Silicon On Celluloid

Courtesy of James Belmont. Doug Harrop photo.

May 22, 1975

Burlington Northern 6471 leads merchandise west past the Silicon Smelter at Rock Island, Washington. The plant opened in 1942 by Ohio Ferro Alloys and permanently closed in 2000.

Barham View

Photo courtesy of Lauren Scrafford.

Lauren says:
"Columbia Basin, CBRW 1626 approaching Barham, WA on the Schrag Branch with 26 carloads of grain. This was on August 4, 2000, when the CBRW was fairly new to the Columbia Basin. 

The CBRW is a GP9 rebuild built for the Northern Pacific in August of 1957 as the NP 328. With the Burlington Northern merger, it became BN 1913 and BNSF 1626 with the BNSF merger."

1966 U&I Sugar View

Bureau of Reclamation photo. 

1966

Columbia Crossing

Photo by Tom Carver.

Tom says:
"Crossing from the east to the west bank of the Columbia River just north of Rock Island power dam, hotshot train #3's next stop will be in Wenatchee, WA, for crew change. May 1981."

Schafer View

Courtesy of the John Barriger Library, George Lentzner Collection. 

WASHINGTON-MILW201C9-125-167 - 3-18-79116

Othello Engine House View.

Courtesy of the John Barriger Library, George Lentzner Collection. 

WASHINGTON-MILW201C9-125-167 - 3-18-79118

1988 Chasing The CW Branch

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Fischer. 

May 26, 1988

Near Creston. 

Near Wilbur.

Near Wilbur

Wilbur

Wilbur

Wilbur

Govan

Grain Train Roster Shot

Photo by Lauren Scrafford. 

Lauren says:
"Columbia Basin, CBRW 1022 roster photograph at Warden, WA on April 16, 2004. This string of 26 CBRW grain hoppers had just come off the Schrag branch and would be part of the next Connell turn and interchanged with the BNSF.

"The Columbia Basin had 30 of these grain hoppers and they were generally used on the Schrag Branch. They were numbered 1000-1028 and 1035 and 1100. Most were cylindrical hoppers, but a few were rib side hoppers. The rib sides that I recall were CBRW 1000, 1002-1004 & 1100. This one is stenciled Port of Moses Lake but not all of them were. I don't believe any of the rib sides were stenciled for the Port of Moses Lake."

Last Time I Saw The 1626 Running

My photos.

October 8, 2025.

Next time I saw it, two days later, it was in the Warden deadline.

Crossing the East Low Canal.

Crossing I90 at Raugust.

Fifth car back is where the Milwaukee Road branch to Moses Lake passed underneath. I posted a Blair Kooistra picture of this location a few weeks ago.

Crossing the irrigation wasteway at Ritell.