Cascade Tunnel Operations (HD)

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
  • This video highlights daily operations at the East Portal of the 7.8 mile long Cascade Tunnel located in Byrne, WA, near the Stevens Pass Ski Area. This tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in the western US and is used by Amtrak and freight trains. This tunnel replaced the Old Cascade Tunnel after the Wellington Disaster of March 1st 1910 and has an interesting history.

ความคิดเห็น • 523

  • @DanMeyer80
    @DanMeyer80 4 ปีที่แล้ว +81

    I took an Amtrak ride from Cleveland, Ohio to Edmunds, Washington, for only one reason, because ever since I learned about Cascade Tunnel I wanted to go through it. So I took that long trip just to go through the tunnel. Also I timed it how long it took us to go through the tunnel, it was 15 minutes and about 20 seconds at 30 mph. Added bonus of the trip was going through the 7.1 mile long Flathead Tunnel in Montana, that one took us a little over 8 minutes to go through at 50 mph.

    • @MrNeptunebob
      @MrNeptunebob 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      I wonder how, if the fans are not running while the trains are in there but afterwards, how do Amtrak passengers not get gassed with the fumes? I doubt if the coaches are airtight. Also are the fans blowing air in or sucking it out?

    • @DanMeyer80
      @DanMeyer80 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Coming back on 8, the fans were on when we exited the tunnel. On 7 they come on after we went in. Amtrak trains being lighter the engines dont put out as much exhaust as freights do. Bottom line, this tunnel made the trip worth every penny I paid to take it

    • @garybulwinkle82
      @garybulwinkle82 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I live about five miles from the tunnel in Montana and we're pretty far from the Flathead! It was funny the gate closed and was blowing the exhaust along with the train as it was going the same way as the air was pushed!??

  • @dxkaiyuan4177
    @dxkaiyuan4177 2 ปีที่แล้ว +354

    Kinda insane that the problem of fumes was already solved - there used to be overhead electic wires to power locomotives. But they chose to tear those out and replace them with this ventilation system, and run diesels through instead

    • @samuelfellows6923
      @samuelfellows6923 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      🙄😠

    • @Renville80
      @Renville80 2 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Oh geez. They could have put a little wye on each end for the electric locomotive then put the main locomotive in neutral for the trip through the tunnel.

    • @marzsit9833
      @marzsit9833 2 ปีที่แล้ว +49

      in the early days the electric locomotives worked well but when travel through the tunnel increased, the electric locomotives became a big bottleneck in the operation so they had to go away to improve speed. it would have been different if the entire rail line was electric, but only the run through the tunnel was.

    • @dxkaiyuan4177
      @dxkaiyuan4177 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @@marzsit9833 only in my wildest dreams the entire rail network is electrified

    • @MePeterNicholls
      @MePeterNicholls 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@marzsit9833 how are eject Tox locos s bottle neck? I find this confusing

  • @DogeBoi-ut6kv
    @DogeBoi-ut6kv 5 ปีที่แล้ว +368

    Imagine walking in the tunnel and seeing it close behind you

    • @adrian33161
      @adrian33161 5 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      *makes crying doge face*

    • @Engineer9736
      @Engineer9736 5 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      Stand in the direction of where the fans are blowing from, open your jacket, hold it wide open, and jump. You’ll fly right out of the other end 😜

    • @michaelf6232
      @michaelf6232 5 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      I've been told by an " old timer" that if you feel uncomfortable the best thing to do is lay down next to the tunnel wall and outside edge of the rails until the train passes. I have done this in my young and dumb days and it works well, my best advice if you have to go through a tunnel is to wait and follow a train ( do to train timetables ) as they are less likely to send back to back ( so to speak)

    • @onionhat9141
      @onionhat9141 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @Dodgeboi9378 imagine being on a train and that accidentally closes before you make it to the tunnel

    • @Lightning_Mike
      @Lightning_Mike 5 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      I think it's designed to break if hit by a train

  • @tonyf.8858
    @tonyf.8858 2 ปีที่แล้ว +300

    A friend of mine and I hopped a freight train in the town of Skykomish on the west side and hitched a ride to Wenatchee. We jumped on to an empty car about 25 cars behind the engines as there were quite a few others in the cars closest to the engines and we found out the hard way why they were so close to the engines. The fumes were so strong that we had to take our t-shirts off and soak them in water from a canteen and breathe through them. I think it took about 20 minutes or so to go through the tunnel but it seemed like much longer because we thought we would die before we got to the other end. I was very sick after we emerged from that tunnel. The second time I hopped the fright, a year later, I got aboard a car much closer to the engine. Oh, our t-shirts were brown where we were breathing through them! Oh, it was apple picking season and that's why we were going east to Wenatchee and this was in Sept. 1974.

    • @jackshittle
      @jackshittle 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      You had to basically water board yourselves to keep alive. First house I ever bought was in Lake Stevens (I'm from NJ). We used to go to Lake Chelan, Chelan Falls Park, Orondo, Lake Wenatchee all the time (camping, hotels, rental house etc.) Got to see Roger Waters play at The Gorge. We would buy so many Ranier cherries & cherry juice at the road side stands that I would eat/drink all of it until I was ready to vomit. Also rented a cabin in Mazama one Thanksgiving.

