Burnt River Rails: Addendum

The July 2020 issue of Railfan & Railroad magazine features an article I wrote about Union Pacific's line along Eastern Oregon's Burnt River. To illustrate the story, I provided several photos, from which the editor selected only a few to run with the article. Here then are the remaining images I submitted, in (mostly) chronological order, with their respective caption information:

Seen from the open vestibule window of a Superliner car, Amtrak’s Pioneer approaches its final crossing of the Snake River and its entry into the Burnt River Canyon near Huntington, OR in April 1985.

Taken from the opposite side of the train in April 1985, the abandoned cement plant at Lime, OR appears almost ready to start production at any time, but that will never happen. Gradually, the remaining structures were removed over the next three decades until the last remnants finally came down in late 2018.

Union Pacific’s mainline across Eastern Oregon has been a preferred route for shipping windmill components to Inland Northwest windfarm projects. In June 2009, a trainload of windmill pylon sections rolls west through Durkee, OR behind SD70M 4998 and two EMD companions.

A westbound stack train, led by AC45CCTE 5536 and SD70ACe 8519, heels to a right-hand curve just west of Pleasant Valley, OR in August 2012 on the final leg of its climb toward the summit at Encina, OR. 

If there were any windows remaining in this abandoned trackside house at Durkee, Union Pacific ET45AH 2685 would be rattling them hard as it rolls east in March 2019.

No less than five high-horsepower locomotives lead a short manifest east at Nelson in March 2019. The cement production plant at left replaced the old plant at Lime many years ago, and it still provides a modest supply of traffic for UP’s Huntington Local. This is also the location where the railroad and freeway leave the broad Durkee Valley and enter the lower Burnt River canyon.

An eastbound manifest splits a pair of intermediate signals just east of Lime, Oregon in March 2019. The Old Oregon Trail Highway crosses the railroad at this location midway between Lime and Huntington sidings and right alongside Interstate 84.

Having nearly surmounted the steepest stretches of Durkee Loop, AC45CCTE 5545 leads a westbound stack train under the Old Oregon Trail Highway again as it approaches Oxman in March 2019.  In the early 1990s, UP extended Oxman Siding several miles to the east, effectively double tracking the entire length of the loop. 

In this image, the same westbound stack train is seen continuing uphill through Oxman in March 2019. None of the track between Durkee and the summit at Encina is level; there are only varying degrees of gradient.

The flesh-and-blood horses are not impressed with the passing iron horses leading this westbound stack train at Durkee in April 2019. In about a mile, the train will begin getting very serious about the stiff climb up and around the Durkee Loop, which includes two separate mile-long stretches of 2.2% grade.

Snaking up and away from the Snake River in April 2019, this westbound unit potash train will reach Huntington, Oregon in a matter of a half mile or less. Huntington was once a major division point and crew change location, but trains today do not need new crews until reaching La Grande.

The golden beams of the morning sun have just cleared the mountain ridges to the east to illuminate an eastbound stack train at Durkee in May 2019. The Old Oregon Trail Highway passes underneath the Huntington Sub right below the second locomotive.

Eastbound out of the tunnel near Weatherby, a hot stack train crosses the Burnt River on a two-span girder bridge in May 2019.

Having departed Huntington moments ago, an eastbound stack train drifts down the last remaining mile of the Burnt River before crossing the Snake in early May 2019.

SD70ACe 8942 and ES44AC-H 2754 roll an eastbound train of empty soda ash cars past a small homestead located alongside Weatherby siding in May 2019.

SD70ACe 8942 leads an eastbound train of empty soda ash cars through Lime and across the Burnt River on a through-girder bridge in May 2019. The extra-wide bridge abutments once supported a parallel spur track used to serve the cement plant that stood nearby.

A westbound intermodal train behind AC45CCTE 7961 and two EMDs heads upgrade around the Durkee Loop in May 2019. This valley is drained by Pritchard Creek, which flows through the culvert seen just to the right of the lead locomotive. UP double-tracked this loop in the early 1990s, making it much easier for dispatchers to keep the Huntington Sub fluid in times of heavy traffic.

A westbound manifest with several auto racks at the front of its train exits the Burnt River Canyon itself and enters Durkee Valley here at Nelson in August 2019. A “dead in consist” former Norfolk Southern GP38-2, now GECX 5094, is visible behind AC45CCTE 7938 and SD70ACe 9010 in transit to a new lease assignment with a shortline or industrial railroad. 

The fireman of Sumpter Valley Railroad’s Mikado 19 prepares to give his charge a healthy drink of water at McEwen, Oregon to get ready for a busy day of excursion runs in June 2009. There is very little, if any, visible evidence that this photo was taken in 2009, and not 75 years earlier when the SVRR was still hauling logs.

