Seattle Tours
Some notes on wandering around Seattle and environs.Sunday, May 06, 2007
Following the Ballard Terminal RR
From the houseboat where i am currently dwelling, i can hear the horn of the Ballard Terminal RR as it pulls out off its little storage track on NW 45th in Ballard. The Ballard Terminal is the only shortline RR operating in Seattle; it works on old Great Northern trackage. Today i followed it down to where it interchanges with the BNSF, then followed it back and took some pix. Here you go:
Poison hemlock (foreground) overlooks the BTRR tracks near Leary Way.
Ballard's L'il Beaver (named after the Ballard High School mascot) works at the interchange with BNSF, near Shilshole. Now that Western Pioneer Shipping (frozen fish company) is out of business, all that the beaver does is move cement hoppers to and from Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel. BNSF drops off loaded cement cars at the interchange and BTRR picks them up, and leaves empty cars for BNSF at the same time. I suspect the cement comes from Canada, but I'm not sure...
(Left) Some dude rushes to get his van out of the way as the beaver bears down on him near The Canal restaurant in Ballard. He escaped to safety, but shortly after this, the beaver ripped off the side-view mirror of a Toyota Camry parked too close to the tracks (Right). No, these tracks aren't dead yet, buddy!
posted by c # 7:47 PM 
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