    • @tonyf.8858
      @tonyf.8858 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@jackshittle Yep sure did! lol Hey, I was there! I think that was in 2000 or 2001, or somewhere around then. I also went to the "Dark side of the Moon" concert in, I think, '75 or '76. First laser-light show I had seen. I know what you mean about the cherries. They're not one of my favorite foods anymore.

    • @kishascape
      @kishascape 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@jackshittle no they didn’t. That’s the basic design of an adsorptive filter.

    • @kishascape
      @kishascape 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Won’t work today. There are no “others” and you have to ride near the end. Too close to the engine and you go to jail on federal charges like that one TH-cam wannabe hobo

    • @tonyf.8858
      @tonyf.8858 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@kishascape Since you weren't there, you don't know. During the fruit picking season, which the train went into the heart of apple country here in WA state, the authorities used to "look the other way" as long as you jumped the train OUTSIDE of the train yard, at the Seattle end and you had to jump off when the train when it slowed down to 10-15 miles per hour at the Wenatchee train yard end. If you were caught inside the train yards you were "fair game". The apple industry and WA state relied heavily on migrant workers to get there and pick the apples and pears. There, you learned something new today. Feel any smarter? I don't think this "tolerance policy" exists anymore. Has anyone out there hopped a freight through the tunnel in recent years?

  • @spartemex2784
    @spartemex2784 2 ปีที่แล้ว +88

    About the doors from wikipedia: as a train enters the west portal of the tunnel, a red-and-white-checkered door closes on the east portal and huge fans blow in cool air through a second portal to help the diesel engines. As long as the train is within the tunnel, the fans work with reduced power to avoid pressure problems. When the train is approximately halfway through the tunnel, the door opens in earnest.
    Once the train has cleared the tunnel, the door closes again and the fans operate for 20 to 30 minutes with maximum power to clear the tunnel of exhaust before the next train passes through. In the opposite direction, the door opens when the train is within 0.6 miles (1 km).

    • @steamfire
      @steamfire 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      In earnest?

    • @MrJckDoo
      @MrJckDoo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@steamfire The meaning of what he is saying is not lost by this autofill. So the only reason to point it out is to make you feel good!

    • @Enzoxvx
      @Enzoxvx 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Power usage must be immense from all that ventilating

    • @pratwurschtgulasch6662
      @pratwurschtgulasch6662 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@MrJckDoo What does it mean in earnest? One time a landlord wanted an earnest deposit, I said forget about it.

    • @walt.2399
      @walt.2399 ปีที่แล้ว

      New here
      What is purpose of this portal?😮

  • @michaeldougfir9807
    @michaeldougfir9807 5 ปีที่แล้ว +56

    Thank you for zooming in on most of the signs.
    More good info.

  • @cpcattin
    @cpcattin 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    The Wellington Disaster is a tragedy worthy of a movie. It was on the opposite side of the canyon. You can still see the remnants of the track for a number of miles hanging off the cliff.

  • @scrappycat1647
    @scrappycat1647 5 ปีที่แล้ว +85

    Wow that looked like a close fit for the double stacks. Thanks for sharing this!

    • @irongoatrocky2343
      @irongoatrocky2343 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Hence the notches on the West Portal! just for that reason so Stacks could clear! it was either that or redo the whole portal face and we all know how cheap railroad's are when it comes to spending $$

    • @brucewerner6023
      @brucewerner6023 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      If a mouse was laying on top of that stack--his butt is toast.

    • @kishascape
      @kishascape 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yeah I hope there’s something to check for leaning before entering the tunnel, because I’ve seen some intermodals go buy with a shifted load in the container and the top leaning to the side, sometimes up to a foot.

  • @mibars
    @mibars 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Amazing how you can see the smoke clear in matter of seconds from the door closing from 7:50

  • @reddog-ex4dx
    @reddog-ex4dx 6 ปีที่แล้ว +133

    I was very intrigued with your introduction about how the ventilation system for the Cascade Tunnel came to be. But when I read the last part I was kinda disappointed. For guys like you and I who like engineering stuff it's sad that it's become so difficult to admire them. Guys like you who have the time and resources to go to these places and document them is great for guys like me who don't but get to admire them from afar as it where when you make your video available for public viewing. I understand that security is tight because we live in such paranoid times. But when security is too tight, it becomes difficult to document them. And that's too bad. I do understand why though. I would like to go there to admire the engineering but also to do some fishing! That looks like a good spot. Thanks for posting the this video.

    • @fragglerock5000
      @fragglerock5000 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      reddog 458 really really well said, I agree with you, I too love seeing so much of the engineering side of things ☺️☺️☺️

    • @fragglerock5000
      @fragglerock5000 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Would there be any pictures of the fans and motors anywhere ????☺️☺️☺️

    • @Bryan-Hensley
      @Bryan-Hensley 5 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Norfolk RR got really bossy in our town. Try to bust people for being on train property. Even people who lives right at the tracks. The town fought back in ways that I had no idea they had the power to do. The town banned any train blocking an intersection for more than 3 minutes. They banned any train traffic after 11pm until 8 am. Of course Norfolk RR ignored the ordinances. The police caught one train stopped and handed them the tickets. Norfolk didn't show up for court. A warrant was issued for the top executive for failure to appear. He was arrested. That got their attention. They don't bother anyone anymore. This was about 25 years ago though.

