Northern Transcon

The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970.

Route

The route starts at Chicago^[1] and runs west across northern Illinois to the Mississippi River. It follows the eastern shore of the river through La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin before turning west again in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Casselton, North Dakota. From Casselton the route runs northwest to Minot, North Dakota, then west through Montana and Idaho to Spokane, Washington.

In Montana, the line passes the East Gate of Glacier National Park and crosses the Two Medicine River on a high trestle. From East Glacier Park, Montana, the route continues ascending until it crests the Continental Divide at the summit of Marias Pass. The line descends down the west side of the pass for 20 miles (32 km) to Essex, Montana, running mostly double track on a narrow shelf, and crossing several high trestles over the Flathead River. Essex is home to the Izaak Walton Inn, which was constructed when the line was built to shelter railroad employees during the winter months. It also contains a small railyard used to store helper engines, which are used to supply additional power to freight trains crossing Marias Pass. Prior to the invention of the powerful diesel locomotives used today, longer trains often had to be split in order to make it up the pass.

From Essex, the line follows the Flathead River valley to Whitefish, Montana. Located in Whitefish is a restored passenger depot/museum (also serving Amtrak). The line continues northwest to Stryker, Montana, then turns south and passes through the 7-mile-long (11 km) Flathead Tunnel as it runs west toward Sandpoint, Idaho. The line leaves the Rocky Mountains after Athol, Idaho and reaches Spokane, Washington.

At Spokane the route splits into two, with one line going to Seattle, Washington and the other to Portland, Oregon.

The two longest railroad tunnels in the country are along the Northern Transcon: the Flathead Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington.

From St. Paul to the West Coast, this is basically the route of Amtrak's Empire Builder. But the Builder turns north in Fargo onto a BNSF secondary line to reach Grand Forks, North Dakota, while the Northern Transcon heads directly toward Minot. The Builder rejoins the Transcon main route at Minot and continues on to Seattle, though a section branches off to serve Portland, Oregon. BNSF also owns trackage with running rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where it has a yard operated by a switch unit and full crew. The track is maintained by a small track crew.

Historical alignments in Montana

The portion of the Northern Transcon line from Columbia Falls to Libby, Montana has been significantly rerouted twice since its initial construction in 1892.

Kootenai River valley

Prior to the opening of the Flathead Tunnel, trains left the modern route at Stryker, Montana and traveled northwest to Eureka, Montana, then traveled southwest along the Kootenai River and rejoined the present-day line at Jennings, located just below the Libby Dam.

In 1970, the construction of the Libby Dam formed Lake Koocanusa, flooding the towns of Rexford, Montana and Waldo, British Columbia and the railroad line.^[2] This required the relocation of more than 60 miles (97 km) of track between Stryker and Jennings and the building of Flathead Tunnel which, like the dam, was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Part of the original main line from Stryker to Eureka is still in use as the Mission Mountain Railroad. Before the construction of the tunnel, the Empire Builder also had a station stop in Eureka.

The only visible remnants of the original route are a stub track at Jennings, where the unused original track still remains close to the current main line, and Northwest of Eureka the original mainline is now a trail that meanders over towards Lake Koocanusa, with the old right of way eventually diving into the reservoir.

Haskell Pass

The alignment that travelled from Whitefish to Libby via Eureka was created in 1902 to replace a predecessor alignment over Haskell Pass, farther to the south.

The pass was named for its founder, Charles Haskell, who in the winter of 1891 had set out to locate a reasonable alignment for the Great Northern railroad to take between Kalispell, Montana and the Kootenai River. Ranging as far north as the Canada–US border, Haskell's party eventually returned to Kalispell in early spring, having crossed a low notch in the Salish Mountains on the return trip. A year after the scouting trip, construction was begun on what was to be the first of three Great Northern lines through the Salish.