Favorite Rail Images from 2019

2019 did not present quite as many new photo opportunities for me as 2018 did. However, I really can’t complain. I still managed to shoot plenty of train photos in my “backyard," and I took several trips farther afield. Here are a few of the photos I shot during the year with which I am most pleased:

Arguably the single best image I shot this year. Driving west from Soldier Summit on a trip to Utah in the spring, the railroad signals indicated another eastbound train was imminent. I set up at the turn off to Thistle Slide Rd., and was very pleased to see the train in question was Amtrak's Number 6, the Zephyr, running somewhat late. Overall, the light and other conditions resulted in a near-calendar-quality shot.

Although I no longer live in Spokane, WA, I visit there frequently. Last year, a new pedestrian bridge opened over the BNSF mainline to link the city's new "University District" with East Sprague Ave. Both the aesthetics and the location of the bridge have been criticized by many, but railfans cannot ignore the interesting new photo angles it offers. Here is one I shot in the late morning of Jan 19th.

The city of Walla Walla, WA loomed very large in the early history of Washington State. As a key gathering point for the agricultural wealth found in the southeast corner of the state, several railroads converged on Walla Walla, creating a bewildering maze of tracks north of the city center. Only a few of these remain in service, but on a snowy February morning, I shot a Palouse River & Coulee City RR train shuffling freight cars on the last active former NP track in town.

Speaking of snow, returning from the annual railroad show and swap meet in Monroe, WA, friend Rich Olson and I caught up with an eastbound train of empty oil tanks at Scenic. The crew had just received a green signal indication and began notching up the throttle to get rolling again. Ahead, the train will enter Cascade Tunnel for 7+ miles, and then roll down the east side of Steven Pass.

Local trains operating in and around the Tri-Cities are always interesting to me, especially with the varied mix of older locomotives they run. On a drizzly January afternoon, a UP local runs past the iconic Farmers Exchange building in downtown Kennewick.

Later in the year, a similar UP local pulls through the small yard at Hedges, on the east side of Kennewick.

Any BNSF locomotive still wearing Cascade Green paint is worth a photo or two. In this instance, one such SD40-2 leads as the Byron Turn cruises through Richland on its way back to Pasco Yard.

Very recently, the Byron Turn has operated behind matched pairs of freshly repainted former ATSF SD75i locomotives, as seen here passing Desert Gardens cemetery in Richland. Without being too morbid, this may be a good place to be buried when that time comes, so close to an active rail line.

Technically not a local train, this grain train is inbound to Pasco Yard, crossing the long former NP lift bridge across the Columbia River in mid-September. The cut of WSDOT Grain Train cars immediately behind the power will most likely move north to the CBRW with the next Connell Turn out of Pasco.

Here's the Columbia Basin Ry. itself in October, running south out of Warden, WA headed to the BNSF interchange at Connell. The CBRW is know for its stable of early, albeit heavily rebuilt, six-axle EMD locomotives.

One of my "bucket list" items has been attending the festivities surrounding the 150th anniversary of completing the Transcontinental Railroad, held May 10th at Promontory, UT. I did not allow myself to get caught up in all the 'Big Boy' commotion. Instead, I made an early morning visit to the Golden Spike Nat'l Historic Park to avoid the crowds, hiked a few stretches of the right-of-way, and then attended an in-person get-together with some Facebook friends in Ogden. While at the site, I shot this photo of the Railfan & Railroad magazine editorial staff getting their shots of the Jupiter as she rolled out of the enginehouse for a day of posing with her sister, UP 119.

It seems I shot a lot more Union Pacific activity than in previous years. From April, I managed to finally be in the right place/time to catch a train on the Malad Branch out of Brigham City. I had other places I needed to be, but I managed to catch a few run-bys as the train passed through Tremonton, UT

After dropping family members off at the Portland, OR airport in June, I looked around a little prior to heading home and managed to bag this local train switching cars on the Kenton Line with a clear view of Mt. Hood. A closer look in the distance will reveal an oncoming road train.

I attended two funerals with my sister this year. Unfortunately, the latter of the two was for her husband, but the former involved a June road trip to Pocatello, ID to say goodbye to a favorite uncle. Early in the AM before the service, I managed to slip away and catch this westbound mixed freight entering the yard.

I spent a lot of time in Eastern Oregon this year, working to capture images of UP in the Burnt River canyon to support an article I was writing. This picture did not make my cut for the article submission, but it's still a solid shot of a westbound manifest train climbing up through Oxman, OR.

Another UP shot in a location I've never seen a train running came the morning before my brother-in-law's funeral service in Provo, UT. I chased a UP local train working the branch through Pleasant Grove and American Fork, UT and got this shot of the train paralleling Highway 89.

