KUOW, our local NPR affiliate in the Seattle area has produced a short feature about the mudslides that frequently disrupt Sounder and Amtrak service between Seattle and Everett. There's nothing groundbreaking in the report but there's aren't any gobsmacking errors either. One bit of information from the report:
quote:Since 2015, landslides have disrupted or canceled passenger trains along Puget Sound on the Amtrak Cascades and Sound Transit Sounder routes over 540 times, according to data from Sound Transit and the Washington State Department of Transportation.
With 8 scheduled Sounder trains, 4 Amtrak Cascades and the daily trips of the Empire Builder, a 48 hour closure can disrupt up to 28 scheduled train trips.
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
I heard about the mudslides, the other night, while listening to KPNW, in Eugene, OR. I can pull in Eugene at night on a regular radio, but my bedside wi-fi radio is more dependable. I also heard that Seattle could possibly get a snow "dusting" this evening.
I wonder if there will be a snow problem, in the lower Cascades, for the Coast Starlight. I think even Eugene can sometimes get a little snow.
Unusually cold temps here in Northern Calif. I was thinking of getting out my Eddie Bauer parka for my morning walk.
Richard
Posted by Vincent206 (Member # 15447) on :
We did get about 3 inches of cold, powder snow overnight that made the streets a little slick this morning. I don't see anything in the forecast that should slow down any of the trains in the Pacific Northwest, however. Most visitors come to the PNW during the summer and see the green forests, but the scenery can be very dramatic and beautiful during the winter, too. It may be the same pine tree you saw in August, but the surrounding landscape is completely different when it's covered in snow.
Posted by Vincent206 (Member # 15447) on :
So far, there haven't been any Amtrak or Sounder cancellations due to mudslides between Seattle and Everett during the current Fall-Winter-Spring rainy season. There was a mudslide further north this week near Bellingham that embargoed trains to Vancouver BC, but service between Everett and Seattle on the Empire Builder was unaffected.
Our recent winter was both drier and colder than usual. Hopefully I'm not antagonizing the Gods of Mud by posting this message--April has been pretty damp.