Railfan, railfan--where do you see trains in Washington?
Mapwork: If you're going to be looking for railfan locations, you'll need an industrial strength map resource. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. You can usually get substantial discounts on DeLorme atlases thru the Frograil Railfan Store, which is here.
(1) This is a link to Adelita Balsalobre's most interesting site, which centers on, and radiates from, Seattle. If you like artsy sites, this is quite a production -- one of the most impressive railfan sites on the Net.
(2) Ted Curphey, the "Funnel Fan," has put together two excellent pages covering, respectively, Cheney-Spokane and Spokane-Sandpoint. There is a ton of material in those pages, and I've listed many of the highpoints, although you'll have to kind of work thru the pages to find each location. These two "pages" represent a total of about 17 pages of typed text and photos, so there is a lot of really good stuff here.
SEATTLE -- RAILROAD CUSTOMERS (January 6, 1999)
This is a truly mind-boggling site! Alan Winston has detailed virtually every railroad customer in the Seattle area, and the site is broken down by each rail line in the city. This is a real tour de force, and one which should not be missed: Click here to visit this very impressive site.
SHELTON -- DRY SORT YARD (May 1997)
Located 9 miles west of Shelton's Simpson Timber Company's giant mill complex, a staging area is operated. This is the Dry Sort Yard. According to my Rand-McNally Road Atlas, there is a (county?) road heading west from Shelton to Matlock. Road #102 joins this road about halfway to Matlock, and this is the approximate location of the Dry Sort Yard and mill. You might want to be in a 4x4 up here, because this is pretty rugged country, especially, if you want to try to "chase" a train.
*[Note: This material was adapted from info provided by TRAINS Magazine in May of 1997. If you don't subscribe to TRAINS, well, you should. It's an excellent publication. Get on its web site here. ]
SHELTON -- SIMPSON TIMBER (May 1997)
Way back in the 70's, I lived in Tacoma, Washington, and was able to see Simpson's logging railroad operations. Back then, it was an anomaly within the railroad scene. When I left in 1977, I was convinced the railroad would be gone shortly. Thankfully, I was wrong. The Simpson Timber Company still operates in the Olympic Peninsula, and its railroad still soldiers on. Essentially, Simpson gathers logs in its areas west of Shelton, sorts them at it's Dry Sort Yard, and then delivers them to its giant mill in Shelton. Transportation is via its logging railroad.
The May, 1997, TRAINS Magazine* has a nice article on the railroad, and also includes a good map. This railfan site guide has largely been adapted from that article, as well as my recollections. To get to Shelton, take I-5 to Olympia, and travel US-101 north to Shelton. The mill was virtually impossible to get into 20+ years ago, and is no doubt even more difficult now. However, there are areas which offer some possibilities for photos, and you'll just have to check with the locals to get train schedule info.
*[Note: This material was adapted from info provided by TRAINS Magazine in May of 1997. If you don't subscribe to TRAINS, well, you should. It's an excellent publication. Get on its web site here. ]