The weather looked good for the last weekend in February so on Friday I packed up and headed towards Bonners Ferry ID for the weekend.   I passed through Spokane, WA around 1:30pm and found a westbound manifest train waiting to depart Yardley (BN 9270, ATSF 8733(both patched)).  Since Hauser refueling facility opened a lot of these trains don't stop in the yard but because of a small leak last week the facility was shut down temporarily on 2-23-2005.  This created quite a mess on the BNSF as crews were going dead on the mains and this were just backed up due to confusion.  Heading out of Spokane I ran into a westbound auto train (BNSF 5064, 4107).  After pulling off the road for a picture I headed out to Otis Orchards where I stopped to wait for the H-KCKPAS.  I arrived shortly with two NS units for power (NS 9299, 8802).  Next I drove out to Hauser yard where I found a few locomotives just sitting on the west end without any cars (BNSF 6720, MRL 322, 356, 260).  A westbound stack train was waiting to leave the yard (BNSF 7831(patched), 1077, FURX 7212).

    At the east end a Z-PTLCHC train was stopped on Main 2 to change crews (BNSF 4767, NS 9089, CSX 7338).  Next I drove on out to Ramsey were there was a C-BKMSPB train that was just about to die (BNSF 5215, 8274, EMD 9019).   There was a slight bit of confusion between the dispatcher and the engineer about when the crew came on duty and because the engineer was talking in Mountain time zone and the dispatcher in Pacific time zone the crew died sooner then the dispatcher thought.   As I was getting set up for my shot the eastbound Z-train flew by.  Then down at the east end I met a Z-CHCPTL coming through the switch (BNSF 1045, 821).  At Athol I found a westbound hopper train waiting for the light (BNSF 4102, 4496, 4403, NS 8990).  Next I explored a couple new roads out of Athol but none of them lead me anywhere near the tracks.  Finally just as I got back to the tracks an eastbound hopper train flew by (BNSF 4831, 4191, 5200).

     I kept heading north but I didn't see anything else until I got to Sandpoint, ID.  Here I got back up to the eastbound hopper train.   After stopping for a bite to eat I drove to the UP/BNSF diamond after I heard the detector 11.7 go off.  Pretty soon the eastbound arrived with several engines leading the Z-SSECHC (BNSF 5279, 7897(patched), 7327, 4054).  Just after he cleared a southbound UP hopper train got the light to cross so I moved over to shoot it (CP 8649, CEFX 131, UP 7049).  Checking out the UP yard in town I found a northbound manifest train making a setout (CEFX 106, 108, UP 7070, SP 6398(patched)).  After that I drove north again.  At Moravia, ID I met a westbound stack train (BN 6370, 8073, ATSF 6350(all patched)).  Unfortunately the sun had set by this time.  Then at Crossport, ID I found a westbound S-LPCSEA that was dead on Main 1 (EMD 9026, HLCX 8179, NREX 7510).  After taking a night photo or too of it I headed up to some friends house for the night.

     The next morning I decided I would head to a spot where down in the canyon along the Kootenai River.  I found myself down along the river opposite from the tracks at Leonia, ID siding.  Just about then a westbound stack and TOFC train came around the bend in the river (BNSF 4859, 4773, 4566).  I was able to get some interesting shots even though it was far away.  The sun hadn't quite hit the bottom of the canyon yet since it was only 7am.  I decided to cross the river on the bridge there although it is burnt out and you have to cross on the framework.   It took awhile and before I reached the other side another westbound Z train arrived (BNSF 5238, ATSF 556, BN 9240(both patched)).  After arriving at the other bank I spent some time in finding a good photo location for a eastbound.  After some time I found it and waited for almost an hour before I came.  It was a manifest train with an almost all BN green consist (BN 6922, 8052, 3018(all patched), BNSF 116).

     Next I walked back to the bridge and was about to start back across when I heard a westbound hopper train.  I waited and fairly shortly it arrived right out of the sun.  The good thing about loaded hopper trains though is that they usually have DPUs, and this one didn't disappoint me (BNSF 5077, 4644, 4978, 5208).  After that I crossed back over the river and drove down to Troy, MT.  I arrived just in time to catch a westbound manifest roll through (BN 6807, ATSF 6887(both patched), FURX 7245, BNSF 7321).  On the scanner I heard that he was meeting an eastbound at Katka, ID so I drove around and found a good spot high above the tracks.   After a 45 minute wait an eastbound hopper train arrived (BNSF 4441, 5438, 1106).   When this train had met the last one the dispatcher had told him that the next westbound was at Fisher River, MT and then Brimstone, MT.  Well I knew that they wouldn't be around for awhile and eastbounds were a ways off too so I decided to go exploring on the back roads.  I was able to get into both ends of Yakt siding. 

