Columbia River Subdivision Columbia River Subdivision
The Columbia River Subdivision is as dry and Brown in Color as the Scenic Subdivision (Stevens Pass) is Wet and Green. The one thing they have in common is Wenatchee as the Division and Crew change point. I consider myself fortunate that I live near the terminus of these two interesting areas. Most of the photos that I have taken deal with the western portion of this sub.
To me, the most interesting part of the Columbia River Sub is the area between Wenatchee and Quincy. Within this area of about 35-40 track miles is some rather impressive Basalt (Lava) cliffs that tower over the right-away. A few miles out of Wenatchee, the BNSF (the old GN of course!) crosses the Columbia River just upstream from Rock Island Dam. At Albus (Columbia River Siding) the line begains the long climb from the riverbank to the Columbia Plateau. It's in this area that we find the Trinidad Loop (or Horseshoe), my favorite spot for pictures. The Old GN used a series of trestles to loop along the walls of the canyon to gain the needed elevation to reach the plateau. In the 1940's, the grade was realigned, and a large fill was put in place. This is a spectacular place to watch trains, either up hill or down. One can be surrounded on three sides by the same train.
The redesigned layout of this page allows one to travel on the Columbia River Sub by Photo from Wenatchee east toward Spokane..
