Tacoma Rail

Tacoma Rail (reporting marks TMBL, TRMW) is a publicly owned Class III shortline railroad. It is owned by the city of Tacoma, Washington and operated as a public utility. It is one of three operating divisions of the municipally-owned Tacoma Public Utilities service, but unlike other city services, the railroad is self-supported and generates revenue for the City of Tacoma and Washington state. Tacoma Rail provides freight switching services, serving the Port of Tacoma and customers in Tacoma, south Pierce County and parts of Thurston County. It operates 16 diesel locomotives, more than 100 employees and about 140 miles of track, many of which are former Milwaukee Road and BNSF Railway lines around Western Washington.

Tacoma Rail
#3001, an EMD SD40-2, leads a passenger excursion over the ex-Milwaukee Road trestle in 2011.
Overview
HeadquartersTacoma, Washington
Reporting markTMBL, TRMW
LocaleTacoma, Washington
Dates of operation1994–
Predecessor2nd Chehalis Western Railroad
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Length140 miles

Operating divisions

Tacoma Rail operates three distinct divisions:

Tidelands division

The Tidelands division serves the area around the Port of Tacoma, including all four intermodal terminals and interchanging with both the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railway. The division serves 40 customers, and handles the majority of Tacoma Rail’s traffic.[1]

The division was established in 1914 as a streetcar line to move port workers, but has been freight-only since 1937. In the past, the division was called the Tacoma Municipal Belt Line.

Lakewood division
Main article: Point Defiance Bypass

The Lakewood division runs between Tacoma and DuPont. The operation of the division was acquired from BNSF Railway in November 2004.[2]

The division serves 11 customers, mostly in the Lakewood area. Sound Transit also owns tracks has trackage rights between Tacoma and Lakewood to operate its Sounder commuter rail. WSDOT has paid to improve the line in recent years with plans to reroute the Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight to the tracks by 2019.

Mountain division

The Mountain division runs between Tacoma and Frederickson, where it splits into two branches, one serving McKenna, the other serving Eatonville and Morton.[3]

The 97 miles of track are owned directly by the City of Tacoma and are operated by Tacoma Rail under contract. It is considered a separate railroad and is operated using its own TRMW reporting mark. This segment of track was originally built by the Milwaukee Road and later used by the 2nd Chehalis Western Railroad and was purchased by the city on August 12th, 1994.

The division serves 14 customers, mostly in the Frederickson area. The Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad leases the portion of track from Eatonville to Morton for passenger excursion service.

Locomotive fleet
Locomotive fleet (as of February 2017)[4][5]
Unit No. Builder Model Year

Built

 Purchased Notes
TMBL 1521 EMD MP-15AC 1982 5/3/2003 ex FNM 9823; née NDM 9823
TMBL 1522 EMD MP-15AC 1982 5/3/2003 ex FNM 9824; née NDM 9824
TMBL 1523 EMD MP-15AC 1982 5/3/2003 ex FNM 9825; née NDM 9825
TMBL 1524 EMD MP-15AC 1982 5/3/2003 ex FNM 9822; née NDM 9822
TMBL 2100 NRE 3GS21B-DE 2011 8/26/2011
TMBL 2200 EMD GP-22eco 2011 11/21/2011 ex KXHR GP40 40; ex CDAC 40; ex CSX 6633; née BO 4058 (built 10/1971)
TMBL 2201 EMD GP-22eco 2011 12/15/2011
TMBL 2316 EMD GP-23eco 2016 8/1/2016
TMBL 3000 EMD SD-40 1968 5/26/1999 ex NREX 3065; ex PNCX 3065; ex UP 3065; née MP 765
TMBL 3001 EMD SD-40-2 1985 6/11/2001 ex NREX 6564; ex CNW SD45 6564; ex CR 6237; née PC 6237
TMBL 3801 EMD GP-38-2 1979 5/3/2005 ex UP 386; née CNW 4621
TMBL 3802 EMD GP-38-2 1979 6/29/2005 ex NREX 4618; née CNW 4618
TMBL 4001 EMD GP-40-M 1965 9/30/2005 ex CNW 5526; ex CR 3037; ex PC 3037; née NYC 3037
TMBL 4002 EMD GP-40-M 1965 12/30/2005 ex CNW 5528; ex CR 3039; ex PC 3039; née NYC 3039
TMBL 7001 EMD SD70 ACe-P4 2013 11/14/2013 ex EMDX 1211
TMBL 7002 EMD SD70 ACe-P4 2013 11/14/2013 ex EMDX 1212

References
  1. "Tacoma Rail - Tidelands Division". Tacoma Public Utilities. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  2. "Tacoma Rail - Lakewood Division". Tacoma Public Utilities. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  3. "Tacoma Rail - Mountain Division". Tacoma Public Utilities. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  4. "Tacoma Public Utilities Locomotives". Tacoma Rail Official Website. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  5. "Tacoma Rail". TrainWeb.org. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
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