Growing interest in returning train service to central WA

[CHamilton]

Washington state rail advocacy organization All Aboard Washington (I'm a member, but don't speak for the group) held its monthly meeting in Ellensburg last weekend. We had lunch at a local restaurant, then toured the restored Ellensburg NP Depot.

Ellensburg has not seen passenger rail service since 1979 (I believe; some sources say 1981), when the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued, and the Empire Builder was rerouted from the ex-NP line over Stampede Pass through Auburn to the ex-GN route over Stevens Pass through Everett.

Ellensburg is home of Central Washington University, and has significant ridership potential. The state of Washington has had daylight service between Seattle and Spokane in its rail plan for some time, but there has been no funding.

The All Aboard Washington meeting was well-attended, and it appears that interest in train service is high. The long-dormant county rail district has been revived, and The Ellensburg Daily Record covered the depot renovation (gallery) and the meeting, and has now editorialized:

Talk to any local historian and he or she will tell you that rail — both passenger and freight — played a critical role in the development of Kittitas County. There is far less certainty about the role passenger rail could play in the county’s future.


Regular passenger rail service to Kittitas County stopped in 1981. As testimony to the romance and allure of passenger rail, there have always been people advocating for the return of passenger rail.

That effort remains alive today and was demonstrated this past weekend when the All Aboard Washington association held its monthly meeting at the historic Ellensburg depot. The All Aboard Washington association is a nonprofit, consumer oriented, rail advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the improvement of passenger and freight rail transportation in the state of Washington. The group was in Ellensburg to help celebrate the progress being made in the depot restoration project.

It would take a statewide effort to restore passenger rail service to the county (and this region), but that effort should be bolstered by a strong base of local support. Last week the Daily Record posted a question on its Facebook page asking readers if they would use passenger rail service if it were available. As of Monday, 197 commenters had responded, all in the affirmative.
Facebook is not a scientific polling system, but 197 responses is about triple the traffic generated by a high-volume response question on the Daily Record page.
The bottom line is there are many people out there who have thought about passenger rail and would welcome its return.
Sometimes a question can tap into a nerve — people just waiting for someone to ask — and the rail question is a classic example.
Kittitas County does not control whether passenger rail returns. The decision would rest with the railroad and state officials, and would be driven by regional needs. Nothing looks eminent but there are factors that may be favorable to the idea being considered more seriously.
The steady rise in fuel prices creates a market of people looking for alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles. Gas at $3.50 to $4 a gallon may not detour the occasional trip to the West Side, but it is a concern for commuters — daily or weekly.
It is still hard to envision the day that passenger rail returns, but one certainty is there is no chance unless people, locally and statewide, continue to advocate for its return.
It is wrong to write rail off as a remnant of our history. In Kittitas County, the passion of rail supporters led to the restoration of the South Cle Elum depot, the continued progress on the Ellensburg depot and can now be seen in Kittitas, where residents are taking up the cause of restoring that city’s depot.
The depots elicit emotion because of their connection to passenger rail. While the South Cle Elum depot is now adjacent to the John Wayne Trail, the Ellensburg depot is next to in-service tracks. A restored depot could resume its original intended use. That just adds another level of excitement and energy to the project.
Coincidentally, this Thursday a privately funded passenger train is coming through town.
Passenger rail continues to stir passion and interest. As long as that is the case, it is impossible to rule out the possibility of its return.

Together with the interest in adding a Cascades stop in Auburn (PDF) and restoring the Blaine depot, Washington state is showing signs of significant official and grassroots support for better train service.

 

[Shortline]

Best if luck. It does seen to appear there is more and more interest in rail. Would really love a connection to Spokane, Walla Walla, and/or Boise, Lewiston, twin falls, maybe even down to SLC. Dreaming? Yeah probably, but still would be nice. That whole region I would think, could benefit from rail travel, especially in winter when the passes get shut down.

 

[Phil S]

Hi CH - Did you mean re-routed to Stevens Pass? So the new service would return to Stampede Pass? What other towns might be served? Sure would be nice. Might it allow an alternate route for the Builder when the tracks along the Sound are out of service?

 

[NW cannonball]

All 3 Cascades railroad passes start with esses. Sometimes even experts misspell or misspeak. BNSF sports Stevens and Stampede. Alas, Snoqualmie's snowy splendor has lost its rails.

