BNSF's Stevens Pass

Travel to scenic Washington State and visit
one of the toughest mountain grade on the
entire BNSF: the former Great Northern
line over Stevens Pass.
Enjoy the scenery
and mainline diesel action as we sample
trains in a variety of scenic locations from
Gold Bar to Wenatchee.
Experience hot stack trains crawling up the
2.2 percent grade between Skykomish and
Scenic.
We've taken our cameras to several
remote locations so you don't have to.
Enjoy the action as the railroad crosses
rushing rivers, travels past lofty peaks and
runs through a variety of tunnels, including
t he eight mile long Cascade Tunnel.
This was shot immediately after the BN merger with the Santa Fe, so the line still had almost a completely Burlington Northern flavor.

[@Bryanja81]

The distant sound of that SD40-2 horn almost brought me to tears. When i was a kid, i spent a lot of time at my grandparents house and i remember laying in bed at night and hearing that horn in the distance. It just brought back so many memories and reminded me how much i miss my grandparents. 😢

[@RailwayProductions]

Yes it was one of my favorite programs to shoot

[@Railfan-uf9mw]

Railway productions I wish you guys would do the trains of Galesburg 2 or the trains of Lafayette Indiana 2

[@BradFalck-mn3pc]

Nice video, I live up in B.C. so it's nice to see a little bit of the American side of the Cascades

[@whitemountainproductions]

Awesome I own this dvd and it’s amazing

[@andrewcrumb8027]

3:59 Fun Fact: At Spokane, WA., the westbound Empire Builder splits into two trains, with this half going to Seattle over Stevens Pass, and the other half going to Portland, Oregon along the Columbia River Gorge on the Washington side of the river.

[@JulietS4]

I’m a local in the area. Thank you for coming out to this truly beautiful location. I love seeing those cascade green locos in their final days before the merger.

[@RailwayProductions]

It was kind of a sweet spot in time. The corporate merger was in effect, all the crews used “BNSF” on the radio, but the two railroads were still being run separately.

[@g-manonthego6678]

Burlington Northern must've loved the SD40-2's, because they used to roster a lot of them.

[@dknowles60]

that is because they are better then Ge and out last Ge

[@AbelG8781]

​@dknowles60 that's no longer the case these days

[@NSBlack_Stallion]

@@AbelG8781 Yes it is. You’re just new to Railfanning. Hang in there and over time you might figure things out. Good luck!

[@haroldbenton979]

Why then were the SD70ACEs retired but the oldest C44-9Ws rebuilt into AC4400Ws then. Just look at what the NS is doing rebuilding every dash 9 they can find but selling off the EMD fleet as fast as possible. It comes down to fuel efficiency the EMD burns 10 to 15 percent more than that GE does. With diesel fuel over 3 bucks a gallon without fuel taxes and at full throttle an EMD burns over 200 gallons an hour compared to 175 for the GE engine which one are you keeping around.

[@dknowles60]

@@haroldbenton979 Ns quit rebuilding ge's because they are junk

[@zacharylucisbecker2352]

Thank you for your generosity

[@indycar101]

Thanks for sharing and doing this important story of our country's most northern rail road, and its progress over the years!

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

I have this one on DVD! Thanks for streaming it!

[@everettrailfan]

Pretty cool to see my home route in a time years before I was even though of. I wish I had seen more of those SD40s.

[@hideri87]

This is one of your DVD’s i’ve never owned, thanks for posting!

[@RailwayProductions]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@garyjackson1218]

My grandfather had the telegraph station at Meritt winter 1910, according to my grandmother, with a baby and no running water.

[@katierydermaurer3415]

I love this movie good job railway production I saw some of these clips on lots and lots of trains

[@keonikaig9247]

WELL DONE....THANK YOU glad i found you...

[@andydickson5400]

Great video, it brought back many fond memories of railfanning this area back in the late '70's.

[@steverudder3321]

Been away from my home state for 53 years now, but it sure is nice to see areas that I have never seen before, as well as hearing the locomotive horns as they echo through the forests and mountains.🥰 Good to see heavy usage of BN slugs. You have a great list of more videos to watch, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, as well as subscribing! Thanks!😁👍

[@cabincreek1692]

Fabulous videography. I very much enjoyed this video.👍

[@trainguy7261]

The best days of railroading for sure... go EMD!

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

Yay! Rah rah!

[@Railroadracer49]

I hope to go film there some day It’s the most scenic route In Washington state imo 😊

[@janeordway4841]

Fp45s and those Burlington B units are way cool. To bad the camera technology wasn’t like it is today.

[@kevinsharp6323]

Nice video.

[@ericurbane99]

3:57 above the river for whatever it is crossing. The train is crossing below using the bridge. Above, below.

[@BradFalck-mn3pc]

James J. Hill one of Canada's favorite sons 🇨🇦

[@harrisonofcolorado8886]

3:58 Was the Empire Builder one of the last holdouts for the F40PH until more of the Genesis locomotives arrived on Amtrak?

[@andrewcrumb8027]

I have that route as an add-on to the Train Simulator Classic game on Steam.

