Trains at Albany, Oregon in Mid-April 2006

I took these pictures from my car on Interstate 5 near Albany, Oregon. First, on April 11, 2006, I photographed this northbound Union Pacific freight train, with Union Pacific #4277 as the trailing locomotive. It is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, and delivered on December 20, 2000.

I took this photograph of a southbound Union Pacific freight train on April 14, 2006. The lead locomotive is Union Pacific #3926, a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario in March 2003, and was delivered on April 26, 2003. The second locomotive is Union Pacific #4426, another 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was assembled for the General Motors Locomotive Group by Bombardier in Mexico and was delivered on July 22, 2001. The trailing locomotive appears to be a Union Pacific 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric, but I can’t make out the road number.

On April 18, 2006, I photographed Amtrak’s southbound Coast Starlight, powered by 4,250-horsepower P42DCs #118 & #113, which were built by General Electric in September & August 1997.

Finally, on April 20, 2006, I photographed this southbound Union Pacific freight train, led by Union Pacific #4522, a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was assembled for the General Motors Locomotive Group by Bombardier in Mexico and was delivered on December 12, 2001. The second locomotive is CSX #7858, a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in January 1993.

Trains in Vancouver, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon, in June 2002

I took these pictures at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, in June 2002.

First, leading a light motive power move to Portland is Burlington Northern Santa Fe #5370 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in December 2000.

In the middle of the consists is Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #809, a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in June 1992.

Bringing up the rear is Oakway, Inc. #9046, a 3,800-horsepower SD60 built in November 1986. It is one of 100 such locomotives built in late 1986 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, and leased to Oakway, Inc., a subsidiary of Cornell Rice & Sugar. These locomotives were assigned to the Burlington Northern under a “power-by-the-hour” arrangement in which the railroad purchased only the kilowatt-hours of electricity produced by the locomotives while in use.

Arriving with the eastbound Empire Builder, Amtrak #42 is a 4,250-horsepower P42DC built by General Electric in December 1996. It has been repainted in an updated version of Amtrak’s Acela-inspired Phase V paint scheme, with only a single large Amtrak locomotive and a lower-positioned red sill stripe, with the lower blue band removed.

Leading a westbound freight train from the Columbia River Gorge, Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6331 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1972 as Burlington Northern #6331, part of Burlington Northern’s first order of SD40-2s. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6331 on August 11, 2001.

Trailing is Burlington Northern Santa Fe #4416, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in April 1999.

Leading a southbound freight train, Union Pacific #7574 is a 6,000-horsepower AC6000CW that was built by General Electric in December 2000. Called a C60AC by Union Pacific, it was among the first units to wear Union Pacific’s new paint scheme with the wings on the nose and the lightning stripe on the sides between the yellow and gray.

The AC6000CW was one product of a mid-1990s horsepower war between General Electric and the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, spurred on by railroads’ desire for 6,000-horsepower locomotives to replace existing 3,000-horsepower locomotives nearing retirement on a two-to-one basis. Powered by a 16-cylinder 7HDL diesel engine developed in a joint venture with Deutz Motoren Werke Mannheim AC (MWM) of Mannheim, Germany, the AC6000CW was introduced in 1995. Ultimately, neither GE nor EMD found success with their 6,000-horsepower models, and the railroads ended up standardizing on locomotives with 4,300-4,400 horsepower. AC6000CW production ended in 2001, with Union Pacific and CSX the only domestic purchasers.

The second unit is Union Pacific #9351, a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40C that was built by General Electric in December 1988.

Bringing up the rear is Union Pacific #9547, a 4,135-horsepower Dash 8-41CW that was built by General Electric in November 1993.

