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BNSF to extend double track in eastern Washington
William Hays: I wrote this piece from the perspective of a railroad design engineer (my day job), where we refer to the quantity of tracks without regard for operating practices; it is not incorrect to state that the Providence Hill segment of the Lakeside Sub consists of a double-track mainline. To address your inquiry, BNSF uses bi-directional CTC on the entire subdivision and it’s a reasonable assumption that will be the method of operation used for this extension.
While train operations would have been simpler without any notable grades west of Cheney, the SP&S Third Sub had significant maintenance issues related to its location: Deep rock cuts, tall cliffs towering above the track, large bridges, and miles upon miles of relative inaccessibility along the Snake River. From this perspective in a time when cost-cutting was paramount, it made sense to choose the NP because of its more “friendly” route (if not profile) which eased accessibility along most of its length.
It’s sad to see another piece of The Milwaukee Road go away
The Milwaukee Road was a much better engineered line than both the NP or SP&S. Unfortunately, management decisions in the 1970s & early 80s reduced, replaced, & abandoned this superior grade across Washington state.
Too bad the old SP&S main from Spokane to Pasco was torn out 20 years ago. It would come in handy now.
Mike
The SP&S would’ve been cheaper to operate too.
Will that be “Double Track” (two uni-directional tracks) or a “Two Main Track” (two bi-directional tracks) installation? There is a difference on the BNSF. Check your ETTs.
Jon A Severson, stated, “The Milwaukee Road was a much better engineered line than both the NP or SP&S. Unfortunately, management decisions in the 1970s & early 80s reduced, replaced, & abandoned this superior grade across Washington state.”
Not true.
The popular (among some) misperception of the Milwaukee Road’s “superior grade” is based on its crossing (.7 percent westbound) of Snoqualmie Pass, but really nowhere else. Today’s BNSF routing between Spokane and Easton via Pasco (westbound) is only a maximum of .8 percent, while the Milwaukee routing between Spokane (or Lind, if you’re looking for a common point) was a grueling 2.2 percent due to the climb out of the Columbia River at Beverly. Clearly, a combination of the current BNSF route to Easton, and then the Milwaukee from Easton to Maple Valley and then BNSF again to Black River would have created the best grade between Spokane and Seattle/Tacoma. Comparing the MILW with the SP&S is odd, at best. The SP&S connected Spokane with Portland, and the MILW didn’t even go to Portland until it received trackage rights in 1970 as a result of the BN merger. Even then the circuitous MILW route featured a maximum grade of 3.0 percent westbound (Tacoma Hill) and 1.74 percent eastbound (Saddle Mountains) compared to the SP&S at .8 percent westbound and .4 percent eastbound with infinitely less curvature.
The only way to perpetuate the myth of the Milwaukee’s “superiority” when it comes to grades is to focus ONLY on Snoqualmie Pass westbound. When you consider its many, many other steep climbs on the “Western Extension,” the reason for its demise is obvious.
Correction: The 1,74 percent grade eastbound the the MILW was climbing Snoqulmie Pass. The Saddle Mountains (east from Kittitas) was “only” 1.6 percent.
Well, the reasons for the Milwaukee’s demise are legion and have nothing whatsoever to do with Lines West’s grades.
Still sad to see the Milwaukee and SP&S grades go unused when there were clearly serviceable segments that would be helpful moving tonnage across Washington.
“AUSTIN F LARSON from WISCONSIN said:
Well, the reasons for the Milwaukee’s demise are legion and have nothing whatsoever to do with Lines West’s grades.”
Actually, the perceived reason for the demise of the Milwaukee’s Pacific Extension are many, but its terrible profile is the best explanation for it not being around today. Bad management, lack of online traffic, and myriad conspiracy theories are all reasons that could have contributed to the railroad not being here today, but its profile has to be the primary reason.
The superior ex-GN route - BNSF’s main transcontinental freight route from the Twin Cities to the Pacific Northwest - notwithstanding, the best example of grade being the culprit in the demise of the Milwaukee is St. Paul Pass. Why keep the MILW route between Missoula and Spokane with 1.7 percent grades each way when the ex-NP route (now MRL) was less than 1 percent? Too steep (and too curvy) is why.
Same for the Saddle Mountains. Between Lind and Easton, why use the MILW with a 2.2 percent climb westbound and 1.6 percent hill eastbound when the ex-NP is 1 percent or less each way?
In Central Montana, the MILW crossing of the Big Belt Mountains and Continental Divide was similar with regard to grade of the ex-NP, but the MILW served basically no online traffic whereas the NP line served Billings, Laurel, and the connection to ex-CB&Q lines east and south. So, given that the MILW line offered no advantage in grade, the NP line remains and the MILW line does not.
Snoqualmie Pass on the MILW represents the only mountain pass where it had the best profile (if you don’t count the ex-SP&S and UP along the Columbia River). BN did elect to acquire this route because of its grade (but was later foolishly abandoned during the dearth of rail traffic in the mid-1980s).
The Rock Island’s core routes (Topeka to Santa Rosa, Texas to Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Chicago to Council Bluffs) survive
BNSF is in definite need of double-tracking the mainline in eastern Washington, but why the section that is already 15 miles of double-track (they are at least extending it to another siding in Lind)? Why not other sidings, such as the ones in Connell or Ritzville? They should do what CN and CP have done: extend the sidings to accommodate 10,000 foot trains. This will also help them improve fluidity, even if they don’t want to run trains that long.
Two things: First, there are a lot of rails out here who strongly believe the real reason for the Milwaukee Road’s demise was the effort by BN to eliminate competition across the Northern Tier. True, MILW had deferred maintenance, but some top officials from the MILW came from the BN just before or after the 1970 merger. This is the only conspiracy theory I’ve ever thought possibly true. But you know how old rails are when it comes to rumors.
One happy note is that the mainline ROW has been converted into the Iron Horse trail. It extends from Cedar Falls east to the Idaho border, over 250 miles! It crosses the Cascades, passes through rangeland and semi-arid parts of the Evergreen State.
Subsequent to writing this piece, I have also learned that BNSF is extending the west end of the Providence Hill double track from Cunningham to Hatton, and will be lengthening Tokio siding (east of Ritzville) westward to the vicinity of the Templin grain shuttle facility.
GEEZE. YOU ALL TAKE THIS SO SERIOUSLY. I’D BE HAPPY IF TRAINS MAG COULD CATCH A GOOD ACTION PHOTO OF THE BRIDGE PIER BEING TAKEN DOWN.
This entire comment section needs a 3 page spread in the mag.