I was driving home tonight along I-5 parallel to the BNSF Everet t, WA/ Canada mainline when I saw a CP pota***rain heading north back. I was curious if anyone knows where BNSF interchanges these trains with CP. Is it at Sumas or Vancouver?
I was tempted to chase the train and find out but it was late and I don’t think my wife or toddler would have appreciated the detour.
Thanks
I think the loads interchange at Sweetgrass MT. I’m not sure about the empties. I had thought the loads were bound for the Lower Columbia ports. Do they send loads to Vancouver?
I lived on the ex SP&S in the george untill 2 years ago and I never saw pota***rains on the BNSF side of the river.
Lots of Potash here in Vancouver that gets loaded onto ships and heads out to the far east.
There is no interchange with CP/BNSF at Sumas anymore, the tracks are still connected, but I believe BNSF has now sold the tracks to a shortline operator, CP only sends out 1 train a day 5 days a week to interchange with the SRY (Southern Railway of British Columbia) and serve Vedder Transport. Other than that Sumas is now quite quiet as far as Railroading goes.
Any kind of interchange with CP and BNSF will happen in Coquitlam/New Westminster.
Are you sure about BNSF operations in Sumas? Yesterday, I was returning from the Chilwack area and crossed the border at Sumas. There were numerous loaded and empty railcars on the American (Sumas) side of the border in addition to the SRY railcars on the Canadian side. Lots of loaded lumber cars, doublestack garbage containers cars and other agriculture products type railcars were waiting to be hauled out. Also, sitting right on the border was a lone BNSF locomative idling away which I assumed they used as a switcher. It looked like a very active area.
The pota***rain I saw was heading north through Burlington/Mount Vernon. It was a long unit train. The rail cars were the grey ones with the word “Potash” or something similiar on the side. I didn’t see if the train had run-through power or not. However, sometimes I catch the commuter train from Everett to Seattle to go to work and recently have seen similar unit trains in the BNSF’s Seattle yard with CP Rail run-through power on the headend.
Another unit train I saw recently on the Everett-Vancouver line had CN head-power and similar looking railcars but burgendy in color.
Perhaps things are busier nowadays, last time I was up there the place was a ghost town on the BNSF side.
I am sure BNSF sold the track to a shortline operator, perhaps they are the ones now that are starting to pick up business.
Hi, Andrew Johnston,
Looking at pp. 37-38 of my CPR 2004 “Corporate Profile and Fact Book” (latest release), it shows CP interchanging pota***hru trackage rights at Knightsgate, Alberta, which I think is the Canadian side of Eastport, Idaho, maybe? (At any rate, that would be UP).
Also shown is a “Coutts” Alberta given as a transfer point.
Over sixty percent of CPR’s “Sulphur and Fertilizer” group is given to Potash.
For further information, you might want to go to cpr.ca.com and click on Investors. You can download the Fact Book, 2004 Annual Report and other docs with pdf.
Best wishes,
Allen Smalling
Macguy, I believe you are thinking of the BNSF Kettle Falls Branch Line which is now run by Omnitrax’ Kettle Falls International Railroad.
This empties train was returning to the CP via New Westminster (Sapperton), BC. Its corresponding loaded counterpart was received at the same location. CP interchange is no longer done with BNSF at Sumas/Huntingdon, but in this case, the trains wouldn’t run this way due to bridge weight restrictions on the locomotives used in this service. Some pota***rains are received from CP at Coutts/Sweet Grass. The train, when empty, returns to the location where the loads were interchanged.
In both cases, CP delivers the trains with power, and BNSF provides supplemental power to move the train over its railroad. The CP power alone, of course, is sufficient to return the empties to interchange with CP.