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.

Continued in Next Post...

4449 at North Bonneville in 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.

We first waited for the eastbound train at North Bonneville, Washington, near the north side of the Bonneville Dam. Before the excursion arrived, we watched several westbound freight trains pass through.

The first train was a double-stack container train led by Burlington Northern #6383, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1974.

Next was an autorack train led by Burlington Northern #8017, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1978.

The next train was a general freight led by Burlington Northern #8093, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1980.

The last freight train was a piggyback train led by Burlington Northern #2707, a 2,300-horsepower GP39-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1981.

Finally, Southern Pacific Daylight GS-4 #4449 appeared with its excursion train. I was able to take four pictures before it raced by.

A member of the fourth type of Southern Pacific's "General Service" or "Golden State" 4-8-4 locomotives (the GS-4 Class), #4449 was built in 1941 by the Lima Locomotive Works to pull Southern Pacific's premier Daylight streamlined passenger trains in Southern California. It was replaced by diesels and retired on October 2, 1957 and donated to the City of Portland, Oregon on April 24, 1958 and placed on display at Oaks Amusement Park with SP&S #700 and Union Pacific #3203. It would be the only Daylight steam locomotive to survive (though similar Southern Pacific non-streamlined GS-6 Class 4-8-4 #4460 also survives and is on display at the National Museum of Transport in Kirkwood, Missouri, it never wore Daylight colors). While in the park, a railroad employee named Jack Holst voluntarily kept the moving parts of the three locomotives oiled until his death in 1972. This would set the stage for #4449's resurrection.

In the early 1970s, as America's Bicentennial approached, Ross Rowland, Jr., with help from actor John Wayne, began planning a steam-powered museum train of American artifacts called the American Freedom Train that would travel the United States in celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976. By 1973, the project was underway, but a locomotive still had to be chosen. A number of locomotives were considered, including Union Pacific #8444, but in the end, Southern Pacific #4449 was selected to be the American Freedom Train's primary locomotive. On December 14, 1974, #4449 was removed from Oaks Park and moved to Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Roundhouse near Union Station for restoration. Though #4449 would actually be one of three steam locomotives that pulled the Freedom Train, it would become the most famous, at it pulled the train throughout the American Midwest and West. Former Reading Railroad #2101 (as AFT #1) was used in the east and former Texas & Pacific #610 was used in Texas. The Freedom Train opened in Wilmington, Delaware on April 1, 1975. As it was in the east, it began its tour with the AFT #1. Meanwhile, newly restored #4449's boiler is put to steam on April 18 for the first time since 1957. She moved under her own power on April 21, and was christened on May 16. She left Portland on June 20 to take over the Freedom Train in Chicago on August 4, after display stops in Sacramento and Ogden (and an unfortunate encounter with a dump truck in Nebraska). #4449 will pull the Freedom Train for the rest of its tour until it ends in Miami on December 31, 1976, except for a brief period in the fall of 1975 when the Freedom Train was pulled by diesels while #4449 was undergoing repairs, about a month in February-March 1976 when Texas & Pacific #610 pulls the Freedom Train in Texas, and four months in the summer when it is pulled on the East Coast again by AFT #1. After the Freedom Train tour, #4449 returned to Portland by pulling a series of Amtrak excursions across the South and West in April, 1977, still in its Freedom Train paint but with the "Amtrak" name added to the tender. This was known as the "Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursion." #4449 arrived in Portland on May 1, having visited over 30 states (many more than once) during its Freedom Train and Amtrak Excursion travels, and was placed in storage, although this time it would be stored indoors, protected from the elements.

In 1981, #4449 emerged, restored to the post-WWII version of its Daylight paint (with "SOUTHERN PACIFIC" in large lettering in the orange band) to travel to Railfair at the newly-opened California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It would retain this paint scheme for nearly 20 years (far longer than it had worn it while in regular service & even longer than the locomotive had even been IN regular service), as its travels included a trip to New Orleans to promote the 1984 World's Fair, a trip to Hollywood to be featured in the 1986 motion picture Tough Guys, a trip to Los Angeles to be a guest at the 50th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in 1989, additional trips to Sacramento for the 1991 and 1999 Railfairs, and numerous excursions in the Pacific Northwest.

The train passed quickly, with the former Daylight observation car NRM #2955 James J. Gilmore bring up the rear. We hurried to the car and headed for Wishram.

Continued in Next Post...

Railfanning in Portland, Oregon, in March, 1997

These pictures were taken while railfanning in Portland, Oregon, in March, 1997. Starting at Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Yard, we find Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #606, a 4,380-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in February 1994. Before the BNSF merger, Santa Fe's "Warbonnet" locomotives were rarely seen in the Pacific Northwest, but since the merger they were becoming somewhat more common.

A pair of switchers were parked at the Hoyt Street sand tower. Burlington Northern #214 is a 1,200-horsepower SW1200 (or SW12, as BN classified it) that was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1957 as Northern Pacific #155. The Northern Pacific was merged into Burlington Northern in March 1970. Burlington Northern #387 is a 1,000-horsepower SW1000 (or SW10, as BN classified it) that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in 1972.

Moving on to Union Pacific's Albina Yard, Chicago & North Western #8037 is a 3,800-horsepower SD60 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in September 1986. The Chicago & North Western was merged into the Union Pacific in April 1995.

Southern Pacific #6802 is a 3,600-horsepower SD45T-2R. It was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May, 1972, as Southern Pacific SD45T-2 #9246. In March, 1987, it was rebuilt by Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops as an SD45T-2R and was renumbered to Southern Pacific #6802. Southern Pacific was merged into Union Pacific in September 1996.

Union Pacific #1302 is a 1,500-horsepower MP15DC that was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in June 1974 as Pittsburgh & Lake Erie #1575. It was purchased by Union Pacific in December 1984 and was delivered in mid-February 1985, initially becoming Union Pacific #1277 and operating in its P&LE black paint. It was painted in Union Pacific colors and renumbered to Union Pacific #1002 in May 1985, and was again renumbered to Union Pacific #1302 in June 1987.

Union Pacific #5031 is a 3,600-horsepower SD50 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in December 1984. It was originally delivered in Union Pacific colors but with Missouri Pacific lettering. It was relettered for Union Pacific in August 1990.

Union Pacific #6325 is a 3,800-horsepower SD60M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in September 1992.

Here is another, better picture of Union Pacific SD60M #6325.

Railfanning in Vancouver, Washington, in March, 1997

These pictures were taken while railfanning at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, in March, 1997. Upon arriving, Burlington Northern C30-7 #5575 and SD40-2 #6334 were moving through the yard. This is an admittedly terrible picture, but fortunately it wasn't the last I would see of these two locomotives.

Union Pacific #5031 is a 3,600-horsepower SD50 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in December 1984. It was originally delivered in Union Pacific colors but with Missouri Pacific lettering. It was relettered for Union Pacific in August 1990.

Union Pacific #9368 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in January 1990. It was part of Union Pacific's first order for GE locomotives with the North American Safety Cab.

Reflecting Union Pacific's recent merger with the Chicago & North Western, Union Pacific #9368 has acquired an air conditioner with a green stripe from a former Chicago & North Western locomotive.

Burlington Northern #5575 & #6334 returned to pass by the front of the depot. Burlington Northern #5575 is a 3,000-horsepower C30-7 that was built by General Electric in February 1979. Behind it is Burlington Northern #6334, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1972. While SD40-2s were common in the Pacific Northwest, C30-7s were not.

United Grain Corporation RE-1254 is a 1,200-horsepower SW9 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1951 as Atlantic Coast Line #662. The Atlantic Coast Line merged with the Seaboard Air Line in 1967 to create the Seaboard Coast Line, and this locomotive became Seaboard Coast Line #144. Later, it was apparently acquired by the Railway Equipment Leasing Company (RELCO) and leased to the United Grain Corporation in Vancouver.

