Bruce Kelly Wrote:
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> 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.

Sounds like a good weekend. Recently, on another group, some newbie was whining about "only" seeing 5 or 6 trains during his sit-in-the-lounge-chair-at-Joso photo outing. Like you, I can recall lots of long hot hikes and waiting for the ONE train of the day, that afternoon HKCP and always wishing that it was a southbound instead for better lighting. More often than not, the SKHK came through about 15 mins. AFTER sunset... but when it did arrive 20 mins. BEFORE sunset, the light was phenomenal.

I haven't spent much time on the Wasy for the last 5-6 years. Although crews enjoy the welded rail and increased speeds, one is barely stirred from sleep when camping at Palouse Falls as the trains quietly sneek down the CWR through the Canyon. It's nothing like the rolling rumble of a big manifest on the jointed rail, fading quietly in and out of the tunnels in the stillness of the night. That was almost as good as getting the one shot of the day. Oh well.

Of track conditions on the SI, I recall a conversation on the scanner where an engineer calls the dispatcher: "dispatcher, that pot hole at Athol felt a lot worse tonight, better get someone to look at it this time... we feel a lot lighter now... but FRED says were still all in one piece."