Up up and away
It was a pretty efficient interchange as the BNSF turn tied right onto the outbound cars and the Columbia Basin dropped down to grab the whole inbound train. As I suspected, the five unit lashup was on account of a big train coming in off the interchange. I didn't count the cars but it was a bit of a monster. The Columbia Basin track starts climbing as soon as it veers away from the BNSF yard. Twisting up the coulee, the head end can be seen above the waiting BNSF local one last time before it disappears around another curve. September 4, 2023.
Up up and away
It was a pretty efficient interchange as the BNSF turn tied right onto the outbound cars and the Columbia Basin dropped down to grab the whole inbound train. As I suspected, the five unit lashup was on account of a big train coming in off the interchange. I didn't count the cars but it was a bit of a monster. The Columbia Basin track starts climbing as soon as it veers away from the BNSF yard. Twisting up the coulee, the head end can be seen above the waiting BNSF local one last time before it disappears around another curve. September 4, 2023.