BNSF has Buffett's bucks.

Stevens capacity is limited by that long single-track tunnel. If BNSF finds reason to further improve the line through the Stampede -- passenger rail has a chance to follow.

 

[CHamilton]

Hi CH - Did you mean re-routed to Stevens Pass? So the new service would return to Stampede Pass?

Yes, you are correct. Original post edited.

What other towns might be served? Sure would be nice. Might it allow an alternate route for the Builder when the tracks along the Sound are out of service?

The original ex-NP route had stops at Pasco, Yakima, Ellensburg, and East Auburn. Those towns would certainly be reasonable candidates for service on a revived train on this route.

Unfortunately, it's my understanding that today's Builder could not use the Stampede Pass route because its tunnel is not tall enough for Superliner equipment. Talgos ought to fit, though. As NW Cannonball says, Snoqualmie Pass (ex-Milwaukee Road, I-90) no longer has rails, so there are three cross-state rail routes now: Stevens Pass (US 2), Stampede Pass, and Columbia Gorge (SR 14). The capacity of Stevens is pretty well maxed out because it can only see one train an hour due to ventilation needs in its tunnel, Stampede can't fit double-stack equipment, and the Gorge is seeing the increased coal traffic discussed elsewhere. (There's also the former Pioneer route on the south bank of the Columbia in Oregon.)

So Stampede is actually the most lightly-used of the three, having only been reopened for cargo traffic a few years ago. I don't know what it would need in the way of upgrades to host regular passenger traffic. I believe all of the towns mentioned have usable depots; Pasco already hosts 27/28, and Auburn sees Sounder commuter trains and is being considered for a Cascades stop. BNSF is generally more amenable to Amtrak than some railroads, if someone else is footing the bill.

 

[NW cannonball]

This got me interested enough to look up an old 1959 North Coast Limited schedule. Back then they did Pasco-Yakima in under 2 hours, Yakima-Ellensburg about an hour, 2.5 hours to Auburn, and another half-hour to Seattle.

Spokane-Pasco was about 3 hours - near what the Builder does today. Near 6 hours Pasco-Seattle. If the track is good enough, Talgo might cut something off of that (track looks curvy on my 1900 or so NP map).

If there was a daylight train Seattle-Pasco, some tourists might take it and nap, so as to make a night of it on Sprague in Spokane before catching (or not) the Eastbound Builder :unsure:

I'd still take the Stevens Pass for the scenery.

 

[jis]

When Amtrak Empire Builder ran on the Spokane - Pasco - Yakima Ellensburg - East Auburn - Seattle route via Stampede Pass, it departed Spokane at 11:25pm and arrived in Seattle 9:05am and in the reverse direction left Seattle at 5pm and arrived Spokane at 1:50am. In those days it is the North Coast Hiawatha that took the Stevens Pass route.

I understand since then the Stampede Pass route had been downgraded, though it might have gotten resurrected recently. Have not kept track of what has been happening to it.

When the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued, the Builder was moved to Stevens Pass and the Portland section of the Builder was added to retain service through Pasco, and passenger service via Stampede Pass was discontinued as BN planned to downgrade that route anyway back then. I believe this happened before any Superliner was introduced. The tunnels on the Stampede Pass route were big enough to allow operation of standard Dome cars through them.

 

[bgiaquin]

Hi CH - Did you mean re-routed to Stevens Pass? So the new service would return to Stampede Pass?

Yes, you are correct. Original post edited.

What other towns might be served? Sure would be nice. Might it allow an alternate route for the Builder when the tracks along the Sound are out of service?

The original ex-NP route had stops at Pasco, Yakima, Ellensburg, and East Auburn. Those towns would certainly be reasonable candidates for service on a revived train on this route.

Unfortunately, it's my understanding that today's Builder could not use the Stampede Pass route because its tunnel is not tall enough for Superliner equipment.

Superliners do fit through the Stampede Tunnel. Check out the Youtube video "Amtrak PTC Test Train on Stampede Pass"

 

[Victoria]

I am a central Washington student and I can tell you that a train through Ellensburg would receive a lot of business. Students constantly travel to either Spokane or Seattle to visit family on weekends and the crowd would be even bigger in the winter when mountain passes are treacherous. I have a car and would choose train travel over the 2+ hr drive any day and if it connected to Seattle station I would use it to travel down to Vancouver, Wa on a regular basis also.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

This got me interested enough to look up an old 1959 North Coast Limited schedule.

