Re: Spokane BNSF / road viaducts >> S-R article
Author: Butler
Date: 04-09-2018 - 17:31
Well down in the article they are talking about the cost of delayed trains while the bridge gets inspected.
QUOTE So if a Missoula-bound crew gets held up in Spokane for too long, there’s a problem. Especially if the train gets moving and their time cards run out in, say, Cataldo. ENDQUOTE
Of course a Spokane to Missoula train doesn't go anywhere near Cataldo ID! Cataldo is on I-90 but the railroad is miles to the north, via Sandpoint, then along the Clark Fork river to Missoula. Furthermore, the train would be a MRL train, not BNSF. MRL has trackage rights from Yardley (east of Spokane) to Missoula. In practice most crew changes actually take place at Hauser yard, near Rathdrum. The crew on this hypothetical eastbound train "held up in Spokane" would actually be a BNSF crew that started from either Pasco or Wenatchee.
Other than this error about railroad geography, it is a good article.