[@brucybabyy7355]

beautiful country.

[@SuperLanyard]

Thanks for all your work!!!!

[@erikmorgenstern8039]

thanks for sharing the historical vid - Skykomish is a really neat little community. You can walk much of the older high line through the area used before the opening of the lower tunnel .

[@hudsontrainguy1217]

The only dvd version I have is the one licensed by Topics Entertainment but I’ll get the regular dvd in the future

[@Brian_rock_railfan]

great video 🚅🚅👍

[@RailwayProductions]

Thank you!

[@Brad-.-.-.-.howitzer]

Excellent video!!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😁😁😎

[@RailwayProductions]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@glennscott9693]

Good Video! Train 604 @ 10m to Trail. I suspect that train is carrying lead and zinc concentrates from the Red Dog mine in Alaska. Trail has nothing to do with aluminum; just lead and zinc. Last I heard BNSF has since lost that contract and these days it is done by the CPR through Vancouver.

[@hazardousstufftolookat9136]

The trees have grown up there so much many of these shots are no longer possible...

[@jacobdolman3831]

I Like Burlington northern Railroad

[@railfanrahn]

man look at those lashups!

[@RailwayProductions]

Things have certainly changed!

[@railfanrahn]

@@RailwayProductions for sure! I Railfan this line just before it gets to the Twincites and man it’s changed

[@TNRailProductions_01]

Wonderful Program! Over how many days was this filmed?

[@RailwayProductions]

Spent about 10 days there.

[@TNRailProductions_01]

Oh wow, that’s more than I expected. Once again, great program!

[@jacobdolman3831]

31:36 here comes the Intermodal

[@arthurschipper8906]

Love seeing that EMD power

[@RailwayProductions]

Yeah, it was really something when I climb the Rock Mountain Trail and could hear all of these SD40-2's roaring beneath me!

[@awvr777cpAC44]

So you're pulling a CvisionProductions. I like it, though I wonder why this is? Eh who cares let's just enjoy this.

[@rfritchman]

This video was shot in 1996.

[@tjtrainzCSX]

Knew if this was BNSF, had to literally be right after the merger, because I see nothing with BNSF paint or letters yet...

[@jacksalvin364]

On the former Great Northern Railway.

[@MJMYouTuber]

But in the future just like the BNSF merger it will now merge Canadian pacific and Kansas City southern merger just like BNSF merger in 1995

[@andrewdiesel4014]

Stevens Pass looks nice

[@ericurbane99]

5:35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. They're all diesels.

[@privateerbouncher9622]

Going there now, you’ll see GE’s everywhere

[@rottenroads1982]

Some of the footage in this, I have seen in a certain piece of Kid’s Media known as The Alphabet Train. All this vintage Railroad footage is gorgeous. It’s a declaration of our Railroading History. Also, the EMD F45 & FP45’s. I say there needs to be New EMD Freight Cowl units. Lastly, now there are only 6 Big Class 1 Railroad Corporations. UP, BNSF, NS, CSX, CN, & CPKC. I say there needs to be 3 More Class 1 Railroads, essentially raising the Number of Class 1’s to 9. There for, more even Competition. Maybe it’s high time to Revive The Milwaukee Road & other lost Class 1 Railroads.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

I have the Stevens Pass route add-on for my Train Simulator game on Steam. But the line in the add-on is between Wenatchee and much further west of Gold Bar to Everett and Mukilteo.

[@patriksiegfried5050]

A 31:00, c'est à cause des courants d'air qu'il ferme le tunnel ? beaux paysages un peu comme en Suisse... Salutations depuis la Suisse

[@Doobie1975]

How often do the trains go through Stevens Pass?

[@railroad1970]

I’ve seen as many five a day… during daylight hours.

[@hazardousstufftolookat9136]

But the airhorn echoes haven't...

[@MrDgwphotos]

The 737's are all going to Renton, the Everett plant did not build the 737 at the time (As of 2024, Boeing was trying to get a 737 line going at Everett, but after the Alaska Air Lines door plug incident, the FAA refused to permit expansion of the 737 assembly lines).

[@MrDgwphotos]

Also an interesting change, they are hauled as one piece today, vs the two pieces shown here.

[@MJMYouTuber]

So, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. Northern Pacific. And the Great Northern merged together to become the Burlington Northern

[@barbaradarnell7376]

Don't forget the Spokane,Portland and Seattle, which gave the Great Northern its entrance into California through the 'inside gateway'

[@roejogan292]

48:40 Boeing plane parts and fuselage.

[@craigcanterbury7233]

13 :12 amazing

[@wesleyhymbaugh1450]

This Is BNSF's Stevens Pass With SD 45s Painted In The Cascade Green 🚂🚂🚂 This Is Great Watching This Program 😊😊😊

[@MrDgwphotos]

The only SD45s in the video wear the Blue and Black of Montana Rail Link. BN got rid of the SD45's in the 80s.

[@MrDgwphotos]

And POSSIBLY a Santa Fe SD45-2.