    • @slowpoke96Z28
      @slowpoke96Z28 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Bryan Hensley it’s awesome when that happens. Texas actually has speed limits for trains in certain areas. Rarely enforced, but they could if they needed to lol.

    • @MrKfq269
      @MrKfq269 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@Bryan-Hensley I had no idea it could get that ugly. Great story!

  • @richardbrobeck2384
    @richardbrobeck2384 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I have been through that tunnel a few times and I go by the tunnel like 4 times a year !

  • @harrisonofcolorado8886
    @harrisonofcolorado8886 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    1:30 That was Amtrak 130 before it got repainted into phase 2 to replace Amtrak 66.

  • @wafflesnfalafel1
    @wafflesnfalafel1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    Super cool vid - I've hiked a bit in the area but never seen the eastern portal personally. Your comment about trespassing got me curious and I pulled the property ownership info from the Chelan County Assessors map. It looks like if folks stay on the access road they should be fine, (basically north of the powerlines) but BNSF does own all the rest of the property south of the road continuing on both sides of hwy 2...

    • @marzsit9833
      @marzsit9833 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      the eastern portal is right under highway 2, but if you're not looking for it, it can be easy to miss it... from highway 2 all you really see is the gantry crane framing which is painted white.

    • @kishascape
      @kishascape 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I mean as lock as you don’t stand right up on the building or somewhere stupid and stay off the tracks you’ll be fine. I never had that issue with BNSF. Now CSX on the other hand and sometimes UP I’ve see calling the bulls on people from various videos on here.

    • @slimeyslug12
      @slimeyslug12 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Its hard to miss if your driving west on hwy 2. Sad in fact if you have never seen it and frequent the area

  • @CaptainRon13
    @CaptainRon13 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Hi Chris, the best way to remove the diesel exhaust is to create a “positive pressure “ within the tunnel. The way to do that in this application is to turn of the fans at the clean end of the tunnel, a low the exhaust out of the other end. However, you can’t have both ends open to do this, because you will not develop enough pressure in the tunnel to evacuate all the exhaust. Big opening to suck in clean air, small discharge to exhaust, at a higher pressure.

  • @Jeff-wl3oq
    @Jeff-wl3oq ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I hopped a freight train in the eighties and went through this tunnel. It was the first time in my life I was in complete total darkness.

  • @UnknownIdaho
    @UnknownIdaho 5 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    Pretty interesting the challenges made by having the technology to build a nearly 8 mile long tunnel! Thanks for this.
    Has anyone but me watched this all the way through? Is that the measure of a true train fan? 😜
    I work on a steam tourist operation and things just take time working on the railroad, you just can't rush it, so I am used to waiting around for something to happen but being ready to move immediately!

  • @jeremypreece870
    @jeremypreece870 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Greetings from England. I'm loving some of these American Railway videos all over TH-cam. This door and ventilation system is an amazing piece of engineering and I have never seen anything like it. Is this type of system used anywhere else in the US?

    • @LukeBNSF
      @LukeBNSF 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      There are three other long rail tunnels in North America with active ventilation systems: the 7.1 mile long Flathead Tunnel in Montana, the 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel in Colorado, and the 9.1 mile long Mount Macdonald Tunnel in British Columbia.

    • @jeremypreece870
      @jeremypreece870 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@LukeBNSF Thank you Lucas.

    • @samuelfellows6923
      @samuelfellows6923 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The only thing similar to this in 🇬🇧 is a long canal tunnel that needs a door and extractor fan - most of the pleasure narrow-boats and the maintenance barges have a Diesel engine that has to be left running to sail the boat through the tunnel = the fan is turned on and the door closed before a boat can enter, at the fan-house end - the boat enters and the door closed behind it

    • @MalignInfluenceofReevesGabrels
      @MalignInfluenceofReevesGabrels 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Search for a channel called Post10. He's been to a fascinating tunnel where there's a set of fans at either end feeding a cavity in the roof of the tunnel which he walks (and cycles!) through.

    • @gabrielstravels
      @gabrielstravels ปีที่แล้ว

      @@samuelfellows6923 I live in the UK. Where exactly is this tunnel you talk about?

  • @JoeHamelin
    @JoeHamelin 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I've drive past (over!) that so many times and didn't know that was the east end of the tunnel. Thanks!

  • @purplealice
    @purplealice 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The major rail terminals in NYC are all fed by underground tunnels, and the trains that go in and out of them must be electrically powered. But at times, in the passenger area of Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station,l, I have smelled diesel exhaust - when I reported it to a railroad employee, he said that once in a while a train has to be pushed or pulled into the station by an auxiliary engine, which might be diesel. (And this is probably related to the main tunnel under the Hudson River, which is ridiculously in need of repair after nearly 100 years of operation.)

