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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by martin.knoepfel I wonder whether laying a third rail in the Cascades-tunnel would be a cheap way to increase capacity. BNSF could then buy some regearde passenger-diesels with third-rail-shoes and put them onto their trains. note: one doesn^t need to replace all diesels on a trains. exhaust from diesel engines has to be reduced only to the degree that length between sidings defines line-capacity. [/quote] An interesting point to ponder, and something akin to what BN/BNSF already studied, and rejected, in the 1990s. Re-electrification of Cascade Tunnel was one of three major proposals for increasing capacity across the Cascade Mountains. Re-opening Stampede Pass was the second, and double-tracking the former SP&S route along the Columbia was the third. And, yes, the Columbia River Gorge is considered a mountain pass of sorts, albeit a water-level gap through the heart of the Cascades. The latter was rejected due to cost and anticipated grumblings from environmentalist extremists. Re-opening Stampede Pass was accepted as the least expensive and most viable option. "Capacity problems" through Cascade Tunnel on the old Great Northern are somewhat exaggerated: That line is holding its own and hasn't reached a critical mass. Upgrading the ventilation system might be one way to increase capacity. Directional traffic is another option. The core issue, somewhat overlooked due to its relative obscurity, is what to do with an underutilized Stampede Pass route that sees only three to six trains per day. The idea was to route empties eastward via Stampede, with the occasional low-priority eastbound and westbound manifest, freeing up the Gorge and Cascade Tunnel for more higher priority westbound grain trains and intermodal, and eastbound intermodal and manifest trains. Until I see Stampede Pass used by eight to 12 trains a day, as BNSF originally estimated would take place by 2000, and I realize "estimated" can be a dangerous word to place too much emphasis on, then I'll concede that Cascade Tunnel is facing capacity issues. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but BN management -- if the former Frisco cabal that took over could be called management -- screwed the pooch by not aggressively upgrading MILW's Snoqualmie Pass line after purchasing it and then proceeding with abandoning Stampede Pass. The MILW has better grades, curvature, and more than adequate clearance in Snoqualmie Tunnel for double-stacks. Of course, foresight in the early 1980s was not something that BN could have been accused of with much hope of accuracy. It's often rumored that one former BN president woke up daily wondering what he was doing wrong: the railroad was still in existence.
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