Trains on May 13, 2006

I took these train pictures on May 13, 2006. First, I photographed this southbound Union Pacific freight train near the undercrossing of Portland Road NE in Salem, Oregon. Union Pacific #3576 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1979.

I photographed this pair of locomotives from my car as I passed Willbridge Yard on NW St. Helens Road in Portland, Oregon. Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8733 is a 3,800-horsepower GP60 that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in August 1989 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #4033. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8733 on November 19, 1998. Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8632 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40B that was built by General Electric in April 1989 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #7442. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8632 on February 22, 2000, and was repainted in Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme on January 21, 2001.

I took this picture from my car on U.S. Highway 30 in Saint Helens, Oregon. Portland & Western #3006 is a 3,000-horsepower GP40 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in January 1967 as Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific #375. This was one of a group of seven GP40s that the Rock Island was rebuilding to Dash 2 standards in its Silvis shops when the railroad went bankrupt and shut down in 1980. Before the shutdown it was completed as GP40u #3002. The last two of the seven were unfinished. Chrome Crankshaft acquired all seven locomotives along with the shop in 1981, and finished the remaining two locomotives. The seven locomotives were sold to Toronto’s GO Transit in 1982. This locomotive became GO Transit #721. As they were not equipped with head-end power generators, they had to operate with HEP cars rebuilt from F-units. In 1994 they were retired and traded in to EMD for new F59PHs. EMD put the locomotives in their lease fleet and this locomotive became EMDX #205. In 2001, EMD transferred the locomotive to Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX), a partnership with GATX Leasing, and the locomotive was leased to the St. Lawrence & Atlantic as #3208. St. Lawrence & Atlantic was taken over by Genesee & Wyoming in 2002. The locomotive was transferred to the Portland & Western Railroad in April 2004, where it was considered a GP40-2, even though it lacks all the Dash 2 external spotting features like the water level sight glass, rear cab overhang, and vertical shock absorbers on the trucks. Renumbered to PNWR #3006 in mid-2005, it still wears its St. Lawrence & Atlantic yellow and black paint scheme.

Trains on April 8, 2006

I took these train pictures on April 8, 2006.

We begin at the Portland & Western's small base of operations on Salem Industrial Drive NE in Salem, Oregon, with Willamette & Pacific #2316 “Albany.”

This is a 2,300-horsepower GP39-2.

It was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August 1974 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #3615.

 

It was retired in December 1992 and was sold to the Willamette & Pacific Railroad in June 1993.

Portland & Western #3004 is a 3,000-horsepower GP40 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in January 1967 as Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific #381.

This was one of a group of seven GP40s that the Rock Island was rebuilding to Dash 2 standards in its Silvis shops when the railroad went bankrupt and shut down in 1980. Before the shutdown it was completed as GP40u #3000. The last two of the seven were unfinished. Chrome Crankshaft acquired all seven locomotives along with the shop in 1981 and finished the remaining two locomotives.

The seven locomotives were sold to Toronto’s GO Transit in 1982. This locomotive became GO Transit #726. As they were not equipped with head-end power generators, they had to operate with HEP cars rebuilt from F-units. In 1994 they were retired and traded in to EMD for new F59PHs. EMD put the locomotives in their lease fleet and this locomotive became EMDX #201.

In 2001, EMD transferred the locomotive to Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX), a partnership with GATX Leasing, and the locomotive was leased to the St. Lawrence & Atlantic as #3204. St. Lawrence & Atlantic was taken over by Genesee & Wyoming in 2002.

The locomotive was transferred to the Portland & Western Railroad in April 2004, where it was considered a GP40-2, even though it lacks all the Dash 2 external spotting features like the water level sight glass, rear cab overhang, and vertical shock absorbers on the trucks.

Renumbered to PNWR #3004 in mid-2005, it still wears its St. Lawrence & Atlantic yellow and black paint scheme.

This base of operations formerly belonged to the Oregon Electric (O.E.) Railway, later the Burlington Northern Railroad and now the Portland & Western Railroad. The Oregon Electric was owned by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle (SP&S) Railway, which also operated the route to Astoria nicknamed the "A Line." This safety sign, which depicts the East Coast railroads in the game of Monopoly while declaring "Railroading is not a game: work safely when on board" was erected by the O.E. - A Line Safety Committee, and may predate the 1970 merger that absorbed the SP&S into the Burlington Northern Railroad.

Moving on to Portland, Oregon, I took this photograph from my car of a Union Pacific freight train crossing over Interstate 205, led by Union Pacific #4707, a 4,000-horsepower SD70M built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, and delivered on October 6, 2001.

From my car on Interstate 5 near Martin’s Bluff near Longview, Washington, I took this photograph of Norfolk Southern #7516, a 4,000-horsepower ES40DC built by General Electric in November 2005 and delivered in primer gray so it could be placed in service as soon as possible.