  • @HeartlandTuber
    @HeartlandTuber 5 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    At the 5:00 minute mark, door closes, fans ramp up. Is it exhausting or intaking area at that moment at that end of the tunnel? Great video. We went through this tunnel on our way via AmTrak from Chicago to Seattle a few years ago.

    • @jasonbabila6006
      @jasonbabila6006 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      HeartlandTuber The fans blows the smoke out the other (west) end, the flush time is shorter after a westbound train versus after an eastbound train, it’s down hill westbound.

    • @wesleyhurd3574
      @wesleyhurd3574 5 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@jasonbabila6006 I think the movement of the westbound train itself probably helps to push air out the west end of the tunnel.
      Conversely, if they ran the fans full force against an eastbound train, it would probably slow the train down noticeably and cause the locomotive to work harder. That would create even more smoke than normal.

  • @trainsmachineryldegmtrains3509
    @trainsmachineryldegmtrains3509 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Interesting video! Nice trains and scenery! Good work! Thumbs Up
    Greetings from Romania
    Andrew

  • @NIGHTLAMP12345678
    @NIGHTLAMP12345678 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Just when you thought the fan couldn't make anymore noise.....it dose! Wouldn't want to be near either end when running.

  • @catherinebreitfeller669
    @catherinebreitfeller669 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    So interesting - thanks for sharing

  • @RacerAMX70
    @RacerAMX70 5 ปีที่แล้ว +55

    If you put a ladder in the river and film from there, your untouchable.

    • @ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45
      @ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Diplomatic immunity

    • @empyreanb9444
      @empyreanb9444 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      "you dont own the water bro!"

    • @stevelarson3376
      @stevelarson3376  5 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      It was 90 degrees plus when I captured the video. There is a VERY brief period with my wife and a young couple that we did not know skinny dipping in the creek. I won’t tell you where, but it’s there. 😎

    • @sw6188
      @sw6188 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      His untouchable?

  • @flipflopsguy8868
    @flipflopsguy8868 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    What I'd also like to see is what they get in those filters when they clean them, I suppose that big structure too the Left is where it's carted out and loaded on a railcar.

    • @marzsit9833
      @marzsit9833 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      the gantry is used to service the blowers inside the building.

  • @TheEulerID
    @TheEulerID 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I'm not sure I believe the stuff in the introduction about diesel being able to pull freight trains through a tunnel more efficiently that electric (I'll given them steam though). There are literally dozens of rail tunnels in the world ranging down from the 57km (35 mile) Gotthard Base Tunnel, and they are, as far as I can tell without exception, operated by electric traction which vastly reduces the need for kludges like 800hp fans to clear out the fumes.
    Surely the real reason for diesel traction isn't it's inherent superiority, but because of the (understandable) lack of long distance electrified lines in the USA. It's simply not viable to use electric traction as that would mean electrifying the whole line (or using electric/diesel hybrids just for a short section). Electrification was apparently used for a while, but for a relatively small part of the system it wasn't cost effective. Hence this is a bit of a kludge brought about be the fact that the US long distance railway system is dominated by diesel.

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I don’t think that necessarily meant efficient in terms of the traction itself (electric almost certainly being superior, although it can depend on the system used) but more on the side of “operational efficiency” as you’ve described in your second paragraph.

    • @ArtStoneUS
      @ArtStoneUS 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      What is the maximum length of trains in the EU?

    • @masoodb2464
      @masoodb2464 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The GBT has other issues other then exhaust... Temperature. The enormous pressure created by the overlying rock mass of up to 2300 meters drives the rock temperature up to 50 degrees Celsius. Ventilated temperature is 30-32 degrees Celsius.

  • @NotADoctor558
    @NotADoctor558 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Why was that BNSF locomotive pulling an entire Amtrak train at 1:23?

  • @MrShobar
    @MrShobar 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    In 1996, a freight train broke through the doors, which failed to fully open. Replacement doors moved from the Seattle area to the site within a few days.

  • @ashiroli9766
    @ashiroli9766 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    I wonder why the 50ft warning when the door is closed.
    EDIT : Looks like I got my answer; it's a safety precaution so that people don't get blasted with debris from the insanely powerful fans. Not forgetting the noise they make too.

    • @hcrun
      @hcrun 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      High sound level.

    • @royb5014
      @royb5014 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Could also be debris flying out of cracks.

    • @Engineer9736
      @Engineer9736 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Maybe if the train comes from the other side and the door opening mechanism fails. Though i think you need more than 50ft then lol.

    • @dustyrideretc
      @dustyrideretc 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      I reckon it's to avoid getting pelted by dust, smoke, and debris when the door is opening and the fans are on. You can get a pretty good feel for the amount of air coming out of the tunnel by looking at the trees from 9:00 to about 9:30 while the door is opening.

  • @mikeshearer1250
    @mikeshearer1250 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    New Zealand has a similar operation for the Otira Tunnel in the Southern Alps

    • @rascalnz9983
      @rascalnz9983 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The turbine sucks rather than blows.