     Next I headed on down the road towards Katka and Bonners Ferry.  Even though it has been sunny and in the 40s for several weeks I ran into quite a lot of snow and ice which slowed down my progress.  Eventually I finally made it out to Bonners Ferry a couple hours later but I missed two trains each direction in the process.  The dead stack train was still on main 1 at Crossport and I found out that there was another westbound stack train stopped head to tail behind him.   After trying several photo locations without much luck I realized that I didn't have my scanner anymore.  Well the last time I remembered having it was out at Troy, MT.  So after a quick trip out I and back I was still minus the scanner and had missed another train or two.  It was getting close to dark so I drove to the west switch of Bonners Ferry and waited around for awhile.  Finally an eastbound stack and TOFC train arrived and went into the hole (BNSF 4711, 8026, BN 7852(patched), NREX 254).   Then a little later the westbound showed up with a long line of stack cars (BNSF 7303, BN 7021, 7828(both patched)).  After that I headed back to the house for the rest of the night.

     Then next morning I was down in Bonners Ferry around 6:45am.  Shortly an eastbound manifest train showed up (BNSF 907, 1055, 4325).   Then just as the sun was coming up an overpowered eastbound stack train pulled up into the siding (BNSF 918, 7023, 6705, ATSF 6864(patched), NREX 5068, MRL 252).  It met the hottest train on the road, Z-CHCPTL9-??Z, at 7:30am (BNSF 1022, 4092, 1046).   There was a southbound UP hopper train that was sitting just outside of Bonners Ferry that I wanted to shoot.  But I knew there was an eastbound train coming too.   In the end I managed to get a shot of neither of them since they came at the same time.  The eastbound was a hopper train (BNSF 4408, BNSF ????, NS 2539).  The southbound hopper train had CP 9615, 9127, and CEFX 102 for power.  After it pulled into the siding I waited around for the northbound to show up for the meet.   Meanwhile I drove out to a couple spots I had been the previous day and found my scanner thankfully.

     The northbound manifest train arrived with another 2 CPs for power (CP 8557, 9837).  Next I heard the detector near Naples go off so I quickly found a good spot for another eastbound.  It soon showed up with a bunch of stack cars (BNSF 5102, 1084, BN 7162(patched)).  After that I drove down to Naples and caught the southbound UP hopper train.  Then I sat at Naples to wait.   After about two hours a westbound hopper train arrived and slowly entered the main (BNSF 4010, 861, 4736, 739).  Then as I followed it down the siding I found that a Z-PTLCHC was entering at the other end (BNSF 4886, 1045, 821, 7326).  I hurried out of Naples and found another spot just south of there to catch the hopper train at.   After it arrived I chased it up to Elmira, ID.  Here I heard the detector back at Naples go off again and I realized that the Z train must have met two westbounds there.   So I set up at Elmira and was soon rewarded with a westbound stack and TOFC train (BNSF 4536, 720). 

     Next I headed back north of Naples to a place called Deep Creek.  I wanted to get a westbound as it came out of a tunnel and across Deep Creek.  After waiting up in a tree for an hour with only an eastbound hopper train (BNSF 4340, 4549, UP 5204), I headed back to the car.  Then as I drove up to Moravia, ID I heard that a westbound was at Bonners Ferry waiting to leave.   Unfortunately the dispatcher told them they would have to wait for a couple and so I settled down to wait for them.  The first was a stack train (BNSF 1122, 4094), and the next was an empty hopper train (BNSF 1103, 703, 4398).  Then as I headed back to my spot I found out that since it is down in the bottom of a valley the sun was already passed and there were just a bunch of shadows now.  The westbound turned up and I found out that it was that dead train that had been up at Crossport all weekend.  I decided to just follow it back towards Spokane since I had heard that the next westbound was over at Libby and it was getting towards the later afternoon.

     I got a photo of it as it came out of the siding at Naples and then another just before Elmira.  The next stop was at Elmira in the siding and then on down to Colburn at the east switch.  After that I headed through Sandpoint and caught it just north of Cocolalla, ID.  I drove down to Cocolalla to get another shot but in the process I missed an eastbound manifest train.  The westbound had to stop at the end of the double track for a bit before it got the light and then I waited for it to clear the crossing after I got my photo.  It had green lights all the way through Athol where I decided to stop and see if anything else would come.   After a hour or so of waiting I continued west.  At Ramsey, ID I found an eastbound Z-PTLCHC (BNSF 1018, 723, NS 9646).  Then on down to Hauser yard where a westbound stack and TOFC train was waiting to leave (FURX 7255, BNSF 8099).  An eastbound P-TACKCM pulled through Hauser yard just as the sun was setting (BNSF 4569, 816).  Next I met an eastbound UP detour train at Trentwood but the glint light was all gone (CP 9139, CEFX 1059).  Then following him out was a S-TACCHI (BNSF 4818, 756).  In Spokane there was a westbound manifest waiting for an eastbound stack and auto to clear but it was too dark to see much.  It was a great trip and thankfully the weather was absolutely great!