Passenger Trains > Lakewood Sub - 2nd Beginning 11/18/2021

Nearly 4 years earlier, through the combined efforts of Sound Transit (line owner), Amtrak, and WSDot the first passenger train (i.e. non commuter train) entered the north end of the rececntly finished Lakewood sub in Tacoma, also known as the Pt. Defiance Bypass, made it's station stop at the brand new Tacoma Dome Station and the headed south for the history books.   As you likely know Cascades train 501 did not complete it's journey on the Lakewood sub, derailing on a 30 mph curve and overpass above the southbound lanes of Interstate 5. 

On Thursday 11/18/2021, Cascades train 503 became the 2nd passenger train to attempt the run.  Dubbed the safest train in the country, it's consist included an F40 Cabbage car on the point, 4 horizon cars and WDTX 1408 (the replacement for the destroyed 1402 that lead 501).  Train 503 made it safely down the line and past the derailment site and on to Portland.   

Here's a video montage of some the action on the line.   

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

Great video, Steve.  Miss the Talgos though.

Very  nice.   Hope  they  can maintain   ot  peformance  !!!

Great video!  Thank you for your work on this.  When will the schedule reductions (time) and increases (frequences) begin?

ABSOLUTELY a great video Steve......very classy coverage of a very historic event.    quite pleased that the bypass is in operation!!!!   and I agree that the horizon cars "suck" but better than not having them.   here is hoping that now we can get the frequency built up as the bypass was intended to facilitate.    now more than ever I need to get back to the Silver Cloud, Ram and Tacoma........Arlen   

Steve,

Nice flying!  Your bird has some pretty good range and speed!

Wyatt

amtrakbill Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great video!  Thank you for your work on this. 
> When will the schedule reductions (time) and
> increases (frequences) begin?

At least, awaiting equipment, replacements for the Talgo 6 trainsets.   Last I heard, was late 2022 or 2023. 

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

Great video, glad the 2ND Attempt on this paid off!

This is a fantastic video!  The drone footage is top notch.  I did alot of video promo work for Talgo when it came over here in the '90's.  Your drone footage is better than some of the helicopter stuff we captured and certainly a lot cheaper too.  Paul

Nice work on the Video. Interesting to see the old grade out of Tacoma from that vantage point.
t4p.

Very nice video! You captured the old “plywood” Amtrak depot in the distance around the 1:00 point in the video.

Posted from iPhone

Do these trains have to climb the old MILW RR "Tacoma Hill" to reach this line?  At one point in the video, it looked like that was happening....

Current schedules save only five minutes on the Tacoma-Nisqually run, rather than the planned ten, though they also cut some additional unneeded fat in Tacoma dwell time out of the southbound Coast Starlight schedule.  As for restoring 516 and 517 cut by the pandemic, that was originally supposed to be done on September 20th along with a restoration of Seattle-Vancouver, BC service, but it never happened, and now there's no word on when it will.  This is all on a Sound Transit  Sounder schedule still posted at one of the shelters on the new Tacoma platform.  The fifth and sixth Cascades round trips are supposed to happen "sometime next year."  The Sounder schedules now posted on the platform don't reflect the restoration of another Sounder "S" (south) Line round trip that did happen on September 20th. 2:32 p.m. southbound from Seattle to Tacoma, 4:06 p.m. northbound from Tacoma to Seattle.

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do these trains have to climb the old MILW RR
> "Tacoma Hill" to reach this line?  At one point
> in the video, it looked like that was
> happening....

No. It is ~3,000 feet of new railroad that connects the MILW at C Street to the NP at Tacoma Ave.

TAW

I suspect the last time a long distance passenger train used the former Milwaukee Road track passing by the new Tacoma station would have been in 1954 when the Milwaukee closed their former Tacoma Eastern station and moved to their new brick facility that was next to their Tideflats Yard.  

Thanks for sharing the video.   Hopefully this track segment now has a long, safe and productive passenger train future.  

Thanks for all the nice comments!!

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

Very nice film. Thanks for putting the effort to consolidate all the views.