Bruce,

I likewise stand on my previous postings. Anyone can change the parameters to meet their needs. The point should be which "hub" encompasses the most traffic and components of Northwest Railroading? All the candidates have their shortcomings. Spokane misses completely the success that is the Amtrak Cascades service, and much of all of the traffic BNSF gets from Canada (through the Vancouver, BC area) for California as well as the UP interchange from Vancouver, BC which his handled by BNSF. Pasco misses Seattle-bound BNSF trains. Seattle doesn't see the volume of grain, etc. etc. That's why Portland/Vancouver is the most likely hub. It has the fewest shortcomings. All the grain for west coast ports off both BNSF and UP passes through. All the UP traffic (period) for west coast ports passes through or terminates. Portland/Vancouver also sees about half the Tacoma-origin BNSF stack trains, all eastward BNSF merchandise destined beyond Spokane originating in Western Washington (no freight trains regularly on Stampede) including traffic to/from California, and of course numerous garbage trains to/from Roosevelt (originating at Seattle or Everett). Then there is all the UP traffic from California, the shortlines that funnel tonnage to both UP and BNSF from the south and west, and of course six Amtrak trains a day in each direction between Portland and Vancouver (they don't call it the "Terrible Ten" for nothing). Portland/Vancouver's only real shortcoming is that it doesn't have the Sounder commuter trains you see in Tacoma, Seattle, and Everett, but that is easily overcome by comparing the usage of Sounder trains with Portland's popular MAX light rail system (light rail in Spokane, Tacoma, Seattle, and Everett ranges from nonexistent to minimal). And we all know where the SP 4449 has chosen to live, plus is there anyone out there who thinks that Portland Union Station is NOT the most beautiful passenger rail facility in the Pacific Northwest?

Mr. Hastings' choice for Spokane might have been valid in 1953 when Hillyard was still a major point on the GN and the NP hadn't built the hump at Pasco and the Milwaukee Road (though its main freight route didn't go through Spokane) was still around and when GN, NP, and UP all ran just as many (or more) east-west passenger trains than they did combined between Seattle and Portland. But things change....