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  • UP in Seattle

  • Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.
Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.

Moderator: GOLDEN-ARM

 #1490469  by theseaandalifesaver
 
Something that's always confused me is why UP has their own line between Tacoma and Seattle. The fact that it exists isn't what confuses me, obviously it's to stay out of the way of BNSF/Sounder trains, but it's weird because the closest UP tracks to Tacoma are about 120 miles south in Portland. Can anyone give me a brief history as to how this line came to exist? Was in inherited? When was it built? Has it always been owned by UP? How and why did UP start operating out of Tacoma/Seattle?

Unrelated: When I was exploring the area today, I saw a UP train that was coming in from the UP line onto the BNSF Seattle Sub at Tacoma Junction with CP three CP engines and all grain cars with Canada written on them. How/why did UP end up with a train from Canada? I thought UP was 100% intermodel traffic from Seattle. Wouldn't it be more likely it's coming from Vancouver down on BNSF tracks and consequently would be a BNSF train?
 #1490493  by Wayside
 
I believe it is former Milwaukee trackage.
 #1502174  by theseaandalifesaver
 
Ok, but WHY did UP ever end up in Seattle? How did that even happen? All surrounding lines are NP, SSP, or MR. I have no idea how UP got their own yard in Seattle, why they use trackage rights to get to/from Seattle. I assume only trains come and go from Portland? And why BNSF allows them to use their tracks instead of taking those customers themselves.

Please answer it's driving me insane.
 #1502195  by Wayside
 
UP has a long-standing trackage rights agreement with BNSF which cannot be voided unilaterally. UP uses trackage rights only for a portion of the distance between Portland and Seattle. There are UP trains that bypass Portland in service of Seattle/Argo and Tacoma/Fife. UP is in Seattle as a result of historical efforts to access new markets in the late 19th Century, which includes construction of serving yards.

Yeah, it's complicated. But there is an underlying logic to it all. Railroads cooperate in this way because it is generally beneficial to do so.