  • @DistanceNsVeterans
    @DistanceNsVeterans 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    1:24 now that a very good catch on seeing a Bnsf unit pulling a amtrak train down to the tunnel

  • @kirkzevola5004
    @kirkzevola5004 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Why do they leave one fan on while Eastbound trains are passing inside the tunnel?

    • @marzsit9833
      @marzsit9833 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      an eastbound train will be displacing the air inside the tunnel like a piston, forcing it around the train and out the west end. one blower is needed to provide make-up air. but, when a train is moving westbound it will tend to create a vacuum behind it, so both blowers are needed to provide enough ventilation.

  • @loganpe427
    @loganpe427 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Awesome. The least dusty place in the whole state!

  • @Cooee28
    @Cooee28 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    All those road runner cartoons finally make sense!

  • @nigelmitchell351
    @nigelmitchell351 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Does this system not suck detritus into the tunnel.? Can anyone recommend a good video of when the line was run with electrical traction please. Hi from GB & thanks for posting.

    • @sheppardpat47
      @sheppardpat47 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Pretty sure it's filtered

    • @nigelmitchell351
      @nigelmitchell351 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@sheppardpat47 That would make sense I suppose, be a daily job to clean them ...

  • @DanTheGamerAndTrains
    @DanTheGamerAndTrains 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A tunnel that has a closing door? Never heard of that

  • @stavinaircaeruleum2275
    @stavinaircaeruleum2275 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What's the wind pressure inside the tunnel when it's ventilating? Is the door one solid metal plate or multiple? Why do you have to stand back from the gate 50 feet?

    • @sheppardpat47
      @sheppardpat47 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Pretty sure it's not that much pressure, it just ventilates the fumes

  • @HotForgeChaos
    @HotForgeChaos 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    We have a tunnel here in NZ that is very similar called the Otira tunnel. Its 5.3 miles long but it has a 1 in 33 gradient. Like the Cascade Tunnel, it was electrified once, but that was removed, a group of GE U26C locos were modified to run this tunnel and a door and fan system much like this one was fitted

    • @sw6188
      @sw6188 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm in NZ as well. When I saw the thumbnail for this vid, before I'd read the title I thought it was the Otira. Very similar system and operation.

  • @iranoutofmilk5644
    @iranoutofmilk5644 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Not gonna lie, it’s cool to see a BNSF train lead an Amtrak train

  • @OddsandEnds
    @OddsandEnds 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The feeling of seeing Amtrack being towed by BNSF

  • @kishascape
    @kishascape 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Good audio capture of the fans coming on. I would like to take my field recorder and a shotgun mic up there for some audio samples.

  • @michaelfriend133
    @michaelfriend133 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    You would think by now they would have established an overlook area and/or visitors center so railfans can get a closer look at operations and the history of this tunnel. Perhaps there's one now and there are no views of it as of yet.

    • @marzsit9833
      @marzsit9833 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      that canyon area where the tunnel portal and highway meet is pretty small, not much room for a parking lot or visitor's center. there is barely enough room to pull off the road to change a flat tire.

  • @aaa7189
    @aaa7189 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    What do they do in a derailment ??

  • @gabrielstravels
    @gabrielstravels ปีที่แล้ว

    1:26 why is there a BNSF locomotive hauling an Amtrak train? What happened to that P-42 behind the BNSF locomotive?

    • @pootispiker2866
      @pootispiker2866 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I've seen that happen from a few times, it's usually due to control system problems with the p42s. They work fine while trailing, though.

  • @NickyMitchell85
    @NickyMitchell85 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Why does this tunnel have a red & white chequered closing door 🚪?

  • @しらたきング-r3x
    @しらたきング-r3x 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you very much.😊
    I like train.

  • @trek520rider2
    @trek520rider2 5 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    The freight train didn't appear to have a tail light.

    • @Liam40
      @Liam40 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      SBU Turbine was working but the flasher was likely just bad order. The flasher is far less important to train safety than the actual SBU function. Which is of course tail end pressure and remote emergency application.

    • @DirtyAstronaut
      @DirtyAstronaut 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Liam40 Of course... because everyone knows that

    • @bretatvs
      @bretatvs 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Uh yeah FRED’s are optional to the remote braking criticality

    • @ArtStoneUS
      @ArtStoneUS 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      FREDs are not illuminated in the sunlight to save power

  • @joelouden6592
    @joelouden6592 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Wouldn't the tunnel ventilate better without a door.....open at both ends for cross ventilation?

  • @Sam_Green____4114
    @Sam_Green____4114 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    If somebody stood there while that door was closing would they be squashed ? On the Queen Mary a steel bulk head water tight door was closing and young cabin boy tried to squeeze thru but he got crushed!

  • @paulnewstead9693
    @paulnewstead9693 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    It's too bad they cant make an observation deck like the one they have at the spiral tunnel in south east British Columbia

  • @spencerbass7142
    @spencerbass7142 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Two questions. Do you think there are any cutthroat trout in the creek and what is the speed limit through the 7.8 mile long tunnel. Interesting video and quite an engineering feat. Thank you.