Completed in 1892, the Haskell Pass line left the modern alignment of the route at Columbia Falls, Montana, a few miles east of Whitefish. The line travelled almost due south to Kalispell, where a branch split off the route that ran to Somers, Montana on the shore of Flathead Lake. The line travelled west from Kalispell to Marion, then alongside Little Bitteroot Lake, looping up on a high trestle over Herrig Creek, and passing through a 1,425-foot-long (434 m) tunnel at the summit of Haskell Pass, emerging high on the mountains above Pleasant Valley. The line descended to the valley floor, then turned north along Island Creek, and west down Wolf Creek, to the Fisher River. The line followed the Fisher River north to the Kootenai River Valley, where it returned to the 1902–1970 alignment at Jennings.

The Haskell Pass line was used only for ten years before the Kootenai River alignment opened. Shifting to the Kootenai River alignment was controversial because the new alignment was 20 miles (32 km) longer than the old route, although the new route had less steep grades.^{[citation needed]}

Much of the Haskell Pass route was abandoned in 1902. The leg from Columbia Falls to Marion remained in use as a branch line until 1948, when it was truncated to Kalispell. When Flathead Tunnel was constructed in 1970, part of the Haskell Pass alignment along the Fisher River was recycled, namely the leg from Jennings to Tamarack siding (originally Sterling).^[3] On Haskell Pass, much of the right-of-way has been grown over, but small remnants of infrastructure and the original tunnel through the pass itself are still intact.

Winter operations

Keeping the Northern Transcon open during the winter is a significant challenge, weather from snow in the Midwest and mountains, or rain in the Pacific Northwest. Heavy rains have the potential to cause mudslides along Puget Sound between Seattle and Everett and in the Nisqually, Washington area between Tacoma and Olympia. For example, in early January 2006, there were four slides between Seattle and Everett. In late January 2006 and again in early February 2006, mudslides occurred both between Seattle and Everett and around Nisqually. Heavy snow in the Rockies around Marias Pass have the potential to cause avalanches that can block the tracks. Following the clearing of a slide or an avalanche, no passenger train can run on the track for 48 hours to ensure that the slide area has stabilized, per BNSF policy.^{[citation needed]}

Passenger trains

Amtrak operates its Empire Builder on the corridor between La Crosse, Wisconsin and points west, though the train utilizes a more northerly route between Fargo and Minot.

The Metra BNSF Line operates in the whole Chicago Subdivision, providing commuter rail service. These are the only passenger trains directly operated by BNSF via a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra. This stretch of track also hosts the Amtrak California Zephyr, the Amtrak Southwest Chief, and the Chicago-Quincy sections of the Amtrak Illinois Service on their way to Galesburg and points west.

The Northstar Line operates north of Minneapolis on the Midway and Staples Subdivisions. Also, the Seattle Subdivision hosts Amtrak Cascades as well as Sounder commuter rail trains.

Subdivisions

v t e BNSF Aurora Subdivision
Legend
mi BNSF St. Croix Subdivision 299.9 Grand Crossing CPKC Tomah Subdivision 296.3 Graf 410.5 Herrington CB&Q to La Crosse 286.7 Stoddard 280.7 Genoa Victory 270.1 De Soto 262.2 Ferryville 254.4 Lynxville 247.4 Charme 239.7 Prairie du Chien 237.0 Crawford Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Wisconsin River 235.6 Ports 232.0 Wyalusing 228.4 Bagley 222.8 Glen Haven 213.0 Cassville 205.5 McCartney 200.0 Potosi Wisconsin Illinois 185.0 East Dubuque 184.9 East Cabin CN Iowa Division to Sioux City 172.3 Portage CN Iowa Division to Chicago 171.6 Galena 163.8 Blanding 410.5 Robinson Spur to Savanna Army Depot BNSF-CPKC crossing 143.7 Savanna 142.3 BNSF Barstow Subdivision to Galesburg 138.5 Burke 129.4 Chadwick 122.5 Milledgeville 117.9 Hazelhurst 116.0 Carter 111.9 Polo Illinois Central Railroad 107.4 Stratford Burlington Road Illinois Railway to Mt. Morris Oregon Rock River 92.4 Chana Illinois Railway to Rockford 86.3 Flagg Center ↑ single track ⇓ double track 83.2 UPRR Geneva Subdivision Rochelle Railroad Park 77.9 Steward Junction Milwaukee Road 77.3 Steward ⇑ double track ↓ single track Lee 67.1 Shabbona 65.0 Union Pacific Railroad Waterman 55.1 Hinckley 50.2 Big Rock 44.7 Sugar Grove 40.0 to North Aurora Virgil Gilman Trail former Milwaukee Road 38.4 Mendota Subdivision Fox River Aurora 38.1 Aurora Transportation Center BNSF Chicago Subdivision