Finally, I photographed this pair of 3,000-horsepower GP40-2s in the Longview Switching Company yard in Longview, Washington, from my car on Washington State Route 432. Union Pacific #1422 & #1434 were built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March and April of 1980 as Southern Pacific #7671 and #7949. After the Southern Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, Southern Pacific #7671 became Union Pacific #5322 on October 10, 2002, then was renumbered to #1422 on October 30, 2003, while SP #7949 became Union Pacific #1434 on December 20, 2000.

Trains on April 1, 2006

I took these train pictures from my car on April 1, 2006. First, at Willbridge Yard in Portland, Oregon, Burlington Northern Santa Fe #4400 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in April 1999. With it is Norfolk Southern #9373, Dash 9-40CW that was built by General Electric in May 1999.

Next, at Saint Helens, Oregon, Willamette & Pacific #2306 is a 2,300-horsepower GP39-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August 1974 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #3605. It was retired in December 1992 and was sold to the Willamette & Pacific Railroad in June 1993.

Trains in Portland & Vancouver in March 2002

My dad, Cliff West, took these pictures around March of 2002.

Photo by Cliff West

First, at Union Pacific’s Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon, Union Pacific SD70M #4867 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was assembled by Bombardier Inc. in Sahagun, Mexico, for the General Motors Locomotive Group in January 2002.

Photo by Cliff West

Moving to the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, Chicago & North Western #8603 is a 4,380-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in November 1993. The Chicago & North Western was merged into the Union Pacific on April 24, 1995.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #3547 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1957 as Great Northern 1,200-horsepower SW1200 #31. After the Great Northern was merged into the Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it became Burlington Northern #163 and was classified as an SW12. 

Photo by Cliff West

Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #3547 in July 1998.

Photo by Cliff West

This is a Harsco Track Technologies RGH10C Rail Grinder. It uses independently adjustable grinder heads to restore the profile of the rail and remove irregularities to extend rail life, reduce wear on equipment, and reduce fuel use. Harsco is a company based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with a history that dates back to 1853, when it was founded as the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company. It became Harrisburg Steel Corporation in 1935, and in 1956 it became Harsco Corporation with three divisions: Metals & Minerals, Rail, and Industrial. In 1979, Harsco Corporation merged with Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc., founded in 1905 by Frank E. Wade as Fairmont Machine Company, a small machine shop in Fairmont, Minnesota. Fairmont began producing small single cylinder engines in 1907, and was incorporated in 1909 and began to manufacture handcar-like rail vehicles powered by the two-cycle engines. Fairmont Railway Motors became Fairmont Gas Engine and Railway Motor Car Company in 1915, and then became Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc. in 1923. Fairmont acquired Mudge & Company of Chicago, another railway motor car business, in 1928. In 1940, Fairmont developed HY-RAIL® attachments to allow automobile and trucks to be used on rails as well as roads, and in 1955, Fairmont acquired the railcar interests of Fairbanks-Morse. In 1992, Harsco Corporation acquired Tamper Corporation, which was founded in Canada in 1934, creating Fairmont Tamper. In 1999, the Pandrol Jackson Company was merged with Fairmont Tamper to form Harsco Track Technologies. Pandrol Jackson had been formed in 1990, when Pandrol International, which in 1980 had formed a North American rail grinding joint venture with Speno Rail Services, acquired a 75% interest in ultrasonic rail flaw detection company Dapco Industries, as well as a controlling interest in Jackson-Jordan, Inc., which was created when Jackson Vibrators of Ludington, Michigan purchased the O.F. Jordan Company. Corwill Jackson founded the Electric Tamper & Equipment Company in Ludington, Michigan, in 1923, and created the electric vibrating hand tamper. Electric Tamper & Equipment Company was incorporated as Jackson Vibrators in 1937. In 1960, the O.F. Jordan Company was purchased by Jackson Vibrators of Ludington, Michigan, forming the Jackson-Jordan Company. The O.F. Jordan Company was founded by Oswald Falcus Jordan in 1898 to produce Jordan spreaders based on his 1891 patent with Robert Potts in Chicago, Illinois.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #1040 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in October 1996.

Trains in Kalama, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, in December 2001

My dad, Cliff West, and I took these pictures in December 2001. First, we spotted this pair of lease units in Kalama, Washington, on our way to Portland, Oregon.

CEFX #113 is a 4,300-horsepower SD9043MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group and assembled at Super Steel Schenectady, Inc. in Schenectady, New York, in November 1999 for CIT Group/Capital Finance, Inc. for lease service.

CEFX #110 is also a 4,300-horsepower SD9043MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group and assembled at Super Steel Schenectady, Inc. in Schenectady, New York, in November 1999 for CIT Group/Capital Finance, Inc. for lease service.

We continued on to Union Pacific’s Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon, where we found another of these lease units among the Union Pacific locomotives.

