Remnants

Burlington Northern 8116 creeps into Vancouver, Wash. on June 25, 1995 with remains of a vehicle it met at a crossing just east of Vancouver.  There were no injuries. Note the patched over lights on the front and the lack of ditch lights.

Goodbye Cannery Hole

One of the most notable switching moves in Vancouver, Wash. for years has been the "Cannery Hole Job" a switch move across the double mains of the south wye to the cement and asphalt plants south of the depot.  The yard job has to get permisson from both the dispatcher and the Columbia Draw to make the move.

This also was notable because trains moving over the crossover on the south wye made the clackity clackity sound that so distinctive to railroading.

Sometime this week between Tuesday and Saturday, the Cannery Hole was terminated (above) and the crossover removed (below), thus ending this colorful part of yard switching.

SP-UP transitions

After the UP-SP and ATSF-BN mergers in the mid-1990s, both new railroads began renumbering and repainting units.  Recently, I put on this blog the first SP to UP repaint I had seen in Victorville, Calif.   Today, that journey continues with a Union Pacific 4831, a repainted former Southern Pacific SD40T-2 numbered 6841. Photo taken July 25, 1999 in Vancouver, Wash.

SDF45 in Vancouver

After the merger of Burlington Northern & ATSF, some former ATSF SDF45's made their way north into Washington and Oregon.  The 5988 showed in Vancouver, Wash. on April 14, 1998.

California Northern SD9

California Northern SD9 200 traveling under the OMLX markings showed in Brooklyn Yard, Portland, Ore., in June 1999.

SD42B

Burlington Northern and ATSF had several "B" powered units in addition to the B30-7Bs that were so common.  This is an SD42-B in Vancouver in June 1999.

Hillsboro scenes

Unused Southern Pacific depot still stands in Hillsboro.  Below, a somewhat different type of loading/unloading ramp in Hillsboro with extensions.