The Empire Builder

Today we drove east on U.S. Highway 2 to the town of Skykomish. Our mission was to catch the Amtrak Empire Builder crossing the Foss Creek bridge. The first thing we did was verify that we were ahead of the train. This was easy, since the road follows the tracks from Everett eastward.

The next thing we did was find the bridge. It is about a mile back on Foss Creek Road. The bridge marks the midpoint of a horseshoe curve in the valley. Unfortunately, it is not possible to see the horseshoe due to the thick forest.

The final thing we did was pick a good spot to watch the train go by. The bridge crosses the creek, road, and valley at a height of at least 50 feet above the road. We climbed the embankment from the road up to the bridge and found a reasonably comfortable spot to sit, then waited.

Eventually, we heard the sound of metal wheels rubbing rails. The sound slowly grew until we felt the train was right on top of us. As it turns out it was. A BNSF freight train passed us from the opposite direction. What a surprise!

After it passed, we crossed the tracks and found a better spot to watch. A few minutes passed, then the squeal of rubbing metal could be heard in the distance. The rumble of the engines followed shortly thereafter. As the train approached and came onto the opposite side of the bridge, the engineer gave us a short blast from the air horn. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone into the woods and out of the valley.