Railfanning in Vancouver, Washington, in Summer 1998

I took these pictures while railfanning with my dad in Vancouver, Washington, in the summer of 1998. First, arriving at the Vancouver depot with the southbound Coast Starlight, is Amtrak #120, a 4,250-horsepower P42DC that was built by General Electric in 1997.

Leading a northbound freight train past the Vancouver Amtrak depot, Burlington Northern #2073 is a 2,000-horsepower GP38 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1970. This locomotive was the second of six GP38s originally ordered by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway and was intended to be SP&S #201. With the SP&S to become part of the Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, these six locomotives ended up being the first locomotives delivered in Burlington Northern colors.

At the railroad crossing at 39th Street in Vancouver, we saw a pair of brand-new locomotives. Burlington Northern Santa Fe #4814 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in July 1998.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #4815 Dash 9-44CW is another 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in July 1998. These two locomotives were part of a group that were delivered in orange and green paint but without their yellow reflective striping and lettering, because Burlington Northern Santa Fe was in a hurry to place them in service. The resulting temporary look was reminiscent of the Great Northern's "simplified" paint scheme from the mid-1960s.

Also at 39th Street was Burlington Northern #3603, a 1,000-horsepower SW1000 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1972 as Burlington Northern #378. Burlington Northern and Burlington Northern Santa Fe classified it as an SW10.