March 2-9, 2007 trip to Sandpoint, ID area

Ever since I had moved away from the Spokane area, the stream from Railroad Radio has not been up because there was no one to run it. In the early part of 2007 however, Jeff Kieber from Hope, ID, volunteered to run a new stream for the area. So in March I flew up to help him get things set up and running. I arrived in Spokane, WA, on March 2, 2007, in the evening. After Jeff picked me up we first stopped at the BNSF yard in Spokane to see what the action would be. There were several engines sitting at the west end of the yard, and a westbound manifest train was waiting for a crew before departing the yard. Next we drove down to Hauser, ID. Just as we arrived a westbound stack train pulled out of the yard into the twilight. The moon started climbing the night sky as we found a westbound loaded coal train sitting in Hauser yard. After a couple pictures of the train with the moon in the background we set off to Jeff’s house for the night.

March 2, 2007

The next morning dawned with snow flurries in the air. Just before 10:00am we heard the MRL detector 111.8 crackle to life as an eastbound rolled passed. A couple minutes later it rumbled into view through the snow at Hope, ID. It was lead by two Dash 9s and turned out to be a manifest train. Along the way somewhere it had picked up several empty Boeing cars as well. After a couple of pictures we decided to head into Sandpoint for church and some more trains. After lunch things were pretty dead until a little after 2pm. A northbound UP train arrived behind a UP/CP lashup. Then just as I was taking a few pictures of that train an eastbound manifest train rolled by on the BNSF. After the BNSF train cleared the northbound UP train rolled over the diamond and into the siding at Sandpoint, ID. About 30 minutes later a southbound UP train arrived at the diamond. It was a manifest train with a couple of Canadian Pacific units for power. After getting few photos we decided to head south of town. I wanted to show Jeff a few of my favorite spots on the northern end of the BNSF funnel. After exploring some we stopped at East Algoma to wait for a train.

After waiting for a little while a whistle sounded through the snow flurries. Soon the headlight of an eastbound appeared down the track. BNSF 858 soon rumbled by with an empty hopper train. After taking some pictures of the head end, I also got a few as it crossed over the bridge into Sandpoint. Then about half an hour later the scanner alerted us that a train had just gone through the detector at Boyer. Within a few minutes a westbound manifest train rolled across the bridge and curved into view along the lake. After the rails had fallen silent once more we drove around a little and then ended up at the depot in Sandpoint. When we arrived we noticed a loaded coal train on the MRL track waiting to get a clear light onto the funnel. We figured that there must be an eastbound it was waiting on, and a couple minutes later our theory was proven true. BNSF 7661 led an eastbound Z-train passed the depot. Then after it had cleared the switch the coal train slowly started up. After the last car had passed we headed up to the UP tracks to find a northbound we had heard on the scanner. It turned out to be a northbound hopper train with a CEFX and UP combination for power. From there we headed to a restaurant for a bite to eat before heading back to Jeff’s house.

March 3, 2007

The next morning I packed up my things, and we finished setting up the railroad stream. Then about 10:30am we got ready to head out to find some trains. Just about then we heard the detector go off a few miles west of his house, so instead of heading into Sandpoint we headed east. I decided to shoot the train just east of the small town of Hope, ID. After a quick run through the snow I found a good location and waited momentarily before the train arrived. It turned out to be an eastbound empty hopper train with a couple Dash 9s up front. We decided not to chase this train since track speed is faster than we could safely go on snowy roads. Instead we headed into Sandpoint to find some action on the funnel. Driving down to Algoma we set up to wait for a train. Soon we could hear the distict rumble of an approaching train. Then rounding the corner came a beautiful set of two BN SD60Ms sandwitched between two EMD oakways. The lead unit was EMD 3. Next came 110 cars loaded to the top with coal bound for the power plant in Boardman, OR. After getting some pictures we jumped into the car to chase the train down to Cocolalla.

After a couple quick shots it was a race down to Athol, ID. Just north of Athol we met an eastbound hopper train. Next we hiked up to a cliff overlooking the large fill near Granite to wait for the coal train. The next train however, turned out to be a westbound Z-train. Next we moved locations to the top of a large cut just north of Athol to wait for the coal train. After it passed we continued west to the town of Athol. While in town we caught another westbound train. This time it turned out to be an 82 car manifest train with a couple SD40-2s for power. From there we drove on down to Hauser where we found a few trains stopped in the yard or refueling. Heading west we ran into an eastbound at Otis Orchards. It was a baretable train being pulled by a lone GP38-2. Even with only empty flat cars the train was only moving at 12mph with the engine in full throttle. After it had passed we drove the rest of the way into Spokane. At the Union Pacific yard we found the M-SKHK ready to depart. By that time it was early afternoon, and I had a plane to catch.

March 4, 2007

Three days later on Wednesday I was flying back home to Tennessee, and I had a layover in Spokane. Jeff drove down to pick me up from the airport so we could spend a few hours out watching trains. In Yardley we found a variety of locomotives including BNSF 7668, 7766, and TFM 1658. As we headed out towards Idaho along the BNSF funnel, I was surprised at how much of the snow had melted in just a couple days. The first train of the morning was an eastbound stack and TOFC train near the WA/ID border. With a ex-ATSF Warbonnet, a BNSF H1, a ex-ATSF blue and yellow, and a KCS unit the consist contained quite a diversity of power. After a few pictures of this train we drove to the west end of Hauser yard to wait for trains. The first train was a westbound hopper train coming out of the yard tracks. The lead unit looked a little funny because the entire nose of the engine was in a redish grey primer paint. Then fifteen minutes later a westbound Z-train rolled by on the main bypassing the refueling station. After a quick check of the yard we found another westbound loaded hopper train and an eastbound stack train waiting to depart. From there we headed back to Spokane so I could catch my flight out. It was a fun trip, and I enjoyed being back in the northwest for a few days!

March 7, 2007