    • @norrisgarcia
      @norrisgarcia 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I'm a locomotive engineer and have made a few hundred trips through that tunnel in the last 5 years. The speed limit is 25mph through the tunnel and as far as cutthroat trout , it too far up the creek.

  • @flybeep1661
    @flybeep1661 5 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    European here, 7.8 miles is the longest railway tunnel in the US? That's not really that long. The Gotthard tunnel here is 35 miles long.

    • @cweakley
      @cweakley 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      American here. When we build tunnels, we dig in a straight line.

    • @NeoDerGrose
      @NeoDerGrose 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@cweakley You mean you don't have qualified geologists an engineers to plan the best route to through the rock? I find it very hard to believe that.
      And btw. tunnel portals at Gotthard are still about 29 miles apart and Gotthard won't even be the longest one for much longer, Austrians and Italiens are already working to beat it. Not because they can, just out of pure necessity. And guess what, thy also don't go in a straight line, because they know how to build tunnels.

    • @arealassassin
      @arealassassin 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@cweakley lol still using pick, shovel and dynamite, eh? Europeans use a new thing- a steerable TBM. Look it up, you'll either be amazed, or deny it's existence. Oh, and the Earth IS round, btw...

    • @noscopesallowed8128
      @noscopesallowed8128 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      All of you shut up. Bunch of 5 year olds

    • @bloodmoongrizzlythefirst6492
      @bloodmoongrizzlythefirst6492 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@arealassassin Well asshat since this was built in the 1950's before TBM's came out So yeah.. It was built with pick's shovels and dynamite. go figure

  • @hectorperezcintas5970
    @hectorperezcintas5970 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    a question because the tunnel closes, that is, because there is a door that closes?

  • @Mike-01234
    @Mike-01234 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wonder how they keep animals from getting in there before the door closes

  • @nancyoffenhiser4916
    @nancyoffenhiser4916 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I thought I saw a nice fat trout down in the stream where the little green bush is... 🤣🤣

  • @Picolinni
    @Picolinni 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I think they didn’t load the doors texture file...

  • @michaeldougfir9807
    @michaeldougfir9807 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    What is it called when a TH-cam channel owner places some written info below the thumb nail and the places for us to write in?
    What I am after is, the titles in the video were WAY TOO FAST to read. So I appreciate that something else was written where we could scroll down to it. And the info was sufficient to give me a basic appreciation of this tunnel and the video.

  • @CapStar362
    @CapStar362 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    so does anyone have footage of the fans themselves and controls? or is this entire thing autonomous with remote operation

  • @billreal76
    @billreal76 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hmm ... What does it mean when no lights are lit?
    Is this site manned?

  • @huronautodetailing
    @huronautodetailing 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Is the tunnel manned or completely automated?

  • @arkansastrash320
    @arkansastrash320 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Do not stand less than 50 feet when door is closed?Can anyone say why, is there great suction from the giant fan that mite suck a person into the tunnel..I also wonder how the door could seal off the tunnel with it going over top of the tracks as it closes.This is a very intersting tunnel with the big 800 horse electric fans wow.

    • @jstoli996c4s
      @jstoli996c4s 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Probably because it’s VERY loud that close to the door from the fan noise.

  • @sstrainvideos1869
    @sstrainvideos1869 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Cool video 👍 nice work

  • @NHLHighlightsNHL
    @NHLHighlightsNHL 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I am your 100 th sub their you go !

  • @xXDrocenXx
    @xXDrocenXx 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    As an European, i didn't understand at first.
    Than disaster, someone's story of half died at the end and the lack of an power line got me finally. The fumes, they using diesel trains and I thought, why they don't have by us such doors.
    But why such a system? Why no ventilation system like as in an car tunnel? Should do the same, or is it not enough?

    • @pootispiker2866
      @pootispiker2866 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It's not enough. These are not your piddly little trains like in europe. The freight trains operating in this tunnel always have at least two locomotives running under heavy throttle because of the steep grades. There is also the issue with clearance with the excess height cars that are also not present in europe.

    • @xXDrocenXx
      @xXDrocenXx 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@pootispiker2866 Electricity and also passenger trains are the magic words. Long havy fright trains would interfere with the passenger trains. In Switzerland they have stopped the DB to drive in it, because they where mostly late and would result in many lateness. So they said no more. Also by me in Austria they overtake more and more DB trains. And because of that, the fright trains are not that long as by you. If you running late, penalties kicking in and most lines are state owned, so you now know what they will get ($€£). Longer trains are slow and need more space.

    • @pootispiker2866
      @pootispiker2866 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@xXDrocenXx I don't know if you realized what I said but freight traffic absolutely dominates American rail. Longer trains are also not necessarily slower, the railroads here just add more locomotives and give way to amtrak whereever possible.

  • @ReflectedMiles
    @ReflectedMiles 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Another Amtrak loco insufficiency day. Since they already depend on the freights for the rest of their infrastructure, they might as well just have them provide power and power crewing, also.