v t e BNSF St. Croix Subdivision
Legend
mi CP Merriam Park Sub 410.5 St. Croix Junction CP River Subdivision 407.8 Burns St. Croix River Minnesota Wisconsin 407.7 Prescott 396.3 Diamond Bluff 391.0 Hager City 386.3 Bay City 378.7 Maiden Rock 372.6 Stockholm 366.2 Pepin 362.9 Mears Chippewa River 362.1 Trevino 358.7 Nelson 351.3 Alma 343.1 Cochrane 333.9 Fountain City 328.2 Winona Junction former Chicago & North Western Ry 325.7 East Winona CN 317.4 Trempealeau 311.2 Lytle 303.1 Sullivan 300.2 North La Crosse 299.9 Grand Crossing CP Tomah Subdivision Aurora Subdivision

v t e BNSF Midway Subdivision
Legend
to Staples Subdivision 13.9 Northtown Yard 12.4 mi East 35th Avenue 11.7 University Avenue to St. Paul Subdivision 8.9 Rollins Avenue to Wayzata Subdivision 8.4 Union Yard to Minnesota Commercial Railway 7.1 St. Anthony to Minnesota Commercial and Midway station Union Cutoff to St. Paul Subdivision 5.1 Midway Yard 2.2 Jackson Street Saint Paul Union Depot 0.0/1.4 Seventh Street/Westminster to St. Paul Subdivision to Union Pacific Altoona Sub CP Merriam Park Subdivision

v t e BNSF St. Paul Subdivision
Legend
Midway Subdivision 11.4 mi University Avenue Midway Subdivision 9.8 East Minneapolis 7.9 Park Junction Minnesota Commercial Railway 6.7 Union Junction to Midway Subdivision NP Como Shops (Bandana Square) 2.3 Canadian Pacific/Soo Line St. Paul Sub 1.3 Mississippi Street west to BNSF Midway Sub and east to UP Altoona Sub Westminster 0.0 430.0 Seventh Street 429.7 Division Street 429.1 Hoffman Avenue to CP Merriam Park Sub 428.3 Daytons Bluff 426.7 Oakland 422.2 Newport 410.5 St. Croix to CP River Subdivision to BNSF St. Croix Subdivision

v t e BNSF Staples Subdivision
Legend
to KO Subdivision 250.2 East Dilworth spur to Felton 248.8 Glyndon 236.1 Witherow 234.4 Hawley 230.6 Manitoba Junction spur 222.0 Lake Park 217.2 Audubon 213.6 Richards Spur Canadian Pacific Railway 210.1 Detroit Lakes Frazee 189.3 Perham 178.5 New York Mills Bluffton former Northern Pacific branch 165.6 Wadena spur former Great Northern 159.0 Verndale Aldrich 150.1 Dower Lake 148.0 Staples 140.2 147.8 to Brainerd Subdivision 134.0 Philbrook 127.8 Lincoln Cushing 116.5 Randall 110.8 Darling spur to Camp Ripley 106.0 Little Falls Mississippi River 103.3 Gregory former Soo Line now Soo Line Trail 95.7 Royalton 88.7 Rice Watab Watab River 78.4 Sartell Sauk Rapids 73.9 St. Cloud and Northern Lines Railway Cable 62.7 Clear Lake 57.5 Becker 47.0 Big Lake 38.6 Elk River Elk River (Metro Transit) Ramsey 26.8 Anoka Coon Rapids - Riverdale to Hinckley Subdivision 21.1 Coon Creek Fridley 15.5 Interstate East Interstate 13.9 Northtown Yard to Midway Subdivision
Amtrak Empire Builder Metro Transit Northstar Line This diagram: view talk edit

