Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF / UP / LVSW Rail Operations in the Longview, WA Area

I did several searches on Trainorders.com, railpictures.net, and rrpicturearchives.com in the hopes of finding out everything I'd like to know, but I still have some questions about BNSF / UP / LVSW rail operations in the Longview, WA area.  I believe UP had / still has trackage rights over BNSF between Portland, OR and the Seattle/Tacoma area.  Does anyone know if UP does any customer / local work in Longview aside from unit trains to / from the port, and through trains?  If they do use their crews, where do they go on-duty?

From what I understand, the Longview Switching Company (LVSW) is jointly owned by BNSF and UP.  What power does LVSW?  Where do they go on duty?  Great photos of this operation seem to be pretty scant so I thought I'd ask.  For what it's worth, Railinc's Rail Service Finder shows both BNSF and UP active here.

I'd appreciate any information about UP and LVSW local and switching operations in the Longview area.  Thank you in advance!

UP does operate their own trains over the Seattle to Portland route.  May go on duty at Portland, Centralia, Tacoma, and Seattle.  Largely intermodal with a couple daily general freights.  Also garbage trains to Seattle area for loading, then back south.  There is a local out of Longview Junction going north to ??.  Often goes north in wee hours of the day, coming back, well, seems to be jsut about anytime.  May depend on the work for that day.  Power for these are variants of SD40-2s.  I am not sure how much switching they do in Longview.  BNSF has a local out of LVJ.  Works north to maybe Tacoma.  Coming back south sometimes in daylight.  Power often SD-75.  Both UP and BNSF are not daily and I haven't followed to verify days of the week.  BNSF is overall heavy hitter with a great variety of trains, coal, grain, freight, intermodal, & also garbage.   Amtrak kicks in two dailies and the Cascadian Service another six trains.

Longview switching has at least two SW-1500 (or MP-15s) numbers 311 and 302.  Work is mostly inside log and other cehmical plants.  They had one of the GP38-2s lthat were used up to Headquarters, not sure of the number.  It was used at grain elevators.  There is also an NW-2 at the engine pole barn. near the highway bridge to Rainier.  Not sure it's purpose, having only first appeared to me within the last month.  The line going north across the Cowlitz River is severed at several places including one smaller trestle totally removed.

Others can add or correct.  I don't spend a lot of time train hunting in Longview.

Robert

 

UP has trackage rights between Union Station in Portland and Tacoma, Wa and Tukwila to Seattle. UP has its own main (for now) between Tacoma and Tukwila.

LVSW is a joint facility between UP and BNSF. They interchange at Longview Jct (mainline side) and in the main yard across the slough bridge (proper) - power is jointly swapped every so often between UP and BNSF.  They also interchange with CLC (Columbia and Cowlitz RR) at Longview off of Industrial Way/3rd Ave and Oregon Way. CLC switches along Hwy 432/Industrial Way

UP LIC-55 goes on duty at Longview and heads to Centralia, switching at Winlock, Napavine, and delivery to Puget Sound and Pacific in Centralia and returns to Longview, generally non-stop. I believe they go on duty around 1030am and typically 2-3 SD40-2N's and an SP bay window caboose. 

BNSF's local, R-NWE868 goes on duty at Longview as well and switches between Longview and Woodland, Wa. The bulk of the work is in Kalama and Woodland. Can't recall what time they go on duty but generally in the afternoon/evening hours. 

Macster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> UP has trackage rights between Union Station in
> Portland and Tacoma, Wa and Tukwila to Seattle. UP
> has its own main (for now) between Tacoma and
> Tukwila.
>

Just a quibble so please don't take offense since the rest of your post was informative. But I don't think there's much UP use of the Steel Bridge/Union Station route northward other than transfers to/from the BNSF yard just beyond Union Station. The UP Seattle/Tacoma traffic all uses UP rails either via Albina Yard or bypassing Albina, joining the BNSF trackage just south of the Columbia slough and river bridges into Vancouver, WA. 

pbouzide Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Macster Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > UP has trackage rights between Union Station in
> > Portland and Tacoma, Wa and Tukwila to Seattle.
> UP
> > has its own main (for now) between Tacoma and
> > Tukwila.
> >
>
> Just a quibble so please don't take offense since
> the rest of your post was informative. But I don't
> think there's much UP use of the Steel
> Bridge/Union Station route northward other than
> transfers to/from the BNSF yard just beyond Union
> Station. The UP Seattle/Tacoma traffic all uses UP
> rails either via Albina Yard or bypassing Albina,
> joining the BNSF trackage just south of the
> Columbia slough and river bridges into Vancouver,
> WA. 

There are a few UP trains which use the Steel Bridge.  The YPD51 is a transfer from and to Albina and there's a MRVPT from Roseville (sometimes a MWCPT instead) and an MNPPT which runs through Albina over the Steel Bridge to the Portland Terminal (PTRC) Lake Yard (the yard north of Union Station).  I think they sometimes show a LIL50 also as a transfer from Albina via the Steel Bridge.

There are two UP symbols (MPTSE and MPTLV) that run north on the BNSF via the trackage rights.  The PTRC is another BNSF/UP joint facility and they makeup the two UP trains and they depart north via the BNSF and Willbridge.

crazy_train_999, check out the May issue from this year of Railfan & Railroad for a great Robert Scott look at the LIC-55.
pbouzide/Waybiller, also the Brooklyn to Tacoma/Seattle trains use the Steel Bridge as an alternative route out of Portland as needed.
 

Thank you all for your input...Your information is very helpful!