One of my favorite trains to chase was the Portland General Electric (PGEX) unit coal that made its way from Wyoming to PGE's coal-fired plant near Boardman, OR. The most common routing was via BN across Montana to Spokane, then via UP's Washy line to Hinkle, and ultimately Boardman. A mix of BN and UP power was common on the train. This was one of the last PGEX trains that I saw, back in 2000. Power is a pair of Grinstien green BN SD-70MACs and an Oakway SD-60, with a fairly new UP SD90-43MAC in between. The train is stretched out beyond Thrasher's Curve on UP tracks near Wallula, WA. Photo by Jody Moore. April, 2000.

Return to the FanPix main page

It's well after 10:00 p.m. as Amtrak F59PH 469 idles at Seattle's King Street Station with one of the northwest corridor Talgo train sets. The 469 has just arrived on the point of train 754, the late-evening Cascades train from Portland to Seattle. While unloading passengers (including me), the train crew has set the train up for its early morning return trip to Portland as train 751. The Cascades Talgo sets run between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, British Columbia with an F59 on one end of the train, and a hollowed out F40PH "cabbage" (cab control and baggage) car on the other end. Despite being the train's only mode of power, the 469 will bring up the markers on the return trip, while the crew will run from cabbage car 90340. Photo by Jody Moore. September, 2001.

Return to the FanPix main page