The Week Begins (Departure Waiting)

North bound, 7:00pm on time departure, with a setting sun in the western hills.  The blue sky is abundant with a few white puffs of cresting clouds over the western mountains and above the rail yard.  Train #1008 makes good time heading out of the station, doesn't drop below limit, and cruises into the curve for the northern Willamette Bridge.  To the left is the water retention area, with green trees along the edge with slightly changing colors.  To the right is the lead in road and empty plots of industrial land.  In the distance of where we just came is a chemical refinery.  The city looks somewhat smoggy in the distance today.  The dimming light of the afternoon adding to the effect.

The train rolls into the North Portland Cut, cruising along at somewhat slower than marked speed.  As we moved along, I sat in the lounge car, and listened intently to the train crew.  The assistant conductor sat and told a story to the rest of the crew about getting his nails buffed, because a young lady was attempting to sell him a finger nail buffer.  In my mind all I could imagine was a grocery store floor buffer, but in miniature for the fingers.  The train finally slowed while crossing the Columbia Slough.  Below in the water to the west one could see a kayak and two dragon boats following.  To the east nothing moved except for a distant plane coming into PDX Airport.  While still moving slowly the train entered the Columbia River Bridge, to the east the Interstate 5 bridge stood with cars racing both directions.  Finally after a short 15 minute trip, we pulled into the Vancouver, Washington Station at 7:15pm.

We depart with approximately 10-20 more people on in Vancouver.  At this point the night is creeping into view faster, the darkness stepping around every corner.  Passenger count is a minor thought at this time.  I'm just enjoying the tranquil movement of the train at this time.  To the west the sun is almost gone, nothing but a blood red sliver along the sky, with a slight yellow along that.  Everything else is black with the branches and trunks of trees frequently displacing the black from the blacker.  Through a few slits in the tree line one can see further out, and there is still a wall of blue sky in the distance below the red of the disappearing sun.

I dive back to work.  With multiple things running through my mind I thumb through the most recent issue of Progressive Railroading.  The articles make me think, but I'm in no mood to write on technical topics at this time, so thinking continues.  I however casually type away, with a glance to this or that, and a return to my reading.

7:56pm #1008 arrives at the Kelso/Longview Station.  I look off into the distance of Kelso, nothing much to see, nothing much expanding.  It is a quaint town, I wouldn't expect anything different.  #1008 starts rolling again at 7:58pm.  As we pull away the lounge car now has a total of 5 passengers including myself.  The rest of the train is somewhat vacant, usually this train has about 2x as many people as it does tonight.  It's definitely one of those slow Mondays.  With this low passenger count in my mind I wonder how many people rode the first reverse commute Sounder.  Tomorrow I'll get to see first hand how busy it is.  At this time I'm guessing that there is a low count of passengers.  I'd suspect it will take 3-6 months before passenger counts increase to a reasonable level on the reverse trip, if it ever does at all.  Tacoma isn't anything to hoot and holler over, and definitely not somewhere many would actually want to take a trip to frequently if they are used to downtown Seattle (or the areas along the route).

8:39pm arrived and #1008 came to a stop in the middle of blackness.  The radio crackled the conductor wore, belching out that we had stopped because we had a freight train in front of us that needed to clear Centralia.  At 8:46pm we began moving again.  At 8:50pm we came to a stop at Centralia Station.  A few people where waiting at the Centralia Station, I didn't see anyone in particular board, but the waiting persons continued to mill about as we stood still at the station.  8:51pm we departed Centralia Station and immediately got up to full track speed and started making good time again.

9:00pm and the freeze of the lounge car has begun.  I think it is about 65 degrees in the lounge car.  Everyone in the car at this time, which includes me, one other guy, and the three crew.  They're carrying on entertaining themselves as the crews on these trains always seem to do.  Something about train crews it seems is that they always have good stories.  Just funny bits and slight mischievousness here and there.

At 10:47pm train #1008 arrives at King Street Station in Seattle.  I de-train and head for the upper streets.  I walked down 3rd and some other streets until I finally found Pioneer Square.  Kind of odd, because it really isn't a "square".  I asked someone where the hotel is, they pointed me in the right direction, irony being I only had a mere block left.  I entered the hotel, built in 1914, got my room and headed up.  After a short stint of checking e-mails and such, I'm zonking for the night.

Tomorrow it is Sounder #1501 south bound at 6:10am and #1510 north bound at 4:45pm.  So with that, at 12:29am I'm out.