v t e BNSF Hi-Line Subdivision
Legend
Milk River Subdivision Havre Big Sandy Subdivision Chester Great Falls Subdivision Shelby Sweet Grass Subdivision Cut Bank Browning East Glacier Park Continental Divide Marias Pass elev. 5,213 ft (1,589 m) Essex Nyack West Glacier Kalispell Subdivision Whitefish Kootenai River Subdivision

v t e BNSF Kootenai River Subdivision
Legend
Hi-Line Subdivision Whitefish Yard Eureka Branch Flathead Tunnel (7 mi [11 km] long)   Libby Montana Idaho UP Spokane Subdivision UP Spokane Subdivision MRL 4th Subdivision Spokane Subdivision

v t e BNSF Spokane Subdivision
Legend
Kootenai River Subdivision MRL 4th Subdivision Sandpoint UP Spokane Subdivision Hauser Yard Coeur d'Alene Subdivision Idaho Washington   Kaiser Aluminum   Yardley Yard UP Spokane Subdivision Wallace Subdivision Spokane Lakeside Subdivision Latah Junction Columbia River Subdivision Scribner UP Junction UP Ayer Subdivision Lakeside Subdivision

The Northern Transcon is divided into many subdivisions. From east to west, these include:^[4][5]

• Chicago Subdivision (Chicago, IL to Aurora, IL)
• Aurora Subdivision (Aurora, IL to La Crosse, WI)
• St. Croix Subdivision (La Crosse, WI to St. Croix Jct.)
• Joint Canadian Pacific-BNSF lines (St. Croix Jct. to St. Paul, MN)
• Midway/St. Paul Subdivisions (St. Paul, MN to Minneapolis, MN)
• Staples Subdivision (Minneapolis, MN to Dilworth, MN)
• KO Subdivision (Dilworth, MN to Minot, ND)
• Glasgow Subdivision (Minot, ND to Glasgow, MT)
• Milk River Subdivision (Glasgow, MT to Havre, MT)
• Hi-Line Subdivision (Havre, MT to Whitefish, MT)
• Kootenai River Subdivision (Whitefish, MT to Sandpoint, ID)
• Spokane Subdivision (Sandpoint, ID to Spokane, WA)

To the west of Spokane, WA (at Latah Jct, as of June 1973^[6] to the present day^[7]), the line splits into two main routes,^[7] one using mostly the old Great Northern Railway route directly to Seattle, WA, and the other using mainly the former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway route, but also a large section of the former Northern Pacific Railway route, to Portland, OR via Pasco and Vancouver, WA; then it travels north to Seattle.

Expedited Transcon traffic is generally routed via the direct Seattle route, and slow bulk-freight traffic is generally routed via the Spokane–Portland–Seattle route (through Vancouver, WA). The Spokane–Portland–Seattle route is mostly water level with a 1.15% maximum grade near Marshall, Washington. (Note that there is a parallel BNSF-owned route that bypasses the 1.15% grade with a maximum grade of 0.8%; they operate it directionally.) There is a 0.95% maximum grade in the Napavine, Washington area.^[7] The direct Seattle route traverses the Cascade Range at the Cascade Tunnel (Scenic and Berne, Washington); it has 2.2% ruling grades in the vicinity of the tunnel.^[7]

Direct Seattle route:^[7]

v t e BNSF Columbia River Subdivision[9]
Legend
1481.6 Latah Jct. Jct. Spokane Subdivision 1489.8 Lyons 1495.2 Fairchild Storage Track Washington Eastern Railroad 1499.3 Espanola 1505.1 Waukon 1510.8 Edwall 1514.5 Canby 1520.1 Bluestem Elevator 1520.2 Bluestem 1520.6 1527.8 Harrington 1534.5 Mohler 1538.2 Downs 1541.6 1542.9 Lamona 1553.2 Odessa 1562.1 Irby 1565.6 Gibson 1570.4 Marlin 1577.0 Wilson Creek 1584.8 Stratford 1588.6 Adrian 1697.1 Air Base (spur) 1599.3 Ephrata Ephrata Station Amtrak Empire Builder[8] 1603.8 Naylor 1608.9 Winchester 1615.5 Quincy 1621.5 Tunnel 11.1 1626.6 Trinidad 1635.0 Albus 1637.6 Voltage 1640.1 Rock Island Columbia River 1641.3 Alcoa Spur 1643.3 Malaga 1646.7 Appleyard 1650.2 Wenatchee Columbia Station Amtrak Empire Builder[8] Jct. to Scenic Subdivision

