Western Railroad Discussion > How to Beat Yourself UP on the 4th of July

I've been wanting to make the hike into this area about a half mile south of the Anderson Rd overpass (north of Cheney, WA) for a while now. I knew it wouldn't be easy, and I was right on that account. But with what I thought were three southbounds lined up and a not too hot sunny day, it seemed like a good day for it. Now you might be thinking getting here wouldn't be so bad since the former SP&S turned Fish Lake Trail is right on the other side of the UP here. But not only would there be the 1.5 mile hike on the trail from the Fish Lake Trailhead and crossing the UP track, then you would have to choose between climbing the rock face or wading through the marsh for a more favorable way up the rock face. I parked off Anderson Rd and made the half mile overland hike. But it still requires a fair bit of bushwhacking and climbing to get through a rock lined channel and up on the rocky ledge above the tracks. I ended up hiking along this route 4 times and explored 3 different routes, each with various difficulties. On the original hike in, I started when the train was still in downtown Spokane and barely managed to beat it with enough time to spare to get the shot.

After getting this MSKPC with CP Military and Heritage locomotives, UP proceeded to tie itself into knots. I found a shady spot and started flicking the ticks off my clothing while watching what was going on on ATCS. After several hours of things not going anywhere I gave up and started the hike out. After climbing down from the cliffs and wading through a sea of thorny misquito infested brush, and climbing back up the other side of the channel, I get a call from a friend; The MSKHK is at Sunset Jct waiting to head south....%$!#%#%!$!%$%!#%!!!!!   So back through the brush I go for the THIRD time!!!!

Up in Spokane at Fancher St (Felts Field) there was a Rail Train and behind it, a Oil Train. Now the Rail Train was supposed to back out onto the BNSF at Napa St Jct and then go up the lead toward the East Spokane Yard dumping rail. Well someone decided that the MSKHK needed to depart before the Rail Train could occupy the lead, even though there was a MOW crew waiting for the Rail Train so they could dump the rail. But it took hours to build the MSKHK and get it out of the yard. Meanwhile the Oil Train started having problems with it's remote DPU locomotive during the wait and ended up having to back all the way to Trentwood to deal with the remote loco. By the time the MSKHK escaped and the Rail Train made it across the BNSF, the MOW crew threw in the towel and went home. The Rail Train is currently tied up in the east Spokane Yard.The MSKHK met a northbound Grain Empty at Cheney, and that train went to meet the Oil Train at Trentwood. But since the dispatcher moved a loaded Potash Train that had been sitting at Garwood down to Trentwood, he had a real jackpot going on there. A MPCET ended up waiting at Cheney for the Oil Train to fix it's issues and get past it so it could work at Trentwood without interference from the southbound train.

I was throughly beat up by the end of the day and walking kinda funny.

 

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 01:42 by funnelfan.

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BTW, the power on this MSKPC was taken off and put on a northbound MPCET at Hinkle. The CP Heritage and Military units should be leading north through Spokane in the morning.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Good effort and nice shots, especially the first one.

The things we go through for a shot. What's wrong with us? One prdictable thing about railfanning, it's unpredictable.
JB

Good photos. We appreciate your sacrifice for the hobby! :-) The thought of bugs of all descriptions descending me would put many a similar trip off bounds.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 07:56 by King_Coal.

Did some ticks dig in?

You had quite the day Ted! After reading your narrative, I felt like I had been there with you and felt tired, lol! I'm glad I didn't have to pick off the ticks. Nice couple of shots though.

Larry



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 11:10 by Ritzville.

Thanks for the photos and narrative, Ted -- I always enjoy hearing stories like this one, particularly when they involve the nuances of operations. One question I have, and I apologize if it's really basic: why would the power on an MSKPC be pulled and turned at Hinkle? I'm used to seeing that train keep its CP power all the way to Pocatello, so I'm not sure what would prompt a power swap like that. Any ideas of what the motivation might be? 

tomstp Wrote:
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> Did some ticks dig in?

Thankfully no, I've always been lucky enough to catch them before they got dug in. They never dig in right away, but always go in search of the perfect spot, usually in the hair. By wearing a hat, they usually end up on the hat. Can't think of the number of times I've seen a tick crawling along the edge of the bill of my hat. That makes them easy to get rid of.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

This must be UP's special premium blend of Precision Scheduled Railroading!!!

No matter how much "lipstick UP puts on the pig", it sounds like basic railroading 101, the way its been done, and the way things have happened, for over a hundred years.  Nothing Precision or Scheduled!

Exellent story of sacrifice for your passion!

Plus advice from an Ex-Terminator:
Take Garlic pills before going out, if you can stand them, Fleas and Ticks/Parasites will detect it and not bite.
Ticks can't jump, so they crawl up bushes and trees, then wait under branches or leaves to drop down on thier HOST! (Yuck)

Plus one of my joke Railfan rules (without a scanner) was to pack it all up and pretend I was going to leave the scene, that's when a train would show up!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA