Two barges pass each other on the Columbia River just east of The Dalles (the BNSF grain train is in BNSFs Wishram Yard). On the Oregon (opposite) side of the river is Interstate 84, connecting Portland and Boise, and two sets of tracks. The lower track, passing under I84, is the double-tracked Union Pacific mainline. The upper line is the single-tracked BNSF Oregon Trunk Subdivision. This line branches off the BNSF Fallbridge Subdivision just west of Wishram, crosses over the river and into Oregon, then, after running parallel to the UP tracks for a short time, turn south, through Bend, before combining with the UP Cascade Subdivision in Chemult. This line was part of the former SP&S mainline, connecting central Oregon with Spokane, Vancouver, and points north. |