Apparently Sound Transit has begun work on the Tacoma end of its Lakewood extension. I was up in that area June 25 and can report:

(1) Crews have begun clearing the right-of-way down the hill along S. Tacoma Way from M Street north toward downtown.

(2) At least one lot at the intersection of 26th Street/S. Tacoma Way and Pacific Avenue has already been cleared, and several other buildings directly across Pacific Avenue on the north side of S. Tacoma Way have been fenced off in preparation for demolition.

On the way up to Tacoma, about 40 minutes spent at the Chehalis railfan platform between 10 and 11 a.m. yielded four trains: Amtrak "Cascades" #500 with a P42-9DC for power; two soutbound UPs -- a stack train with two lead units and a single DPU, and an extremely short manifest (three six-axle road units and just six cars); and a loaded BNSF coal train headed for the Centralia Steam Plant with two lead units and two DPUs.