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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by PNWRMNM Taking the wires down made sense then and makes sense today. [/quote] It made sense back then when Stevens Pass was only hosting (or hoped to host) 10 to 20 trains per day through Cascade Tunnel. The time taken to ventilate the tunnel was not an issue then. It is now. The time it takes to ventilate the tunnel is costing BNSF in terms of limiting capacity to 25 or so per day max. You also have the problem of midtrain helpers choking to death, which also limits capacity in terms of train length and the placement of helpers within a long consist. Hindsight being 20/20, being "wireless" makes no sense today for this particular piece of rail line. Some form of electrification would solve the capacity issue through the Cascade Tunnel and the Stevens Pass line, whether it be new catenary, a third rail through the tunnel and corresponding FL9 emulation, or nanaimo's dreaded nuclear battery powered locos[:D]. (A wholesale fleet of Green Goat road engines might suffice.) Therein lies the conundrum of Stevens Pass. It should be electrified to some degree, or abandoned altogether, if BNSF's motive is to maximize ton/miles.
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