I would have loved to ride in the Lewis and Clark Traveller's Rest Buffet-Lounge Car

 

[Ryan]

I am a central Washington student and I can tell you that a train through Ellensburg would receive a lot of business. Students constantly travel to either Spokane or Seattle to visit family on weekends and the crowd would be even bigger in the winter when mountain passes are treacherous. I have a car and would choose train travel over the 2+ hr drive any day and if it connected to Seattle station I would use it to travel down to Vancouver, Wa on a regular basis also.

You should look into All Aboard Washington and see what you can do to help bring that about.
I'm sure Charlie will be along presently to give some more concrete suggestions.

 

[SarahZ]

That's a beautiful depot.

 

[jis]

Last weekend I had a chance to drive up SR 14 from Vancouver WA to Cascade Locks, partly in the middle of a raging rain/sleet/snow storm. It was spectacular even in the occasional close to zero visibility. Actually the drive along SR 14 is by far much more spectacular than the ride on the Empire Builder, mainly because SR 14 climbs up high giving great vistas. I need to do that again on a nice clear day.

I also need to go and explore the Stampede Pass route. Are there reasonable roads along that route to go and explore?

 

[jphjaxfl]

Amtrak ran the Travelers Rest Cars as well as the GN Ranch Cars on the North Coast Hiawatha in the early to mid 1970s. These cars were the only meal service on the days the train ran from Chicago to Minneapolis. The only entree was a roasted chicken dinner. They also had a great grilled Reuben sandwich and good soup. Ironically the crews that worked these cars in the early 1970s were ex Milwaukee Road. On days when the NCH continued to Seattle, there was a full dining car with the Travelers Rest or Ranch cars providing lounge car service.

 

[fairviewroad]

Last weekend I had a chance to drive up SR 14 from Vancouver WA to Cascade Locks, partly in the middle of a raging rain/sleet/snow storm. It was spectacular even in the occasional close to zero visibility. Actually the drive along SR 14 is by far much more spectacular than the ride on the Empire Builder, mainly because SR 14 climbs up high giving great vistas. I need to do that again on a nice clear day.

Better yet, if you plan to enjoy the view, get someone to drive you. SR14 isn't a terribly forgiving road.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Amtrak ran the Travelers Rest Cars as well as the GN Ranch Cars on the North Coast Hiawatha in the early to mid 1970s. These cars were the only meal service on the days the train ran from Chicago to Minneapolis. The only entree was a roasted chicken dinner. They also had a great grilled Reuben sandwich and good soup. Ironically the crews that worked these cars in the early 1970s were ex Milwaukee Road. On days when the NCH continued to Seattle, there was a full dining car with the Travelers Rest or Ranch cars providing lounge car service.

I just found a diagram for the Traveller's Rest in my copy of Car Names Numbers and Consists and it is a very happy cozy looking layout. I wish Amtrak would go back to this style single-level Lounge rather than these sterile AmCan Table Cars.

 

[Tumbleweed]

I used to work as a relief operator on the old NP Fargo division...worked Valley City, Jamestown, and Bismarck ticket a lot back in the 60's...at that time the North Coast Limited still had a high demand...it would be interesting to see a survey of the communities it served to determine how many would like that service restored.

 

[JayPea]

Last weekend I had a chance to drive up SR 14 from Vancouver WA to Cascade Locks, partly in the middle of a raging rain/sleet/snow storm. It was spectacular even in the occasional close to zero visibility. Actually the drive along SR 14 is by far much more spectacular than the ride on the Empire Builder, mainly because SR 14 climbs up high giving great vistas. I need to do that again on a nice clear day.

Better yet, if you plan to enjoy the view, get someone to drive you. SR14 isn't a terribly forgiving road.

On occasion, I've driven highway 14 rather than I-84 when my travels have taken me to the Portland area and I love it. Very scenic, especially with the vistas Jis mentioned.

