Trains trains and trains
This is an ad (aka advert) but it’s a scenic ad full of Seattle and Seattle-area goodness plus trains so I like it. It includes those neon-green fuselages I’ve mentioned I frequently see rolling past.
H/t Dave Ricks
Tip Jar
This is an ad (aka advert) but it’s a scenic ad full of Seattle and Seattle-area goodness plus trains so I like it. It includes those neon-green fuselages I’ve mentioned I frequently see rolling past.
H/t Dave Ricks
Lots of shots of Tacoma and areas south, and LOTS of shots of Amtrak. Love Amtrak! Hope we get to keep it. :-/
Seriously.
Beautiful. I’ve never been to the area, so I found a map to see what the video means by this:
On the map, the black line along the coast is the Point Defiance route (opened in 1914) that necks down to a single track in the Nelson Bennett tunnel. The red line is the WSDOT Point Defiance Bypass that upgraded another line to take all the passenger trains inland, starting December 18. Passengers have only one week left to enjoy that ride along the coast!
That new inland route is obviously more efficient than the coastal route, but I do wonder how much rising sea levels and increasingly severe bad weather events battering coastlines had to play in the decision to re-route the line.
Another Amtrak route that is beautiful runs through the Rocky Mountains. I’ve taken that route from Nebraska to Sacramento a couple of times, and wish I could do it more often.
I traveled via the Amtrak Cascades line for about ten years. Great way to travel and one of Amtrak’s most profitable lines. As you can see from the video it also was a beautiful ride. The trains were comfortable and Amtrak was responsive to the needs of its business customers (added free WiFi to all the trains, for example). The only downside was that Amtrak had to use tracks owned by Union Pacific. Amtrak was on the hook for all repairs and upgrades to the tracks since they were using it for passenger service. Also UP got priority for freight traffic which explains most of the reason Cascades had problems keeping to schedule. This was dramatically demo’ed during the recession when reduced freight traffic resulted in excellent on-time performance during that period (almost German train level of on-time performance).
The big push for moving inland is to improve service. Amtrak, ODOT and WSDOT are pushing for high speed rail service. New tracks specifically designed for passenger service would raise the max speed of trains from the current 79 mph to 100+. (Amtrak has done some R+D on light weight gas turbine engines that have clocked ave speeds better than 125mph). That would allow high speed trains from Seattle to arrive at Portland Union Station in the heart of the city and connect with light rail to the complete business and industrial infrastructure of the city avoiding traffic or the hassle of SEATAC.
There’s a beach/bluffs park here in Seattle that’s bisected by the track Amtrak and the freight trains use. Many’s the time I’ve watched a multi-car freight train thunder past, and pondered what a great view the crew has. Actually there are two like that, but the other one has much less coastal access so I don’t go to it.
This HD video shows the engineer’s point of view northbound from Seattle to Everett at high tide. Some points of reference in Part 1: They cross the Ballard Bridge about 1:00. They pass the Shilshole Bay Marina about 3:00. They pass Golden Gardens Park around 4:00. The pedestrian overpass at 6:38 might be a park you mean. The Richmond Beach Saltwater Park has a wider overpass about 11:00. Part 1 ends just before Edmonds. Part 2 continues past Edmonds. Part 3 continues to Everett.
This lower quality video covers the same run at low tide to show more Cooper-friendly flats. Part 1 starts at Seattle King St. Station northbound to Edmonds. At 3:43-3:45, on the right, the turntable and roundhouse from the steam locomotive era is still in operation, but servicing diesels now. Part 2 continues northbound from Edmonds to Everett. Caveat: This video was really recorded from the back of a train southbound, then reversed in time to appear northbound, and maybe sped up.
Oh my GOD that is so cool.
No actually it’s Golden Gardens I mean. The one with the pedestrian overpass is called Carkeek, and dogs aren’t allowed on the beach, while at GG you & dog can walk beside the beach and the marina for a great long distance, so when I have custody of Cooper we always go to Golden Gardens. I paused it at 4:14 right where I park Cooper’s car. The beach is on the left and the bluff rises on the right.
I love this video!
*unpauses, goes to 6:37*
Yep, the pedestrian overpass is Carkeek all right. I’ve never taken Coop there but I took his predecessor, Scout, once. The overpass is mesh, not solid, including the stairs, and poor Scout was petrified. I persuaded him to go down once but decided not to inflict it on him again, especially since we’re not supposed to be on the beach at all.
I love this video!
I’m glad you like it. In the HD video Part 1 at 9:40, the engineer sees five people on the riprap and blows a brief and courteous long-long-short-long that trains blow for road crossings. That was impressive and professional: 1) To spot the people so quickly around the curve at that distance, and 2) To give the people such a light touch on the horn.