Western Rail Switching

Western Rail Switching (reporting mark WRS) was a switching and terminal railroad, operating a line west of Spokane, Washington.

Western Rail Switching

Overview
Headquarters	Airway Heights, Washington
Reporting mark	WRS
Locale	Spokane County, Washington
Dates of operation	2004–2009
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

Ownership

It was owned by Western Rail, Inc., a leasing company.

In 2004, Spokane County bought the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway's Geiger Spur,^[1] and designated WRS to operate it, beginning in October.^[2]

Following the takeover of the nearby Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad by the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad (EWG), the Washington Department of Transportation financed a newly constructed connection to the new short line operator.

Opening

This realignment was opened on January 2, 2009, bypassing Fairchild Air Force Base, through which the spur had run.^[3]

The west end of the spur is now at the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad, near Medical Lake.^[4]

Operator

Not long after beginning operations, EWG filed with the Surface Transportation Board to replace WRS as operator, and now^[when?] runs the Geiger Spur an exclusive operator.^{[needs update][5]}

Cargo Traffic

Traffic carried on the Geiger Spur consists primarily of inbound steel loads.