Sunday, July 28, 2019

Moving to the wet side of the mountains...



Not far from where we live--- A Union Pacific freight crossing the Cowlitz River. The double-tracked mainline is used by both the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroads.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The Empire Builder...


...or at least a portion of it. Amtrak's Empire builder starts in Chicago as a much bigger train. By the time it gets to Spokane, Washington, a portion is split off to go through the Gorge to Portland, Oregon. The other portion heads over the Cascade Mountains to Seattle.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Pillars...


Sharing today with Mersad's Through My Lens

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

It's always busy in the Gorge...


A long BNSF train is headed through the tunnels westbound on the other side of the Columbia River.  A Union Pacific container train is headed East on this side-- at the bottom of the picture.  And there's also a westbound barge.

There are still things to be proud of...


Monday, July 15, 2019

American Dream II


Just a couple of minutes later-- In the foreground, the BNSF train is moving empty container cars west.  A barge boat is pushing 4 gigantic barges east into the lock around the Dalles Dam.  

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Friday, July 12, 2019

Through the cliff...

In the center-bottom of yesterday's picture you can see a break in the basalt formation--- seen closer in this picture. It's actually been carved out by the Union Pacific Railroad.  This is a UP container train on the tracks running through that break.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Monday, July 8, 2019

Sunday, July 7, 2019

The Drano Lake tunnels!


A wonderful sight when the light hits them just right... And yes, that really is the name of the lake. The Columbia River is on the other side of the highway and the BNSF tracks...

Sharing today with Mersad's Through My Lens

Saturday, July 6, 2019

What???


I was a bit confused by this little train--  one engine, four tank cars, and a caboose!  Trains don't run with cabooses anymore! But then a friend explained that this was a fire train--  water in the tank cars, and crew in the caboose to fight fires near the tracks.  Oh.  Not something you see everyday.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Happy birthday America! I hope we can heal the wounds soon...


Looking across a vineyard in Maryhill, Washington, toward the Oregon side of the river and a long Union Pacific train.  The vineyard, the mighty Columbia River, the powerful bluffs, and the Union Pacific all seem to embody America to me...