Elliot Omernik
Acme Hymnal
With 5700' of train for Sumas, the M-EVESUM1-20T rocks and rolls northbound on jointed rail approaching the quaint valley hamlet of Acme, WA.
According to written local history, back in the day residents Thomas Stevens & Samuel Parks sent East for a couple of Acme hymnals, to be used to lead song in the local church, and were "joked for so doing". About 1887, Parks was sent to the Whatcom County seat of Bellingham with a petition for a new post office. However, due to an oversight no name was included in said petition. He asked if Acme would do and on receiving an affirmative answer that name was written into the records! This sleepy town of about 250 residents along the west bank of the South Fork Nooksack River still bears that name to this day, some 133 years later. I'd venture to say Samuel got in the last laugh!
Sandwiched between two forested mountain ranges, the fertile Nooksack River valley area has been home to a thriving farming scene for quite some time. While farming is still thriving these days, the once dominant dairy scene has slowly faded and a lucrative berry crop scene has emerged into the spotlight. Many smaller family-run dairy farms have been sold off to berry producers and former cattle pastures converted into acre upon acre of blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry fields. Other farms, like the one pictured, have simply fallen out of use as the national trend away from dairy continue and farmers simply can't make ends meet in that thin-margin business. But alas, the beautiful barns still stand proudly, dotted across the valley as a testament to what once was king.
The berry business is no doubt sitting in the throne now. In 2018, Whatcom County alone harvested 74.9 MILLION pounds of raspberries, accounting for somewhere around 85% of all raspberries produced in the United States.
While berries are big business up here, the railroad doesn't really see that business. Instead, the majority of the 88 cars on today's train will be delivered to a wide variety of local industries in the Sumas area, including a feed elevator, lumber mill, & trash loading facility. The remainder of the train will get interchanged to the Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY) and taken north across the border to customers around Huntingdon and Abbotsford, British Columbia.
But for now, it's just a 4-pack of Geeps clickety-clacking through the town Samuel named after a hymnal.
BNSF 2532
BNSF 330
BNSF 2085
BNSF 3026
Acme Hymnal
With 5700' of train for Sumas, the M-EVESUM1-20T rocks and rolls northbound on jointed rail approaching the quaint valley hamlet of Acme, WA.
According to written local history, back in the day residents Thomas Stevens & Samuel Parks sent East for a couple of Acme hymnals, to be used to lead song in the local church, and were "joked for so doing". About 1887, Parks was sent to the Whatcom County seat of Bellingham with a petition for a new post office. However, due to an oversight no name was included in said petition. He asked if Acme would do and on receiving an affirmative answer that name was written into the records! This sleepy town of about 250 residents along the west bank of the South Fork Nooksack River still bears that name to this day, some 133 years later. I'd venture to say Samuel got in the last laugh!
Sandwiched between two forested mountain ranges, the fertile Nooksack River valley area has been home to a thriving farming scene for quite some time. While farming is still thriving these days, the once dominant dairy scene has slowly faded and a lucrative berry crop scene has emerged into the spotlight. Many smaller family-run dairy farms have been sold off to berry producers and former cattle pastures converted into acre upon acre of blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry fields. Other farms, like the one pictured, have simply fallen out of use as the national trend away from dairy continue and farmers simply can't make ends meet in that thin-margin business. But alas, the beautiful barns still stand proudly, dotted across the valley as a testament to what once was king.
The berry business is no doubt sitting in the throne now. In 2018, Whatcom County alone harvested 74.9 MILLION pounds of raspberries, accounting for somewhere around 85% of all raspberries produced in the United States.
While berries are big business up here, the railroad doesn't really see that business. Instead, the majority of the 88 cars on today's train will be delivered to a wide variety of local industries in the Sumas area, including a feed elevator, lumber mill, & trash loading facility. The remainder of the train will get interchanged to the Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY) and taken north across the border to customers around Huntingdon and Abbotsford, British Columbia.
But for now, it's just a 4-pack of Geeps clickety-clacking through the town Samuel named after a hymnal.
BNSF 2532
BNSF 330
BNSF 2085
BNSF 3026