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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by kenneo The SPS line between Pasco and Spokane was abandoned because the BN did not want to pay for the replacement of those huge trestles along the Snake where they climed out of the Snake to the Palouse. Until they decided to abandon, it was the Eastbound main between Pasco and Spokane and the NP main was the Westbound main.[/quote] I don't believe the trestles were that much of a concern. There was also the small matter of the SP&S line into Pasco from the south, while the Pasco yard ran to the north-northeast parallel to the NP line. Any BN traffic from Spokane on the SP&S line bound for reclassification at Pasco would have to treat entry into the yard like a spur rather than a siding, shoving and pulling cars all from the south end of the yard, which would have greatly complicated yard operations. One obvious option which the rail professionals at BN neglected to analyze was to keep the SP&S line from Spokane to Kahlotus, then rebuild the old OR&N branch from Kahlotus to Connell, where the NP line would be utilized the rest of the way to Pasco. The Connell to Kahlotus line was nearly level running through the Washtucna Coulee, so the entire route from Cheney to Pasco would have been ideal grade wise, and would have avoided the higher maintenance costs of the tunnels and trestles along the Snake River. [quote]QUOTE: And speaking of grades, it has always amazed me that the BN did not purchase the MILW between Ellensburg and Tacoma, and use it as their main stem, abandon Stampede, and relegate the GN line between Spokane and Everett to secondary status. In fact, there are several places where the BN could have used the MILW and downgraded the NP line between Terry and Tacoma. [/quote] BN actually looked at purchasing the Milwaukee line from Lind to the Puget Sound. The 2.2% up the Saddle Mountains wasn't any worse than the 2.2% up Chumstick Canyon and the eastern approach to the Cascade Tunnel, and the Milwaukee's eastbound ruling grade of 1.74% was(is) so much better than the 2.2% eastbound grades of Stampede and Stevens Pass lines. BN could have consolidated coast-bound traffic to as far as Lind or Macall (depending on if they chose the NP or SP&S west of Spokane), then split off the Puget Sound traffic over the ex-Milwaukee line while keeping the Portland traffic on the NP/SP&S line to Pasco and the Gorge. Then they could have abandoned the Stevens Pass line (with the limited capacity and high maintenance expense of the Cascade Tunnel), abandoned the NP from Cheney to Sprague, sold the Eastern Washington GN line to a shortline operator, sold the NP line from Sprague south to a shortline operator. BN did buy the Snoqualmie Pass line, partly to potentially use that as a replacement for the Stampede Pass line, but for some reason when the decision came to re-open one of the I-90 lines they chose Stampede over the Snoqualmie line. Go figure. BTW, the State of Washington does own most of the Milwaukee Corridor from Puget Sound to the Idaho stateline, so there is always the possibility of some parts of the ex-Milwuakee line being revived as traffic warrants. The tightrope BNSF must walk in this situation is to get the taxpayers of the State of Washington to pay for the rebuilding of the line, while somehow allowing BNSF to keep other operators off the property. You just gotta love our closed access rail system!
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