2026-3 | Umtanum Empty Grainer

The BNSF Yakima Valley line, as you might expect, follows the flow of the Yakima River from near Easton all the way to Kennewick, Washington. The serpentine Yakima River Canyon begins just south of Ellensburg near the old siding at Thrall and continues on to Pomona. State Route 821 (Canyon Road) parallels the tracks on the opposite side of the river and provides plenty of places to pull over and float down the gentle current. Or just watch trains. This episode finds me doing the latter on a near triple-digit temperature day. Plenty of people decided that a float in the cool water was a more refreshing option. They're probably right! Through freight traffic on this line is generally eastward only (though, there is a local train that travels upstream on occasion). We'll catch an empty grain train on it's way back to the midwest for another loading. Thank you to all the railroaders who report for duty at every hour of the day and night to make these operations possible. If you enjoy w