Trains in Wishram in June 1997

On June 7th and 8th of 1997, Southern Pacific Daylight GS-4 #4449 made a pair of excursion trips over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway from Portland, Oregon, to Wishram, Washington, and back. This was in preparation for a two-day excursion from Portland to Yakima, Washington, and back on the following weekend. My dad and I chased the June 7th excursion to Wishram and back.

After photographing the excursion train at North Bonneville, Washington, we headed for Wishram.  Wishram was once named Fallbridge but was renamed to honor a local Native American tribe. The town was an important crew change point for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway, located halfway between Vancouver and Pasco, and to this day this section of the railroad is called the Fallbridge Subdivision.

By the time we got to Wishram, the excursion train had already arrived, and passengers were getting off to stretch their legs. The crowds made photography of the excursion train difficult for the moment, so I took the opportunity to photograph some of the other railroad equipment that was in Wishram that day.

One westbound freight train waiting in Wishram was led by Burlington Northern #8159, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1980.

Trailing BN #8159 was GATX Capital Corporation #7374, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1975 as Missouri Pacific #3167, under a 15-year lease agreement with GATX.

After the Missouri Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific in 1982, the locomotive became Union Pacific #4167 on June 15, 1987. The original lease expired on March 31, 1990, and the locomotive was retired by Union Pacific on April 19, 1990, and was returned to GATX.

The locomotive became part of the GATX Capital Corporation lease fleet as #7374. It actually has GSCX reporting marks at this point, though it was still owned by GATX Capital Corporation.

Another westbound freight train in Wishram was powered by a trio of Burlington Northern locomotives.

Burlington Northern #7038 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1978.

Burlington Northern #4003 is a 3,000-horsepower B30-7A that was built by General Electric in June 1982. The “A” in the model designation indicates that the locomotive’s 3,000 horsepower is generated by a 12-cylinder engine instead of a 16-cylinder engine. These locomotives were built without cabs as a cost-saving measure, reducing the price of each unit by $40,000, and were the first booster units built by General Electric.

Burlington Northern #3152 is a 3,500-horsepower GP50 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in October 1985.

Parked on another track was Burlington Northern #2096, a 2,000-horsepower GP38-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in November 1974.

There was also a caboose in Wishram. Burlington Northern Extended-Vision Caboose #10061 was built by the International Car Company in August 1969 as Great Northern X-141. After the Great Northern was merged into Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it became Burlington Northern #10061.

Parked next to the Wishram depot, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway #14905 is a Chevrolet Suburban 2500. On this day in Wishram, its presence was the only evidence of the BNSF merger.

One of the freight trains in Wishram included company service flatcars carrying preassembled temporary track panels. Northern Pacific #66111 is a flatcar that was built for the Northern Pacific shortly before the Burlington Northern merger and was painted in Burlington Northern’s Cascade Green but with Northern Pacific lettering. Over 35 years later, this flatcar still retained its original paint and lettering.

With that, I turned my attention back to the excursion train.

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