Western Railroad Discussion > Sequim, Washington question

Thinking of moving to Sequim, Washington from Cincinnati, Ohio this Fall. Are there any railroads in that area? Spent some time there visiting daughter last December and didn't notice anything between Sequim and Port Angeles. Nearest railroad is a short line in Bremerton or is that gone now. Looks like nearest railroad is in Seattle area? Thanks.

Wow, had to look it up. Your closest active line looks like Everett and Stevens Pass... just a ferry boat ride away. Take the short cut into the Fraser River Canyon and you're all set for a trains and scenery.

the MILW had a line through Sequim between Port Angeles and Port Townsend to haul lumber. That was taken over by the Seattle & North Coast which later folded. There are no railroads left through Sequim now though much of the old right of way is visible.

Sequim is quite removed from a lot of things, requiring long drives and ferry rides to reach more well known parts of Washington. PSAP still has a weekday job between Bayshore/Shelton and Bremerton. Simpson runs a couple trains a day out of Shelton to the Dry Sort Yard. PSAP also has a weekday job between Elma and Shelton. There is a popular railfan hangout in Edmonds just north of where you exit the Ferry.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/14 14:48 by funnelfan.

fbe Wrote:
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> the MILW had a line through Sequim between Port
> Angeles and Port Townsend to haul lumber. That
> was taken over by the Seattle & North Coast which
> later folded. There are no railroads left through
> Sequim now though much of the old right of way is
> visible.


I think that line is now part of The Olympic Discovery Trail that runs right through Sequim. While I was there last December I took to hiking parts of it. There's a neat old railroad bridge leading out of Sequim. See pic below.

It does rain or mist a lot there, but doesn't seem to get as much as Seattle. Sequim is in what they call the "Olympic Rain Shadow." Something about the mountains surrounding the town doing something about lessening rail totals. Driving 15 miles to Port Angeles was like driving from one kind of weather to another. It was strange. http://www.komonews.com/weather/faq/4306627.html

Thanks for your information. Appreciate it.

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TCnR Wrote:
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> Wow, had to look it up. Your closest active line
> looks like Everett and Stevens Pass... just a
> ferry boat ride away. Take the short cut into the
> Fraser River Canyon and you're all set for a
> trains and scenery.

Thanks for your info....appreciate it.

Sequim is quite nice weather wise. Over 250 days a year with at least partly sunny weather. Its in the Olympic rain shadow so quite dry for western WA. Ted is correct about trains. Zip. It will be about 2 hours to Edmonds.
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USWA0401
Roger Beckett

up833 Wrote:
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> Sequim is quite nice weather wise. Over 250 days a
> year with at least partly sunny weather. Its in
> the Olympic rain shadow so quite dry for western
> WA. Ted is correct about trains. Zip. It will be
> about 2 hours to Edmonds.
> http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/month
> ly/graph/USWA0401
> Roger Beckett


this is true, and why sequim is becoming a popular retirement destination. relatively cheap real estate and a very dry climate for this part of the world. about the same annual rainfall as Los Angeles.

There is another weather situation for thisarea. On certain days in the Winter the weather comes out of the Frazer River Valley to the Northeast and features freezing or even colder wind persisting a few hours or days. Add a little local moisture and you have icy streets and even tree damage. The effect is nowhere near as strong as it is in Bellingham.

Possibilities for railfans include the Tacoma area by bridge and road from Sequim, Seattle by road and then ferry (walk-on fares are reasonable), Walk-on on the MV Coho to Victoria, bus to the ferry to Vancouver. This opens up many railfan areas.

The Frazer River routes of the CN and CP are well known. Following a CM freight on the former BCR for hundreds of miles of near wilderness to Prince George is a good expedition.

The Cascade crossings of the BNSF are good to explore. Central and Eastern Washington offer many great railfan adventures. A well known poster here works in train service on one of the lines near Spokane and could probably be invited to help plan a trip for a newcomer.

The remoteness of Sequim makes it cheaper and the climate makes it desirable. Living in the Interstate 5 Corridor offers a wetter place and higher costs but is much more convenient. Many of the folks in the Olympic communities are oriented towards sports fishing and cruising into Canadian waters.

Jeff Pape

Since the O.P. is from the Eastern Climate, it should be noted that when the Canadian cold air flows west it often hits the whole West Coast at the same time, not always but often. Portland can get hit pretty bad, it's been known to hit the California Central Valley causing at or below +20 degree temperatures. The Canadian cold air sets up some mean Winter temperatures in most of the West and Mid-West. Always something to prepare for.

Please do move to Sequim! It's isolated and doesn't have any trains, but it's better than Cleveland any day!

Tor in Eugene

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Since the O.P. is from the Eastern Climate, it
> should be noted that when the Canadian cold air
> flows west it often hits the whole West Coast at
> the same time, not always but often. Portland can
> get hit pretty bad, it's been known to hit the
> California Central Valley causing at or below +20
> degree temperatures. The Canadian cold air sets up
> some mean Winter temperatures in most of the West
> and Mid-West. Always something to prepare for.

Speaking of mean winter temps...I drove from Sequim to Cincinnati at the end of December last year. Took I-90 over as far as somewhere around Fargo, ND. before heading south towards Minneapolis and Chicago, then on to Cincinnati. Was stopped just west of Fargo in a ground blizzard and had to hole up in a hotel for a while. The next morning the temp, with wind chill, was -47 degrees. I saw a few trains and was surprised at the length of them and wondered how long it took to pump up the air on them.

I was born and raised in Bangor, Maine so a little bit of isolation and cold weather doesn't bother me. The first railroad I worked for was the Maine Central back in 1972. Long story short...I ended up going to work for CSX in Dayton, Ohio years later, and now retired, I want to move near family. Daughter lives in Sequim where she has a private practice. Her hubby is a great guy and we both like the same things...fishing, backpacking, anything to do with the woods.

Thanks everyone for your help.

We had a bunch of long trains parked for up to four days waiting for it to warm up. I found 15 angle cocks leaking pretty bad and one main line blowing. Couldn't cut that out. We got it after sitting two days. And they stupidly had us rescue it after dark when it gets colder. And we were rescued off it as well. Three crews for one subdivision. It WAS DPd so that helped. Most were too long with out DP and the idiots at Northtown kept running them conventional. Apparently if Northtown is warm, the rest of the RR is warm too. Memo dictated shorter trains, DP to help with the air problems. NTW didn't get it.
Still like to meet the carmen that worked that train:)

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Since the O.P. is from the Eastern Climate, it
> should be noted that when the Canadian cold air
> flows west it often hits the whole West Coast at
> the same time, not always but often. Portland can
> get hit pretty bad, it's been known to hit the
> California Central Valley causing at or below +20
> degree temperatures. The Canadian cold air sets up
> some mean Winter temperatures in most of the West
> and Mid-West. Always something to prepare for.

Western Washington usually gets missed by this phenomenon. The cold air tends to infiltrate eastern Washington, and then flows through the Columbia River Gorge and nails Portland. They get ice and snow while the Puget Sound area still has plain old rain.

Sequim probably gets a few more cold and snow events than Seattle does, but it should still be relatively mild.

And as for the PSAP into Bremerton - I've managed to see it a few times as it approaches the Navy Yard in Bremerton, but that's it. I've also heard it heading for the Bangor Sub base, but never actually SEEN it. I've lived in Bremerton for over 20 years. It's easier to railfan in Seattle or Tacoma.