  • @pentrexvideos
    @pentrexvideos 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    @Steve Larson @SteveLarson - Looking for the owner. Pentrex Railroad Videos would like to use your footage. We do, of course, pay for footage. TH-cam will not allow any contact information here, so please reply here and we will figure out how to get in touch.

  • @kevinmcwilliams5362
    @kevinmcwilliams5362 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Where do they exhaust the fumes to? I would like to see where all the smoke goes.

    • @charlesbonkley
      @charlesbonkley 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Out the other side.

    • @Engineer9736
      @Engineer9736 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Read the text in the beginning of the video. Takes less time and gives more information than asking this in the comments

    • @AndreasDelleske
      @AndreasDelleske 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Smoke gets in your eyes

    • @tracegatlin6307
      @tracegatlin6307 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I wouldn't want to be the unlucky SOB to be in there repairing it and have it shut that'd be well most likely deadly

    • @kevinmcwilliams5362
      @kevinmcwilliams5362 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@tracegatlin6307 there are people posting videos of them Hobo train hopping riding through this tunnel. I can imagine the headache they have after riding through it.

  • @austinhrkid1
    @austinhrkid1 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Why was a BNSF engine pulling the am track train

  • @pentrexvideos
    @pentrexvideos 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Owner of this footage. We'd like to license this footage. Look under your discussion tab for our email.

  • @3Mudbone1
    @3Mudbone1 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Those grain cars are very likely going to the Tacoma grain elevator with corn being the most likely cargo, or maybe soy beans. Local 23 I.L.W.U. west coast longshoremen will unload them.

  • @TheKurtsPlaceChannel
    @TheKurtsPlaceChannel 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very nice video and fun to watch. Have a nice day.

  • @cpufreak101
    @cpufreak101 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Nice video, going to get one of the other side?

  • @travisk5589
    @travisk5589 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Looks like they took elons hyper loop idea. Pump all the air out and there will be less drag

    • @pootispiker2866
      @pootispiker2866 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Unlike elon musk, BNSF knows how to deliver on promises.

  • @BumberenzoTheFireEngine
    @BumberenzoTheFireEngine 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    5:07 I thought it was a train

  • @denisetindall1487
    @denisetindall1487 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I like train videos videos on TH-cam 👍

  • @lightpawshird
    @lightpawshird 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The doors there to help clear exhaust?

    • @slowpoke96Z28
      @slowpoke96Z28 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Lightpaws Hird keeps the vortex of air focused to clear out the diesel exhaust in the most efficient manner.

  • @andrewrcmadwilkinson6999
    @andrewrcmadwilkinson6999 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    WHATS THAT STRUCTURE TO THE LEFT MADE OF GIRDERS?

    • @ke6gwf
      @ke6gwf 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I believe it is a gantry for an overhead traveling crane used to service the blowers, such as remove motors, etc.

  • @FrehleyFan3988
    @FrehleyFan3988 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Is there a need for a door?

    • @Matthias_AT
      @Matthias_AT 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      ventilation and sound are ventilation
      Withe 1200 hp
      Matthias of Austria

  • @Jushwa
    @Jushwa 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wait so why does it do that can’t you get trapped?

  • @MegaAnticorruptos
    @MegaAnticorruptos 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I can see a big Electric substation, a lot of wires everywhere, Electric facilities besides a railway but a Diesel Engine because there isn't any wire to supply the railway, Very intelligent.

    • @federico339
      @federico339 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Then what would you do?
      Electrify the tunnel
      There are no electric locomotives using this route.
      Brilliant

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The intro stated that diesel traction was “more efficient” than electric, probably taking into account that you’d either need a change of locomotive, an electro-diesel one, or otherwise electrify a much larger distance of track so that electric locomotives make sense operationally.

    • @mgk920
      @mgk920 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Prior to ventilation, GN operated this line between Skykomish and Wenatchee, WA with electric locomotives, using a 12.5 KvAC overhead catenary wire, swapping power between steam and the electric locomotives at those end points. The replacement of steam with diesel locomotives prompted GN to rethink the tunnel's electrification.
      With more recent fuel price spikes, there certainly is a potential to have to restring the 'wire', but at the cost of no longer being able to run double stacked containers and tri-level auto racks (and Amtrak Superliners), besides the startup costs.

    • @diegorhoenisch62
      @diegorhoenisch62 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@fetchstixRHD The writer of the introduction is apparently unaware that the train at the beginning of their video is a diesel-electric locomotive. It has nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with costs(i.e. electrification has a high initial cost). The decision to run diesels is a short-sighted one, but it's rather typical.
      Cheers,
      Alan Tomlinson

    • @pootispiker2866
      @pootispiker2866 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Electric trains aren't used on American freights. Excess height cars prohibit such things. Get a job.

  • @northupguy
    @northupguy 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Anyone know the kW of those fan motors?

  • @VRtechman
    @VRtechman 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Is Steve Larson still alive?

  • @justsomedude2962
    @justsomedude2962 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Thanks, great vid, but I believe it is Berne, not Byrne, WA.

  • @sammysaint7004
    @sammysaint7004 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Does that creek have a name?

