There has been another mudslide north of Mulkitao (sp?) on the sounder north line cancelling the trains north of there. This is how many this year ( 5?). Again Amtrak will probably have to terminate and originate the Empire Builder at Edmonds. Is there any reason Amtrak could not go Stevens pass?
A question to Seattle posters: Are these mud slides because of excess rain, the double tracking of part of the line or something else? It has been a few years since I've been there and during other rainy periods cannot remember mudslides in this area although am sure they did occurr.?
blue streak 1 There has been another mudslide north of Mulkitao (sp?) on the sounder north line cancelling the trains north of there. This is how many this year ( 5?). Again Amtrak will probably have to terminate and originate the Empire Builder at Edmonds. Is there any reason Amtrak could not go Stevens pass?
Mukilteo is between Everett and Edmonds. When there is a mudslide in the Pacific Northwest, it is railroad policy to stop passenger trains for a specified amount of time until it is deemed that the land is stable. This applies to Cascades and Sounder trains. This year, the slides have not been all that severe, so when the debris is cleared, BNSF will run freight trains right after that on one or both mains. In the case of the Empire Builder, passengers will be bused between Everett and Seattle and the equipment turned at Everett, or as has been the case most of the time lately, the passengers are bused from Everett to Seattle and vice versa, but the equipment continues to and from Seattle without the passengers who detrain/entrain at Everett so they're not on the train through the slide area.
There is no reason Amtrak cannot run via Stevens Pass as this is the Empire Builder's regular route.
Mark Meyer
Actually Mukilteo is named for local indians of that area. Growing up in the NW it was quite common for slides all along that area. Many times the line wa closed that I remember an even remember one slide that pushed the WB Empire Builder into Puget Sound and that recovery was especially expensive as the train had just recently received its dmes st the time and a couple of the short dmes ended up in the wateras well as all of the diesels and head end cars. Rode the Internationals quite often and remember once being bused from King St. to Everett to catch the train to Vancouver. n the return trip a week later everything wa bak to normal.
Al - in - Stockton
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