Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 15 | All in the details

In this session, Host David Popp promises to finish the work on the passenger car project! That includes paying careful attention to those tiny details on the passenger car and the layout itself…you know, all of the little things he’d notice if he did not take the time to complete them now, including the addition […]

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An engineer’s life: Trust me

An orange BNSF engine approaches through tree on either side of the tracks with a mountain in the background.

I wrote last month about working grain trains west as a young brakeman. This month’s story, entitled “Trust me,” is from late 2008 when I was working as a locomotive engineer. In my 42 years on the railroad, the last 30 as an engineer, I took pride in being qualified on three mountain-grade territories: Stampede […]

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Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad returns to operation

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad returns to operation. Steam locomotive with passenger cars

ELBE, Wash. — Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has begun offering a limited excursion schedule for September and October as stated on its website. The train trips come at least a year or two ahead of the railroad’s timeline for returning to operation [see “Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad scheduled to reopen by 2025,” Trains, December 2022]. […]

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FRA announces availability of funds for rail projects in Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming

Logo for Federal Railroad Administration

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration will offer $139 million in funding for rail infrastructure projects in Alaska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the FRA has announced. The funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is for the Special Transportation Circumstances grant program, and provides funds for states that lack intercity passenger service or are not connected […]

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Amtrak, Washington introduce electric bus in Cascades service

Bus painted in Amtrak Cascade colors of green, brown, and white

SEATTLE — Amtrak and the Washington State Department of Transportation have introduced the first electric bus used as part of the Amtrak network, providing service on the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham, Wash. Mid-day buses help fill the gap between the morning and evening trains on the Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham; […]

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Washington state legislators make pitch for high speed rail funding

Map of proposed high speed rail route in Pacific Northwest

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democratic members of the Washington state congressional delegation have written Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to lobby for federal funding to support development of a high speed rail route in the Pacific Northwest. The Cascadia High Speed Rail proposal calls for developing a route from Vancouver, British Columbia through Seattle to Portland, Ore. […]

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Seattle light rail to see single-track disruption

Map showing changes on segment of Seattle light rail line between Aug. 14-16.

SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s light rail No. 1 Line will see significant service disruptions through a seven-station stretch between downtown and the SoDo area this week as workers a section of sinking track related to soil conditions. Work began over the weekend, with rail service halted Saturday and Sunday and replaced by shuttle buses between […]

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BNSF completes double-tracking project at Sandpoint, Idaho

Trains on parallel bridges over river

SANDPOINT, Idaho — Thanks to an all-day work window on Aug. 6, 2023, the final track segments have been put into place to complete BNSF Railway’s 2-mile double-tracking project at the east end of its busy “Funnel” between Spokane, Wash., and Sandpoint. Completion of the new 4,873-foot bridge across Lake Pend Oreille in November 2022 […]

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