On the return trip from our uncle's funeral, I was driving my sister and her kids west out of Missoula, MT. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a westbound Montana Rail Link Gas Local train on the Evaro Pass line (MRL's 10th Subdivision). We had just eaten, so the kids were pacified enough that they could tolerate a short side trip to bag this image. Then it was back on the freeway for the rest of the way home.

On a February trip to the coast with my wife (for yet another funeral), I dropped her off at a favorite quilt shop in Puyallup, WA, and then made a pass along the tracks. Lo and behold, the elusive Meeker Southern was at word that day and I was able to shoot this image of their former NP SW-1200 shuffling cars in the industrial park they serve.

Heading down to Promontory, I had planned time for a few side-trips. This trip to Vale, OR was well timed, as I just managed to catch the Oregon Eastern RR's train departing for their UP interchange near Ontario. The GP7 is a former Toledo, Peoria & Western locomotive. Other than a "chopped" short hood for improved visibility, the locomotive is otherwise stock and sounds just like an early "geep" should!

On my way to see The Who at Seattle in mid-October, I stopped past the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, WA and followed their Halloween family excursion train from North Bend to their end-of-track near Snoqualmie Falls. This "grab shot" as the train passed the Snoqualmie depot turned out the best. Maybe others would call this shot busy or crowded, but I think the classic depot, misty mountains, green-haired flagger, colorful trees, and stopped jeep framed the bright orange locomotive just right.

Yet another rock concert made a great cover story for an August railfan trip. On my way to see the B52's with OMD and Berlin at Bend, OR, I took a day to explore the former SP&S Oregon Trunk line. Although I live relatively close to the line, it is not the most accessible route to follow, and I have seldom had much luck with trains on family trips taken along Highway 97. This time, I did much better. One of the early shots I got was this southbound crossing the famous rail bridge over the Crooked River near Redmond, OR.

After staking out a campsite near the Oregon Trunk's Trout Creek trestle, I heard a southbound freight working its way around the canyon. Although I got shots of this military equipment train crossing Trout Creek, this image turned out particularly well as the train reached the high ground between Gateway and Madras, OR.

Another military train the following day crosses over the Deschutes River and enters a tunnel here at the upper of the "Twin Crossings." After transiting the tunnel, the train immediately crosses the river again at the lower crossing. This is a classic OT photo angle that I'm glad I finally managed to shoot for myself.

In August, Washington State handed over operation of its "P&L Line," the former NP branch between Marshall and Pullman, WA, to a new contract operator, the Spokane, Spangle & Palouse Railway. I managed to be on hand for their first day of operation and, among many other images, I got this shot of "GP39M" 3904 (a former ATSF GP35) and its train at Highway 195 on an unusual over/under crossing of the northbound and southbound lanes.

On a late fall trip to Spokane to drop my wife at the airport, I had a chance meeting with good friend Maddie Farnsworth. She gave me a hint that the SSPR had been working at Spangle, WA and might be headed back to Marshall at any moment. Acting on the tip, I managed to chase the train the full distance and got a few good shots. Normally, "going away" shots are seldom very good, but I was pleased with this one as the train approaches Marshall. The only thing that could make it better would be if the train had been long enough to be visible on the near end of the S curve. More sunlight would've helped too.

Saving the best for last, the most exciting trip I took this year was to Olean, NY in hopes of seeing giant six-axle Alco/MLW Century- and M-series locomotives in action. The Western New York & Pennsylvania RR runs its Driftwood (PA) Turn, which is famous for its steep northbound climb up Keating Summit as it returns to Olean. Newer GE locomotive were rumored to be on their way to supplement (and certainly replace) the older Alco/MLW units. The Driftwood train runs 2-3 times per week, and on the first day of my visit I caught it arriving at Turtle Point, PA to deliver its loads of rock. The train had stopped to allow a local from Olean to clear the former Pennsylvania RR mainline, and then its three monster Alcos roared to life bringing the train back to track speed.

The following day, a Friday, got off to a good start with a railfan report that at least three trains would be running that day and a Driftwood train should run on Saturday. Unfortunately, I somehow missed (slept through?) the first train that departed Olean! In my scrambling to figure out where the train had gone, I guessed wrong and followed the southward rail line into PA. When it was clear I had completely missed that first train, I cut over to Bradford, PA where I had an AirBnB lined up for the night. Serendipitiously, I saw a few other railroad locations of interest to me, so it was not a total loss. Once checked in, I drove back toward Farmers Valley, PA where the second of the hoped-for trains should be. I caught up with it (as did a sizeable contingent of other railfans) and got several shots of the train on the branch and on the mainline toward Orlean, as seen above. The bad news was that the Driftwood train would not operate the next day, which actually cleared up some time to see other sites of interest to me on my way back to the airport at Rochester.