Finally got photos uploaded to the computer and so can use them for this. Progress Rail Tacoma had some interesting stuff. Most interesting was this EMD GP20D. Early 2000s EMD product with a Caterpiller 3516 I believe Prime mover. I believe this particular unit was most recently on CORP. Until this trip, the closest I'd gotten to one was seeing one out of the corner of my eye at the new CORP Yard outside of Roseburg as I zoomed by on I5.
Old Santa Fe. Exiting Johnson Tunnel in Arizona. From the collection of the Kansas Historical Foundation.
As hard as they have tried, since the Great Northern era ended, neither BN nor BNSF can get rid of the helper district over Marias Pass. They are either stationed at Whitefish or Essex. A week ago this light set (K-ESXESX) is hustling back to Whitefish, where a stack train is awaiting a healthy push across the Rocky Mountains. This is Belton, Montana. Known as "West Glacier" or the "Apgar Entrance" to Glacier National Park, by civilians:
At the time I shot this, their main customer was a Georgia Pacific paper mill and I think the mill is still in operation, so my guess is that the railroad is still operating too. I wonder what happened to those vintage Alco RS-1s. I didn't expect to see anything like them when I passed through town and was absolutely floored.
I also wonder. They were well noted in railfanning circles. Wouldn't it be something if they were still there?
I looked around on the Internet and it seems that some were sold to an aggegates distributor. Not sure what might remain. Sure enough, the CIRR is alive and well, but is now owned by Genesee & Wyoming. Amazingly, Atlas once did these in N Scale!