Finally, running down the middle of A Street in Rainier, Oregon with an eastbound local freight train on another day, Willamette & Pacific #1802 is a 1,750-horsepower GP9 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1956 as Denver & Rio Grande Western #5944. In June 1984 it was retired and sold to Mid-America Car Leasing. It was leased to the Kyle Railroad as their #5944 from July 1984 to December 1986. It was used on the Austin & Northwestern Railroad as #44 from April 1987 to November 1995, where it received the paint scheme shown here. It went to the Central Oregon & Pacific in December 1995, and was sold to the Willamette & Pacific in June 1998. The Portland & Western overtook the Willamette & Pacific in December 2000 but this locomotive retained its Willamette & Pacific lettering and reporting marks. This locomotive would be damaged in a derailment south of Albany, Oregon, in August 2004, and would be scrapped in January 2005. This was the Willamette & Pacific’s second GP9 #1802; the first, a former Southern Pacific GP9E, had been retired in 1995 and scrapped.

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.

Railfanning Portland's Albina Yard in 1999

I took these pictures with my dad at Union Pacific's Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon, in August or September of 1999. Just a few years after Union Pacific's mergers with Chicago & North Western and Southern Pacific, it was still common to see locomotives wearing the paint schemes of these predecessors, as well as leased locomotives.

Electro-Motive Leasing (EMDX) #7021 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in 1995 for lease service. It is painted in the later solid-burgundy paint scheme.

Southern Pacific #9811 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in June 1994.

Way back in the engine terminal was Union Pacific #419, a 3,000-horsepower C30-7 that was built by General Electric in June 1978 as Union Pacific #2519. It was renumbered to Union Pacific #419 on February 4, 1997 to clear the 2400-series & 2500-series for GP38-3 units leased from Helm Leasing beginning in late 1996. Union Pacific's C30-7s were rare in the Pacific Northwest by this time.

Chicago & North Western #8501 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40C that was built by General Electric in June 1989. This particular locomotive was CN&W's first Dash 8-40C, and also C&NW's first new GE road locomotive since it purchased 7 U30Cs in 1968. Starting with this locomotive, all of C&NW's new locomotives came from General Electric until it merged with Union Pacific in 1995.

Southern Pacific #1010 is an SL-4B Yard Slug; it has no engine of its own, only traction motors, and must get its power from another locomotive. It is one of four such SL-4B slugs owned by Southern Pacific, which operated them with MP15AC locomotives #2732-2735. This slug was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1950 as Louisville & Nashville #2247, a 1,000-horsepower SW7 diesel switcher. In June 1979 it was rebuilt into a slug by the General Electric Apparatus Service Shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it entered service as Southern Pacific #1010 on June 26, 1979.

Union Pacific #3973 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1980 as Missouri Pacific #6073. This was the last of a group of 69 Missouri Pacific SD40-2s built to Burlington Northern specifications for unit coal train pool service with the BN, and was the highest-numbered SD40-2 on the Missouri Pacific. After the Missouri Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific in 1982, this locomotive was renumbered to Union Pacific #3973 on August 14, 1987, and was the highest-numbered SD40-2 in the 3900-series.

Union Pacific #1312 is a 1,500-horsepower MP15DC that was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1975 as Pittsburgh & Lake Erie #1588. It was purchased by Union Pacific in December 1984 and was delivered in mid-February 1985. It was painted in Union Pacific colors and became Union Pacific #1012 in May or June of 1985, and was renumbered to Union Pacific #1312 on September 21, 1987.

Union Pacific #9345 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40C that was built by General Electric in February 1989.

Union Pacific #3652 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in December 1979.

Union Pacific #3080 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1975 as Chicago & North Western #6917. After the C&NW was merged into the Union Pacific on April 24, 1995, this locomotive became Union Pacific #3080 on December 16, 1996.

Southern Pacific #9803 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in July 1994.

Electro-Motive (EMDX) #7017 is an SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in March 1995 for lease service. It is painted in the earlier burgundy, silver & gray paint scheme.

Union Pacific #9384 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in February 1990.

Union Pacific #9178 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40C that was built by General Electric in July 1988.

