Stevens Pass, Washington

[Anonymous]

For those who railfan at Stevens Pass, I'm going to railfan at Stevens Pass, Washington. I know Scenic and Skycomish, is there any more good area that I can railfan?

[cstaats]

Stop at Snoqualmie Falls, WA there is a wonderful museum there with some very interesting rolling stock and locomotives.

[Snoq. Pass RR]

andrewkim

If you stop by in Snoqualmie, WA, this weekend, August 5-6, you can catch Railroad Days.  You can also ride the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad to the top of Snoqualmie Falls.  An impressive 285 feet, 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls.  Here is a link to the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad, a.k.a. The Northwest Railroad Museum, www.trainmuseum.org.

Also, don't forget to see the Cle Elum Depot.  Part of the original Milwaukee Road's South Cle Elum Railyard. Here is a link to their site, www.milwelectric.org.

[Anonymous]

Stevens is a low traffic route. expect an average of 6-8 moves per day. Be equipped with a good map, a car ready for gravel roads, a spare tire, and a perpartion to chase. Speeds are not high on the hill so you can intercept a train many times if you chase it up the hill from Goldbar.

On the hill itself, also check out Foss River and Berne.

Much of the pass is 4x4 only access, and vast stretches are rarely photographed as they require hiking in.

If you have time, continue your GN trip eastward to Wenatchee, Rock Island, and Trinidad, all near the Columbia.

If you're making your way north from Seattle, consider checking out the BNSF Scenic Sub from Interbay through Everett. Lots of waterside views, much different scenery than the upper Scenic Sub. You also get a lot of Canada bound traffic on that leg, plus Amtrak Cascades.

[DRGWfan]

Stevens is a low traffic route. expect an average of 6-8 moves per day. Be equipped with a good map, a car ready for gravel roads, a spare tire, and a perpartion to chase. Speeds are not high on the hill so you can intercept a train many times if you chase it up the hill from Goldbar. On the hill itself, also check out Foss River and Berne. Much of the pass is 4x4 only access, and vast stretches are rarely photographed as they require hiking in. If you have time, continue your GN trip eastward to Wenatchee, Rock Island, and Trinidad, all near the Columbia. If you're making your way north from Seattle, consider checking out the BNSF Scenic Sub from Interbay through Everett. Lots of waterside views, much different scenery than the upper Scenic Sub. You also get a lot of Canada bound traffic on that leg, plus Amtrak Cascades.

there are more then 6-8 trains a day there is more like 20

[chad thomas]

Yea, it's more like 20-24. It's the primary intermodal route to Seattle. Amtrak would account for two of those trains also. I think cascade tunnel is limited to one train per hour because of exhaust management. Stampede on the other hand sees only 6 or so trains a day.