Tacoma Rail
Railroad in Tacoma, Washington From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Railroad in Tacoma, Washington From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tacoma Rail (reporting marks TMBL, TRMW) is a publicly owned Class III shortline railroad. It is owned by the city of Tacoma, Washington and operated as a public utility. It is one of three operating divisions of the municipally-owned Tacoma Public Utilities service, but unlike other city services, the railroad is self-supported and generates revenue for the City of Tacoma and Washington state. Tacoma Rail provides freight switching services, serving the Port of Tacoma and customers in Tacoma, south Pierce County and parts of Thurston County. It operates 16 diesel locomotives, more than 100 employees and about 140 miles (230 km) of track, many of which are former Milwaukee Road and BNSF Railway lines around Western Washington.
| |
 #3001, an EMD SD40-2, leads a passenger excursion over the ex-Milwaukee Road trestle in 2011. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tacoma, Washington |
| Reporting mark | TMBL, TRMW |
| Locale | Tacoma, Washington |
| Dates of operation | 1994– |
| Predecessor | 2nd Chehalis Western Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 140 mi (230 km) |
Tacoma Rail operates three distinct divisions:
The Tidelands division serves the area around the Port of Tacoma, including all four intermodal terminals and interchanging with both the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad. The division serves 40 customers, and handles the majority of Tacoma Rail’s traffic.[1]
The division was established in 1914 as a streetcar line to move port workers, but has been freight-only since 1937. In the past, the division was called the Tacoma Municipal Belt Line.
The Lakewood division runs between Tacoma and DuPont. The operation of the division was acquired from BNSF Railway in November 2004.[2]
The division serves 11 customers, mostly in the Lakewood area. Sound Transit also owns tracks has trackage rights between Tacoma and Lakewood to operate its Sounder commuter rail. WSDOT has paid to improve the line in recent years with plans to reroute the Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight to the tracks planned for 2019.
The Mountain division ran between Tacoma and Frederickson, where it splits into two branches, one serving McKenna, the other serving Eatonville and Morton.[3]
The 97 miles of track were owned directly by the City of Tacoma and are operated by Tacoma Rail under contract. It was considered a separate railroad and was operated using its own TRMW reporting mark. This segment of track was originally built by the Milwaukee Road and later used by the 2nd Chehalis Western Railroad and was purchased by the city on August 12, 1994.
The division served as many as 14 customers at one time, mostly in the Frederickson area. The Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad leased the portion of track from Eatonville to Morton for passenger excursion service. MRSR ceased operating, but is soft reopening in late 2023 early 2024.
Due to dwindling customer base (one as of 2023), Tacoma Rail sold the Mountain Division to WRL, which is now Rainier Rail, with RNIR reporting marks. However, the City will retain ownership of the portion of the Tacoma to Fredrickson line within the city limits, about six miles of track and structure, minus a one-mile stretch sold to Sound Transit for use by passenger and commuter trains as part of Sound Transit’s Lakewood Subdivision. This leaves just under five miles of track, for which Tacoma Rail will file for abandonment. This section is the costliest to maintain and includes the steepest part of the line, a 3.75% grade, a bridge over the BNSF/UP lines and a bridge and trestle over the Puyallup River, both of which are former Milwaukee Road structures built in 1917. [4]
WRL/Rainier Rail plans to use its portion of the north end of the Mountain Division (north of Frederickson) for car storage. There are four sidings, but two of them will require some significant work to be put back in service.
The line is severed by derailers at 72nd and McKinley, which is effectively the city limits. Most crossing markers south of this location have had electrical equipment removed and is at present (November 2023), completely idle.
| Unit No. | Builder | Model | Year
Built |
Purchased | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMBL 1521 | EMD | MP15AC | 1982 | 5/3/2003 | ex FNM 9823; née NDM 9823 |
| TMBL 1522 | EMD | MP15AC | 1982 | 5/3/2003 | ex FNM 9824; née NDM 9824 |
| TMBL 1523 | EMD | MP15AC | 1982 | 5/3/2003 | ex FNM 9825; née NDM 9825 |
| TMBL 1524 | EMD | MP15AC | 1982 | 5/3/2003 | ex FNM 9822; née NDM 9822 |
| TMBL 1525 | EMD | MP15AC | 1983 | 2021 | ex TFM 1037, rebuilt by Progress Rail in 2021 |
| TMBL 1526 | EMD | MP15AC | 1983 | 2021 | ex TFM 1043, rebuilt by Progress Rail in 2021 |
| TMBL 2100 | NRE | 3GS21B-DE | 2011 | 8/26/2011 | |
| TMBL 2200 | EMD | GP22ECO | 2011 | 11/21/2011 | ex KXHR GP40 40; ex CDAC 40; ex CSX 6633; née BO 4058 (built 10/1971) |
| TMBL 2201 | EMD | GP22ECO | 2011 | 12/15/2011 | |
| TMBL 2316 | EMD | GP23ECO | 2016 | 8/1/2016 | |
| TMBL 3000 | EMD | SD40 | 1968 | 5/26/1999 | ex NREX 3065; ex PNCX 3065; ex UP 3065; née MP 765; Sold to Rainier Rail as part of Mountain Division |
| TMBL 3001 | EMD | SD40-2 | 1985 | 6/11/2001 | ex NREX 6564; ex CNW SD45 6564; ex CR 6237; née PC 6237; sold to Rainier Rail as part of Mountain Division |
| TMBL 3801 | EMD | GP38-2 | 1979 | 5/3/2005 | ex UP 386; née CNW 4621l; |
| TMBL 3802 | EMD | GP38-2 | 1979 | 6/29/2005 | ex NREX 4618; née CNW 4618 |
| TMBL 4001 | EMD | GP40-M | 1965 | 9/30/2005 | ex CNW 5526; ex CR 3037; ex PC 3037; née NYC 3037 |
| TMBL 4002 | EMD | GP40-M | 1965 | 12/30/2005 | ex CNW 5528; ex CR 3039; ex PC 3039; née NYC 3039 |
| TMBL 7001 | EMD | SD70ACe-P4 | 2013 | 11/14/2013 | ex EMDX 1211 (was leased, now returned, was used on mountain division) |
| TMBL 7002 | EMD | SD70ACe-P4 | 2013 | 11/14/2013 | ex EMDX 1212 (was leased, now returned, was used on mountain division) |
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