v t e BNSF Scenic Subdivision[11]
Legend
to Columbia River Subdivision 1650.2 Wenatchee, Columbia Station Amtrak Empire Builder[10] 1652.9 Olds Jct. to Cascade and Columbia River Railroad Monitor (spur) 1661.2 Cashmere Dryden (spur) 1672.2 Leavenworth, Icicle Station Amtrak Empire Builder Chumstick Tunnel Swede Tunnel Winton Tunnel 1686.9 Winton 1692.4 Merritt Gaynor Tunnel 1698.5 Berne Cascade Tunnel length: 7.8 miles (12.6 km)[11] 1709.5 1720.5 Scenic 1732.3 Skykomish 1739.5 Baring 1755.7 Gold Bar (small yard) Sultan (spur) 1768.6 Monroe 1775.2 Snohomish Jct. East to Eastside Freight RR 1776.2 Snohomish Jct. West to Eastside Freight RR 1781.2 Lowell 1782.7 PA Jct. Delta Yard Delta Junction to Bellingham Subdivision 1782.9 Broadway 1783.9 Everett, Everett Station Amtrak Cascades[12], Empire Builder[10] Sound Transit North Sounder[13] Bayside Yard 1784.7 32.1 Everett Jct. 31.4 Howarth Park 28.3 Mukilteo, Mukilteo Station Sound Transit North Sounder[13] 27.8 MP 28 27.1 MP 27 17.8 MP 18 17.6 Edmonds, Edmonds Station Amtrak Cascades[12], Empire Builder[10] Sound Transit North Sounder[13] 15.9 MP 16 7.7 MP 8 7.4 MP 7 6.4 Ballard 6.2 Salmon Bay Bridge crossing Lake Washington Ship Canal 4.9 Interbay (Balmer Yard) 3.3 Galer Street 1.4 North Portal Great Northern Tunnel 0.1 South Portal 0.0 Seattle, King Street Station Amtrak Cascades[12], Coast Starlight[14], Empire Builder[10] Sound Transit North Sounder, South Sounder[13] to Seattle Subdivision

• Columbia River Subdivision (Spokane, WA to Wenatchee, WA)
• Scenic Subdivision (Wenatchee, WA to Seattle, WA)

Portland-Seattle route:^[7]