Photo by Cliff West

CEFX #117 is a 4,300-horsepower SD9043MAC that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group and assembled at Super Steel Schenectady, Inc. in Schenectady, New York, in December 1999 for CIT Group/Capital Finance, Inc. for lease service.

Photo by Cliff West

Photo by Cliff West

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific #1166 and #1198 are 1,500-horsepower SW1500s that were built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors as Southern Pacific #2597 & #2654 in October 1971 and May 1972 respectively. After the Southern Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, they became Union Pacific #1166 on March 25, 1997, and Union Pacific #1198 on April 4, 1997.

Union Pacific #4593 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in April 2001.

Finally, as the sun began to set and the light began to disappear, a surprise revealed itself in the back of the engine terminal. Unfortunately for me, this was the last frame on the roll of film in my camera, but fortunately my dad was there to take his own pictures.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific #4526 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in October 2001. Along with sister units #4527 and #4528, this was one of the first three Union Pacific locomotives to receive the large American flag decals and the new “Building America” slogan following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Photo by Cliff West

The three units entered service on November 14, 2001, and were unveiled on November 16, 2001. At the time of this photo, they were still the only three “flag” units on the Union Pacific, making this surprise sighting an incredible stroke of luck. Additional “flag” units would begin to be delivered in January 2002, featuring a slightly different flag decal from that used on these first three units.

Trains in Vancouver and Portland in October 2001

Photo by Cliff West

This group of pictures was taken by my dad, Cliff West, in October of 2001 at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, and at Union Pacific’s Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon. We begin in Vancouver with Burlington Northern #7807, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in June 1977 as Colorado & Southern #937. Colorado & Southern was a subsidiary of Burlington Northern, and its locomotives were painted in Burlington Northern colors, but they had their own numbering system. These locomotives began to be renumbered in the Burlington Northern’s main numbering system in December 1978, and this locomotive became Colorado & Southern #7807. The Colorado & Southern was formally merged into the Burlington Northern on December 31, 1981, and this locomotive became Burlington Northern #7807. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7807.

Photo by Cliff West

These four Chicago & North Western 100-Ton 5,250-Cubic-Foot 4-Bay Covered Hoppers at the Great Western Malting Company at the Port of Vancouver are part of a group of 100 numbered #490000 to #490999 that were built by Thrall between September 1993 and April 1994. These were some of the last freight cars built for the Chicago & North Western, and they became much more common in the Pacific Northwest after the Chicago & North Western was merged into the Union Pacific on April 24, 1995.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7336 was originally built by General Motors Diesel, Ltd. in London, Ontario, in December 1968 as Canadian National #5075, a 3,000-horsepower SD40. It was retired in 1999 and was rebuilt by Alstom to an SD40-2 on October 5, 1999, and became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7336, one of a group of 40 former Canadian National and Grand Trunk Western SD40s that became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7300 to #7339.

Photo by Cliff West

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #853 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in October 1992.

Photo by Cliff West

It was still somewhat rare at this point to see older locomotives that had been repainted in Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme, so here are some more pictures of Burlington Northern Santa Fe SD40-2 #7336.

Photo by Cliff West

The motive power consist for this freight train represented the 1995 merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, with a BNSF-painted locomotive leading a locomotive in Burlington Northern's Cascade Green and a locomotive in Santa Fe's Blue & Yellow "Warbonnet."

Photo by Cliff West

It is interesting that despite being recently rebuilt for BNSF service in 1999, this unit did not have its headlight moved from the cab to the short hood following the Santa Fe's practice that BNSF continued.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern #7052 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1978. Though this locomotive's BN paint scheme has not been modified yet, it has had its headlight moved from the cab to the short hood .

Photo by Cliff West

Moving on to Albina Yard in Portland, we see Union Pacific #5762, a 4,400-horsepower AC4400CW that was built by General Electric in March 2001. Union Pacific refers to this locomotive as a C44ACCTE, to make the model designation correspond to the form introduced by General Electric with the “Dash 7” line of 1977, and to indicate that this locomotive is equipped with General Electric’s “Controlled Tractive Effort” software, which limits maximum tractive effort when the locomotive is used as a distributed power unit in the middle or at the rear of a train.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific #4011 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, and was delivered on July 31, 2000.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific #67342 is a O-100-7 Class 23,500-Gallon Tank Car built by American Car & Foundry at Milton, Pennsylvania, in early 1974, part of a group of 50 numbered #67300 to #67349.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific #8725 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40T-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in December 1978 as Southern Pacific #8525. After the Southern Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, this locomotive became Union Pacific #4455 on November 23, 1997. It was renumbered to Union Pacific #8725 on May 6, 2001.

Photo by Cliff West

Finally, Union Pacific #4203 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was assembled by Bombardier Inc. in Sahagun, Mexico, for the General Motors Locomotive Group in August 2000.