Sean and I are recovering from 2.5 days in the gorge above Bonners Ferry. I say "recovering" because of some eight miles of hiking around, up and down, etc., in the 90-something heat. Thank God for trees. Yes, traffic is indeed good, and speeds have improved over a decade ago. Still, the empty potash we heard somewhere between Page and Ayer at 9am on Saturday took until 10pm to reach Bonners Ferry, not so much due to problems on the SI, but due to congestion and slide fence problems on the Washy. By Sunday morning, there was also talk of a sun kink on the Washy. The SI still has the capacity constraints of dark territory and manual turnouts, but certain dispatchers and crews can make the best of it. Train lengths: I've noticed southbound manifests recently that were less than 25 cars, even the crews were laughing about it. But other manifests and everything else can be monsters, certainly the grain and potash. Train counts: Yesterday we had two south by Tunnel 4 early in the morning, then three north between before 11am. Then two south in early afternoon, with another north by late afternoon. A far cry from 20 years ago when you'd get the CPHK in the afternoon and anything beyond that (Soo/CP grain)was considered a real bonus. HKCP always seemed to get out of Spokane after dark.