v t e BNSF Seattle Subdivision[21]
Legend
to Scenic Subdivision 0.0x Seattle (King Street Station) Amtrak Cascades[15], Coast Starlight[16], Empire Builder[17] Sound Transit South Sounder[18] 0.3x King Street 0.4x 0.6x Stadium 1.2x Lander Street 2.1x Spokane Street 2.5x Coach Wye 3.2x Lucile 3.3x Argo 3.6x Bailey 4.2x Georgetown 5.4x Van Asselt 6.3x Rhodes 6.6x Boeing 9.5x Renton Jct. 9.6x South Seattle 10.0x Black River 10.3x CP Tukwila 10.8x Tukwila Amtrak Cascades[15] Sound Transit South Sounder[18] 11.3x Glacier Park 13.3x Orillia 15.7x James Street 16.1x Kent Sound Transit South Sounder[18] 16.9x Willis 21.0x Auburn North 21.5x Auburn Sound Transit South Sounder[18] 21.6x Rainier (Jct. Stampede Subdivision) 21.8x Auburn Yard 23.8x Ellingson 24.0x Pacific 29.0x Sumner Sound Transit South Sounder[18] 29.7x CP Sumner 30.6x Meeker 31.9x Puyallup Sound Transit South Sounder[18] 34.0x Stewart 37.8x Clear Creek 38.2x TR Jct. 38.4x Reservation (Tacoma Main) 38.6x Bay Street 39.0x River Street 39.3x Tacoma Station Amtrak Cascades[15], Coast Starlight[16] Tacoma Dome Station Sound Transit South Sounder[18] Point Defiance Bypass[19] 40.1x 0.0 21st Street 1.4 Davis 3.2 Harbor 5.1 Ruston Ruston Tunnel[20] Nelson Bennett Tunnel[20] 6.6 6.7 Nelson Bennett 10.0 Titlow 13.5 Pioneer 14.4 West Tacoma Point Defiance Bypass[19] 24.5 Nisqually 28.2 Saint Clair 32.2 Centennial Amtrak Cascades[15], Coast Starlight[16] 34.9 East Olympia 37.5 Plumb 43.2 Tenino 49.5 Wabash 52.5 Centralia North 54.0 Centralia Amtrak Cascades[15], Coast Starlight[16] 55.8 Centralia South 57.7 Chehalis 58.7 Chehalis Jct. 66.2 Napavine South 72.0 CP 72 77.0 Vader 85.0 MP 85 93.4 Ostrander Columbia and Cowlitz Railway 95.0 Tunnel 3 95.8 Rocky Point 97.3 Kelso Kelso Station Amtrak Cascades[15], Coast Starlight[16] 98.9 Kelso South 101.1 Longview Jct. 102.6 Longview Jct. S 107.5 Kalama 110.9 MP 111 118.3 Woodland 122.0 Ridgefield 123.6 Ridgefield South 130.7 Felida 132.5 Vancouver Jct. N 133.0 Rye Junction Chelatchie Prairie Railroad 133.5 Fruit Valley 135.1 39th Street Fallbridge Subdivision 136.5 Vancouver Station Amtrak Cascades[15], Coast Starlight[16], Empire Builder[17] Fallbridge Subdivision

• Lakeside Subdivision (Spokane, WA to Pasco, WA)
• Fallbridge Subdivision (Pasco, WA to Portland, OR)
• Seattle Subdivision (Vancouver, WA to Seattle, WA)

The former Northern Pacific Railway route via Stampede Pass through Pasco and Auburn, WA to Tacoma, WA has had a checkered history. Since 1996 it has been a third route to the coast. As of 2010 it was seldom used but still in service.

Stampede Pass line:^[7]

v t e BNSF Yakima Valley Subdivision[22]
Legend
to Lakeside Subdivision or Fallbridge Subdivision 1.9 SP&S Junction 2.8 Kennewick 7.3 Vista 16.8 Badger 23.6 Kiona 34.4 Gibbon 40.0 Prosser 45.5 Byron 52.0 Mabton 60.4 Satus 70.9 Toppenish 78.3 Wapato 82.7 Parker 90.0 Yakima 93.8 Selah 97.2 Pomona 110.4 Wymer 121.8 Thrall 127.0 Ellensburg to Stampede Subdivision

v t e BNSF Stampede Subdivision[24]
Legend
to Yakima Valley Subdivision 0.0 Ellensburg 17.1 Bristol 24.9 Cle Elum 36.9 38.1 Easton 41.1 46.3 Martin Stampede Tunnel (1.86 mi [2.99 km] long) 49.0 Stampede Tunnel 4 Green River Trestle[23] 59.7 Lester 81.3 Palmer Jct. 82.3 Kanaskat 88.2 Ravensdale 102.6 Stampede Wye 102.9 Rainier (Auburn) to Seattle Subdivision

• Yakima Valley Subdivision (Pasco, WA to Ellensburg, WA)
• Stampede Subdivision (Ellensburg, WA to Auburn, WA)

Proposed projects

• Electrification of entire routes conjunction with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, to release diesel locomotives to relocate to Texas, Oklahoma, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
• Grade separation of crossing with the other railroads.
• Reconstruction of Fargo station area.
• Track doubling east of Wenatchee station.

See also

• Southern Transcon

References