This site features daily historical railroad posts from the Big Bend/Columbia Plateau region of Washington state. As a personal site, this is my online filing cabinet of interesting things I've come across about railroading in the area. Thanks for stopping by!
Photo courtesy of James Belmont.
June 30, 1995
Burlington Northern train No. 639 approaches 2,382 ft, Tunnel No. 11, between Quincy and Trinidad, Washington the afternoon of June 30, 1995. I remember well this particular afternoon of photography along the Great Northern involved more snake sightings than trains.
As prepared for the 2016 GNRHS convention for me by someone else. It's mostly correct.
Photo by Steven J Brown.
A trio of LMX B39-8E's (built 1987) with autoracks on the Burlington Northern at Trinidad, Washington - September 17, 1991.
Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.
Blair says:
"Here's
the big view of the former Great Northern's climb out of the side
canyon above Trinidad siding, east of Wenatchee, as train #604, using an
assigned Wenatchee-Spokane-Wenatche
"The railroad is on a 0.8% gradient here, which it uses to climb
away from the Columbia River to reach to Columbia Plateau at Quincy.
Back behind the tunnel is the famous Trinidad Horseshoe curve.
#604 was the "Red Dog Ore" train hauling zinc concentrate (If I remember
correctly) mined in Alaska and transported to Everett bound for the big
Teck Resources smelter at Trail, British Columbia. Ore was hauled in
rebuilt woodchip cars with reinforced floors, backhauling the chip load
from the Everett area. The crew was an assigned turn, Wenatchee to
Spokane and timed to catch hotshot train #3 back to Wenatchee in 12
hours. This made #604 one of the hottest eastbounds on the Columbia
River subdivision."
Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.
Blair says:
"Until Steven J. Brown and I stumbled around on the edge of a cliff in an apple orchard the week before and "discovered" the view across the "crater" above the Trinidad horseshoe curve, I never knew scene existed.! So I was back the following week to shoot this Advanced #12 with the wide angle across the crater as it climbs out of tunnel #11, onto the ledge, and up to the west end of Quincy siding. October 4 (we used to call that Broderick Crawford day, for us old timers), 1991."
Guest post by James Belmont.
Burlington Northern train No. 639 glides past "the Crater", a murky green lake below the basalt cliffs between Quincy and the loop at Trinidad, Washington the afternoon of June 30, 1995.
Grandluxe Rail Journeys (formerly American Orient Express) on the horseshoe at Trinidad, Washington - June 20, 2007.
Photos by Steven J. Brown as noted. Others by David Honan. Both used with permission.
At the big horseshoe curve:
Along Crater Lake:
Mr. Brown in the vestibule:
Photo courtesy of Ken Albrecht.
Ken says:
"BN crew aboard BN painted xNP GP9 + 4 cars + caboose assigned to the Quincy Local travel East along upper level of Trinidad Loop situated in Washington state circa May, 1975."
