Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
The ex-NP main from Marshall to Sunset Junction was double track once, now single track with one long siding. <br /> <br />Yes, technically speaking the viaduct (actually a series of bridges over the streets connected by solid fills through the city blocks {although urban legend has it that there are secret spaces under the fills where ilks and fairies live!}, with vertical concrete walls acting as the side buttress of the fill, and which abut right up to the adjacent buildings) through Spokane is probably 4 tracks wide, but I believe the close proximity to the adjacent buildings prevent any width expansion of a third or fourth track, e.g. probably something to do with city codes or safety logistics. If BNSF wanted to widen the viaduct to add an extra track or two they'd probably have to buy up the whole half block on one side or the other between each street. When you talk about buying up commercial property, not to mention the cost of tearing down all the buildings to make way for the railroad expansion, you can see where the cost of such may actually exceed the cost of drilling a tunnel through solid basalt. <br /> <br />I should reiterate that UP's problems in having to utilize BNSF tracks through Spokane are mostly self inflicted. They had their own line at one time, probably the best western entrance into Spokane when compared to GN's and NP's western entrances, but gave it up due to projections of little growth in traffic. I guess they could not foresee the desire of CP to send megatons of grain and potash via the easier profile of the Crow's Nest/Spokane International gateway to Portland area ports compared to Kicking Horse and Roger's Pass to Vancouver BC. Indeed, it would seem the SI gateway has more importance for CP than it does for UP.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag