear case housing with round inspection cover for the 62 tooth bull and 15 tooth pinion gears. Hence, 62:15 gear ratio. The best possible power-to-rail formula relative to 1978 standards – her birth year. Crater, as it is commonly referred to, is the black-as-coal near-solid in its inert state lubricant that liquefies under the tremendous heat generated by the friction of the gears while pulling. Her wheels are nice and fat and will last for some time to come. Finally, to either side of the wheels, outside the frame, are the Hyatt 6-1/2 x 12 enclosed roller bearing boxes that support the weight of her 410,000 lbs equally with the 10 other boxes. That about sums it up. Questions, comments, additions? Feel free.

2014 EWG Scoot Train

February 6, 2014.

Scenes between Coulee City and Hartline.