[@ConrailNKP587Brony]

Any Conrail Films

[@RailwayProductions]

Sorry, I reallyy don't have much in the way of Conrail

[@ConrailNKP587Brony]

@Andrew Diesel true

[@railfandepotproductions]

@@ConrailNKP587Brony Andrew diesel?

[@NSBlack_Stallion]

33:16 How in the world can they start pulling that much weight against the 2.2% slope?

[@AbelG8781]

You must be new to railroading

[@NSBlack_Stallion]

@@AbelG8781 What does that have to do anything? Jerk. I sincerely hope that real railfans aren’t a Karen like you. If they are then I have no use for them.

[@haroldbenton979]

​@BlueDays_BlackKnights steel on steel has some of the lowest rolling resistance out there. The SD40-2 produces roughly 120k pounds of tractive effort each that is the pulling force. Now on flat terrain that would be around 100 cars on a 2.2 percent grade it drops to around 25 cars or so. AL Krug a retired railroader has a blog if you can find it that explains the math.

[@michlo3393]

@@haroldbenton979 120K is way too high. An SD40 puts out around 70 - 80K tractive effort from a standstill.

[@zachdebuhr6347]

​@michlo3393 he said sd40-2 not sd40, the -2 has 130k while the 40 has around 90k

[@the.flat.six.]

5:47 Train 7 Westbound.

[@WilliamCreator57]

Hey Les how come you didn't narrate this?

[@ConrailNKP587Brony]

BN and ATSF is there to

[@Spacething7474]

why the changed thumbnail?

[@RailwayProductions]

I liked this one bettet

[@mmandmcb14]

An ATSF FP45 is in it.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

And in the Warbonnet paint scheme, no doubt.

[@g-manonthego6678]

@@andrewcrumb8027 it is weird though to see a red and silver FP45 with a sunshade over the windows. The F45's had them, but not the passenger variants.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

@@g-manonthego6678 A little.

[@haroldbenton979]

​@@g-manonthego6678they got them after they had their major overhaul in the late 80s when they became the SDFP45 in nomenclature on the Santa Fe. They definitely had them when Haverty had them repainted from Blue and Yellow warbonnet back into the Super Fleet Red and Sliver. As he said before the merger and before he was forced out by Krebs if possible the only thing I want leading on anything hotter than the local on this railroad from now on better be Red and Sliver.

[@BNSF_8213]

What year was this video(s) takin

[@RailwayProductions]

This was shot in 1996.

[@MrDgwphotos]

@@RailwayProductions That explains the complete lack of BNSF markings, VERY early BNSF days.

[@charleshaggard4341]

I thought Santa Fe had the best paint scheme. Red and silver.

[@CoreyLahey-ic9is]

BN had the ugliest paint scheme of all time, puke green.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

@@CoreyLahey-ic9isHow dare you call Burlington Northern Cascade green UGLY!?!

[@mabybee]

@@CoreyLahey-ic9isyou take that back

[@tjtrainzCSX]

​@@CoreyLahey-ic9isHAHAHA, I'm a die hard CSX fan and I can tell you the UGLIEST paint scheme EVER is that DULL ass CSX YN1 "Stealth" scheme, next to the damn black and white NS... BN green looked amazing with their territory.

[@ironhorsethrottlemaster5202]

Steam traction engines are very awesome and different I never got to run one but I actually got to see a big steam traction engine in a tractor pull drag race kind of scenario back in the day the steam tractor beat the diesel tractor Two full pull out of three if you want to see the world's largest steam tractor ever constructed they built one from the ground up in this company that guy bought to build the steam tractor called the case 150 best company might be able to help you do the casting for Montezuma just type in your search engine case 150 built from the ground up very interesting plus this dude has a casting Foundry and he knows someone with a machine shop to machine the casting the steam tractor world might be able to make your big live steam engine known as the Montezuma a reality check it out hyce have a great day

[@jacobdolman3831]

3:56 5:28 The Alphabet train 1998

[@ZakScarlato-mg9dj]

Durango and silvrton

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

Look for BNSF to hook up with a Mexican railroad by the end of 2024. You read it here first. CP+KCS will not go unanswered.

[@kq2799]

But maga won't let them in...

[@colingarner6175]

It’s not pronounced “rowt” it’s actually pronounced “root “ spelt “ route”

[@Brad-.-.-.-.howitzer]

Both pronunciations are correct, the more common oneis actually rowt

[@indowneastmaine]

It’s regional.

[@AbelG8781]

In the south, (deep south) we say rowt.

[@davids6533]

Roots usually grow in the ground.

[@archimedesxxicentury]

😢 The transport infrastructure Disaster. 😢🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🐝. Archimedes XXI century 😇.

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

Don’t know much, do you?

[@joelnordstrom8049]

Horrible filming

[@raritanbayrailfan2558]

It was the 1990’s you little-

[@Railfan-uf9mw]

So back in the 90s of Burlington Northern they used to call the trains #s or do they still do them still on today's BNSFs

[@RailwayProductions]

They quit using train numbers not long after this release

[@JulietS4]

Yeah, the train #3 is now operated as Z-CHCSHE. Also, #3 was the hottest train on the BN system.