Arriving with the southbound Coast Starlight, Amtrak #802 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40BP (or B40-8P) that was built by General Electric in April 1993. Trailing it is one of the previous generation of Amtrak locomotives, a 3,000-horsepower F40PH that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors.

Waiting with a westbound train from the Columbia River Gorge, Burlington Northern #2711 is a 2,300-horsepower GP39-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1981.

Illustrating the BNSF merger, behind Burlington Northern #2711 is a mixed consist of BNSF locomotives, with an EMD in the blue and yellow "Warbonnet" paint scheme from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, and three of BNSF's General Electric Dash 9-44CWs.

Railfanning in Kalama, Washington, in March, 1997

These train pictures were taken in March, 1997, while railfanning in Kalama, Washington. First is a pair of locomotives in BNSF paint, parked at the north end of Kalama. I'm not sure if these were the first BNSF locomotives I had seen, but they were the first I had the opportunity to photograph.

BNSF #1021 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in October 1996. It was parked with a sister unit, whose number I can't decipher.

Aside from their paint scheme, these locomotive are essentially identical to Dash 9-44CWs previously ordered by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe before the BNSF merger, including the "gullwing" cab roof that was unique to the Santa Fe. 

This group of Dash 9-44CWs were the first locomotives to wear what would become known as BNSF's "Heritage I" paint scheme. The orange and green color scheme is based on the paint scheme of the Burlington Northern predecessor Great Northern Railway.

Further south in Kalama was a pair of Union Pacific locomotives with a parked northbound train. Union Pacific #9428 is a 4,135-horsepower Dash 8-41CW that was built by General Electric in December 1990.

Union Pacific #9428 had been recently repainted with Union Pacific's new "We will deliver" slogan, which was applied to locomotives between April and December of 1996.

A southbound intermodal train passed through Kalama, led by Union Pacific #3247, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in June 1974. In March 1976, it was converted for 80-mph high-speed freight service, becoming Union Pacific SD40-2H #8007. It was converted back to a standard SD40-2 in April 1981 and regained its original number.

Burlington Northern #6318 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in November 1971. This locomotive was repainted shortly after Burlington Northern introduced its new "White Face" paint scheme in 1989, and it ended up with a unique paint scheme, combining the white cab front of the "White Face" scheme with the diagonal nose stripes of the original paint scheme. This was the only locomotive to receive this variation.

Most of Burlington Northern's SD40s were already off the roster by the time the "White Face" paint scheme was introduced. In fact, of Burlington Northern's 38 SD40s, only 7 lasted long enough to be assigned BNSF numbers. Burlington Northern #6318 would become BNSF #6324, while Burlington Northern #6303 would become BNSF #6318.

Trains in Oakridge in 1996

As the summer of 1996 came to an end, I took these train pictures in Oakridge, Oregon. This was shortly before the Southern Pacific was merged with the Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, making these some of the last pictures of the independent Southern Pacific.

Southern Pacific #9818 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in July 1994. Southern Pacific's group of 25 SD70Ms would inspire Union Pacific to order 1,000 more following the merger.

Southern Pacific #7556 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1967 as a 3,600-horsepower SD45. It was originally numbered Southern Pacific #8920. On October 28, 1985, it was upgraded at Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops to an SD45R and was renumbered to Southern Pacific #7556. It was the first of five SD45R's to receive the  red-and-yellow "Kodachrome" paint scheme of the proposed Southern Pacific Santa Fe merger, which it was still wearing over a decade later, even though the merger never happened.

Southern Pacific #4843 is a 2,000-horsepower GP38-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1980. It still featured its full Southern Pacific light package.

This piece of snowfighting equipment is Southern Pacific Jordan Spreader #4047, which was originally built in 1929 and was rebuilt in 1953. It was still in service, waiting with one of Southern Pacific's wood-bodied flangers for the snow to return to Oregon's Cascade Range.