Nostalgia & History > F-Unit Friday, BN 752

As I recall, south of Seattle, in the early 1980s.

Regards, Jim Evans



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/20 07:24 by FiveChime.

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Yes, sign on the right reads VanAsselt which would be between Argo and South Seattle.  Named for Henry Van Asselt, an early Seattle settler.

Brian Ambrose
Renton, WA

Glad I got that right, I was concerned that someone seeing that sign would tell me the location was wrong!

Regards, Jim Evans

Great scene.
Bob

I was suprised to see the "rustic" condition of the ROW in the photo as compared to the way it looks now.  I wonder if the tracks (...and sign) on the right / east side of the image were part of the former Milwaukee Road line into Seattle.  I couldn't find a station named "Vanasselt" or "Van Asselt" in my copy of the BN Northern Corridor Timetable #1

The 752 was a real trooper... it wasn't retired until 1981.  I think it was mantained at Auburn.  I used to catch it on the Auburn - Kalama Turn fairly often during the 'Seventies.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

E25 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  I wonder if the tracks (...and sign)
> on the right / east side of the image were part of
> the former Milwaukee Road line into Seattle.  I
> couldn't find a station named "Vanasselt" or "Van
> Asselt" in my copy of the BN Northern Corridor
> Timetable #1

Train is on the NP southward track. Next track is NP Northward track. Next two are the Pacific Coast (GN subsidiary became BN) eastward and westward tracks. MILW used PC between Maple Valley and Seattle. The junction for Tacoma via MILW tracks was Black River. Van Asselt was a statio on ly on PC. By the time of your timetable, PC had been torn out. Two new tracks were built on the PC alignment in preparation for Sounder service.

TAW

Thanks for the clarification and history lesson, TAW.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

I was just going to say what Greg said about the 752, seemed like it was on the Kalama every day, one of a number of F's at
Auburn. They ran in solid sets on some days and Auburn was always worth the visit. Even had an NW-5 for yard power. 

Out 

Boeing Field as said is out of frame to the left, and between it and your position is the four-lane Airport Way. Interstate 5 is up on the lower flank of the hillside on the right where the bare grassy sections are.

The old NP mains are today what I would call "hold tracks" (not sure what the actual or correct term would be, or what these are labeled as on a current track chart); many of the northbounds coming up the Seattle Sub from points south/east await there for new/fresh crews to continue north, or to go into the yards. The old PC alignment as TAW said is now where the current Mains 1, 2, and 3 (from left [west] to right [east] are located). On the left side where the codeline poles are is where the current UP yard lead into their Argo Yard at Georgetown is located. Also over where the Van Asselt station board is (it is still a control point [on Main 3 only]), UP has a small yard that is mostly used for storage; more recently a lot of intermodal short wells, but during the 2008-2009 recession, a number of SD60M's, SD40-2's, Tunnel Motors, and the like sat there for a short time.