Warbonnets in Washington in 1999

Photo by Cliff West

After the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Burlington Northern merged in 1995, the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe found itself in search of a paint scheme. Even after the introduction of the Great Northern-inspired "Heritage" orange and green paint scheme for the new Dash-9-44CWs assigned to former Burlington Northern territory, BNSF continued to receive otherwise identical locomotives in a variation of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe's silver & red Super Fleet "Warbonnet" paint scheme, with BNSF initials replacing the billboard "Santa Fe" lettering on the sides. Neither the BNSF nor the earlier Santa Fe "Warbonnets" were particularly common on the former Burlington Northern lines of the Pacific Northwest, but on one spring day in 1999, I think it was in April, they seemed to be out in force on the Portland-Seattle main line.

Photo by Cliff West

My dad and I caught this northbound BNSF unit grain train at the south end of Kalama, Washington, with a pair of "Warbonnets" leading a matched consist of nearly new BNSF mineral red covered hopper cars.

Photo by Cliff West

My dad's pictures from this day came out slightly underexposed, but on the other hand, his camera did have a powerful zoom lens that mine couldn't compete with.

This train was led by Burlington Northern Santa Fe #755, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in August 1997.

The train's second unit was Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #635, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in February 1994.

The train slowed down to go through Kalama, so we were able to get ahead of it and get more pictures of it at the north end of Kalama.

Photo by Cliff West

From this location, the long matching consist of covered hoppers can be appreciated.

Photo by Cliff West

The train appears to have slowed to a crawl and may have even come to a brief stop here.

Just north of this spot, the railroad crosses over the Kalama River. Continuing the chase by car, however, would require returning to Interstate 5, and this spot is between exits, so we made sure to get plenty of pictures here while we could.

Photo by Cliff West

This picture shows that in addition to the BNSF initials on the sides, there are also BNSF initials in the "cigar band" on the nose, where earlier locomotives had "Santa Fe" lettering

My last picture of Burlington Northern Santa Fe #755 was also by far the best.

I also got a better picture of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #635. Though both of these locomotive are the same model, and were built for essentially the same railroad only a few years apart, there are some subtle differences besides the lettering. One of the more noticeable differences is the ditch lights: they are below the platform on ATSF #635 but are above the platform on BNSF #755.

Photo by Cliff West

Next, we continued north to Longview Junction. I don't remember if we hoped to see the grain train again, or if we knew it had gotten away from us. In any case, the next train we saw was a northbound BNSF general freight train.

Photo by Cliff West

Leading a mixed consist of motive power was another "Warbonnet:" Burlington Northern Santa Fe #812, a Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in April 1992 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #812.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #812 was repainted with BNSF lettering on its sides on August 21, 1996. BNSF #812 still had "Santa Fe" lettering in the "cigar band" on the nose, as the BNSF version of the "cigar band" wasn't introduced until July 1997.

A block of woodchip cars was on an adjacent track, including this former Great Northern woodchip car, still in three-decade old Big Sky Blue paint. Built by Gunderson Brothers in Portland, Oregon, in 1968, this 60'-7" woodchip car was one of 100 numbered 174200-174299 on the Great Northern. On Burlington Northern they were assigned numbers 585500-585599, though many, like this one, were never repainted or even renumbered. 89 of these cars were still on the roster in 1995, and were assigned BNSF numbers 540158-540246, though few, if any, would ever actually wear them. The Great Northern followed this group of cars in 1969 with 125 nearly identical Ortner cars numbered 174300-174424. They were assigned Burlington Northern numbers 585600-585724. 94 of this group were still on roster in 1995 and were assigned BNSF numbers 540247-540340.

Next came a northbound Union Pacific double-stack container train led by Union Pacific #9513, a 4,135-horsepower Dash 8-41CW that was built by General Electric in September 1993.

Finally, another northbound BNSF freight train came along with another pair of "Warbonnets," led by Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #631, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built in February 1994. It is a sister unit to Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #635, which was the trailing unit on the grain train seen in Kalama earlier.

This train's trailing unit was Burlington Northern Santa Fe #754, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in August 1997. It is only one number away from sister unit Burlington Northern Santa Fe #755, which led the grain train in Kalama that started things off, bringing things full circle as the day of railfanning came to a close.