 

[fairviewroad]

Last weekend I had a chance to drive up SR 14 from Vancouver WA to Cascade Locks, partly in the middle of a raging rain/sleet/snow storm. It was spectacular even in the occasional close to zero visibility. Actually the drive along SR 14 is by far much more spectacular than the ride on the Empire Builder, mainly because SR 14 climbs up high giving great vistas. I need to do that again on a nice clear day.

Better yet, if you plan to enjoy the view, get someone to drive you. SR14 isn't a terribly forgiving road.

On occasion, I've driven highway 14 rather than I-84 when my travels have taken me to the Portland area and I love it. Very scenic, especially with the vistas Jis mentioned.

Don't get me wrong, I love driving SR-14 too! Great views, plus quite a few tunnels. East of The Dalles, it's almost as fast as driving I-84 if you're heading up to

the Tri-Cities area.

 

[JayPea]

Last weekend I had a chance to drive up SR 14 from Vancouver WA to Cascade Locks, partly in the middle of a raging rain/sleet/snow storm. It was spectacular even in the occasional close to zero visibility. Actually the drive along SR 14 is by far much more spectacular than the ride on the Empire Builder, mainly because SR 14 climbs up high giving great vistas. I need to do that again on a nice clear day.

I also need to go and explore the Stampede Pass route. Are there reasonable roads along that route to go and explore?

Jis, I guess it depends on your definition of "reasonable" Since I live in Eastern Washington, I'd take the US 97 exit, and almost immediately take a left onto highway 10, the predecessor to I-90. Eventually highway 10 runs into highway 970 to the town of Cle Elum. These highways taken together run about 22 miles and follow the BNSF route the whole way. In Cle Elum, you have to join I-90, but it too follows alongside the BNSF route, at least for part of it. One can also take a road over Stampede Pass itself. It's been a few years since I've driven that far on I-90, but I believe the exit # is 62 and is the Stampede Pass exit. I've never taken this road but believe it is a Forest Service road. This follows more or less the Stampede Pass BNSF route as well.

 

[jis]

Thanks JayPea. Next time I am out that way with a day to spare, I will give it a shot.

This time I had a morning to kill, which led to the drive up SR 14.

 

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

I believe the main hurdle to running over Stampede is the fact that large portions are dark territory, meaning no signals and is controlled via track warrant. This would limit passenger speeds to either 50 or 59 I can't remember which.

 

[CHamilton]

I am a central Washington student and I can tell you that a train through Ellensburg would receive a lot of business. Students constantly travel to either Spokane or Seattle to visit family on weekends and the crowd would be even bigger in the winter when mountain passes are treacherous. I have a car and would choose train travel over the 2+ hr drive any day and if it connected to Seattle station I would use it to travel down to Vancouver, Wa on a regular basis also.

You should look into All Aboard Washington and see what you can do to help bring that about.
I'm sure Charlie will be along presently to give some more concrete suggestions.

I urge you to attend the next All Aboard Washington meeting this weekend in Tukwila, and the NARP Northwest regional meeting on April 5 in Portland. Both will be good opportunities to express your support, and to meet with others who are working toward the same goals.

 

[JayPea]

For purely selfish reasons, I'd love to see rail service through Central Washington, via some sort of Spokane-Seattle day service. As long as we're dreaming, I'd add a stop in Cheney, home of Eastern Washington University, some 15 miles southwest of Spokane. There has been some mention, most assuredly not too serious mention, of BNSF acquiring some 100 miles of the old Milwaukee Road corridor between Lind, 80 miles southwest of Spokane, and Ellensburg, thus creating a big short cut for BNSF. (In another recent thread, I foolishly said BNSF had proposed rebuilding the Milwaukee line all the way to Tacoma. No one questioned me; good thing no one reads my posts. ) IF BNSF did this, and IF passenger service ran over this route, Othello would be a good candidate for a stop and Pasco and Yakima would be bypassed. The chance of both happening is as close to non-existant as you can get, however.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I read your Posts Jeff, but other than Spokane and the town where Washington State U. is Located (???) are there Any People in Eastern Washington? ^_^ (Its always been Dark when I rode the On-Time, Believe It or Not , Builders between SEA/PDX and SPK so except for along the Columbia on the WB Builder to PDX I have to say it looks mighty Bare in Eastern Washington! ( I never got to ride the North Coast Hiawatha, the Pioneer or the Pre-Amtrak Empire Builder!)