  • @iamastrid_d
    @iamastrid_d 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Imagine walking in there then the doors close and this loud fan noises kills your ears and your being blown by the fans and your stuck till a train comes and might run you over XD

  • @weazeldark3983
    @weazeldark3983 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I'm surprised they didn't run a chimney
    Wouldn't be hard run a vacuum in there

  • @thefrase7884
    @thefrase7884 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    BNSF pulling Amtrak?

    • @teeceedeecee
      @teeceedeecee 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Tow truck

    • @bobbeaumont324
      @bobbeaumont324 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      The Frase
      130 before getting Phase II paint.

  • @Angry.General1461
    @Angry.General1461 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What is that engine noise that comes on when the door to the tunnel is closed? Is that a ventilation system?

  • @オヤジデラックス-u4t
    @オヤジデラックス-u4t 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Why close the door?
    There are not in Japan.

    • @rascalnz9983
      @rascalnz9983 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      So fresh air can be blown right through the tunnel and not exit via the nearest portal?

  • @filanfyretracker
    @filanfyretracker 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I wonder if there are any trains long enough to be exiting the tunnel while still enterting.
    it is interesting they went to longitudinal ventillation rather than transversal though.

    • @DanMeyer80
      @DanMeyer80 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      longest freight train on record was on the N&W back in the 60s, they ran a coal train that was 4 miles long, so even that train if it ran through this tunnel, it would fit completely inside. So no no train has ever been long enough to exit this tunnel with end still yet to enter

  • @elysiaduke
    @elysiaduke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Most railroads are always private property and I would get consent from the railroad first before I go to the off-limits areas for filming. They are trying to keep freeloaders from sneaking on the trains for free rides along with vandalism and getting seriously hurt.

    • @timnewman1172
      @timnewman1172 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I used to have to do work near railroad ROW, BNSF were probably the most accomodating people to work with, UP was hands-down the WORST!!!

  • @evankeal
    @evankeal 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I am not understanding how a couple 6 foot fans clear an 8 mile tunnel of exhaust, and also am not smart enough to understand the door closing times and how they assist. Its interesting.

    • @u1zha
      @u1zha 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The closed door forces the ventilation air stream blown into the tunnel to travel all the way to the far end of the tunnel, instead of just circling back out into the open through the near end.

    • @MarkRose1337
      @MarkRose1337 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The "small" fans clear the exhaust by running for a long time. Eventually clean air is pushed all the way through.

    • @marzsit9833
      @marzsit9833 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      they are not just fans, they are multistage turbines similar to what is used in a jet engine.

  • @indisciipline
    @indisciipline 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    i will Build Another

  • @johnwilliamson5191
    @johnwilliamson5191 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    And nobody shows the other end... ever.

  • @TheAmtrakSpartan
    @TheAmtrakSpartan 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    130😳

  • @goodtutt4733
    @goodtutt4733 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Video needs a narrator

  • @curtisharlan9230
    @curtisharlan9230 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hello where is cascade tunnel

  • @walterfink9782
    @walterfink9782 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a question. A two parter.
    Do the crew in the cab of the first locomotive, smell exhaust from their own locomotive as they pass in the tunnel? And second, can passengers who are in passenger trains, smell the exhaust from their own locomotives?

    • @FishKepr
      @FishKepr 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      As a passenger I can say that yes, you do smell the diesel exhaust from the locomotives when passing through very long tunnels.

    • @walterfink9782
      @walterfink9782 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@FishKepr I thank you. I didn't think the seals on the windows could keep out all smells. Not healthy for passengers and crew. I thought exhaust fans were installed at various points along the route in the tunnel, to suck out the exhaust as trains went thru. Guess the cost to have that done correctly is very expensive. We have another reason to get away from using oil products.

    • @jsprdn
      @jsprdn 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Saw a steam locomotive at the California Railway museum in Sacramento lately where they reversed the design and put the cab at the front of the locomotive. That kept the crew from passing out from fumes in long tunnels, so apparently it is a problem! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cab_forward

  • @marto.4427
    @marto.4427 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have a question, why do they close the doors? ( I imagine there is another one on the other side)

    • @stuinNorway
      @stuinNorway 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      With the door closed and the fans drawing air in from another opening (otherwise they would need fans hanging over the track and that risks impacts, and the wind loads of passing trains) it makes sure the air is sent the correct way with enough air pressure differential to achieve the required ventilation. If the doors were open, it would be easier for air blown in at (for example) the East end to simply blow back out the east doors, rather than go through the tunnel.

  • @anaroong
    @anaroong 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Why does that AMTRAK towed?

    • @Meyblc70
      @Meyblc70 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      My guess would be that the P42 is dead.

    • @1996dodgeram1500
      @1996dodgeram1500 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Because Amtrak don't own tunnel therefore BNSF owns the tunnel. That my wild guess....

    • @bobgannon6029
      @bobgannon6029 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The steep ruling grade.

    • @jackprier7727
      @jackprier7727 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      it is maximum steep all the way up from Wenatchee, basically-

    • @anaroong
      @anaroong 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Got it.
      I remember seeing Alsthom towing eachother in Thailand.