Rainier Great Western Railway
& Navigation Company
The Route of the Thunderbird
Our History:
Welcome to the .....
The Rainier Great
Western (RGW) was
established in June of 1980, specifically to take
advantage of available trackage that was put up for
sale by the trustees in the ill-fated Milwaukee Road
bankruptcy. As a result of its successful bid for
trackage rights, the RGW gained operational control of 24.5
miles of track starting at Burlington Northern
Santa Fe (formerly BN, now BNSF) owned tracks at
Black River Junction, 1.5 miles West of Renton,
Washington. The track heads east, functionally
paralleling the Cedar River to Maple Valley and
culminating in Black Diamond, Washington.
After turning a
modest profit in its first few years, the RGW began
negotiating with BNSF for trackage rights on its
Woodinville Sub. These negotiations culminated in
1987, when the BN was forced
by a ruling of the
Surface Transportation Board
(STB) to provide access to shortline railroads
across the country, or risk stiff operating
restrictions by the STB. As such, the RGW gained
access to several major customers and its Maltby
Turn is now one of its most respected and profitable
runs.
On its own
trackage, the RGW was able to successfully negotiate
profitable trackage rights agreements with BNSF and
Union Pacific (UP) to provide interchange for
inbound and outbound traffic. In turn, BNSF and UP
are provided trackage rights on the RGW which gives
them access to their respective customer bases in
the region and provides a faster traverse of the
Cascade Mountains for journeys Eastward. While BNSF assigns a variety of motive
power to the region, UP has seen fit to spot several
of its Chicago & Northwestern (CNW) fleet in the area.
These units were acquired when UP completed its
purchase of the CNW in 1995.
The RGW has only
a few units in its fleet. The first unit ever
acquired was ex-Milwaukee #988, a very unusual, but
reliable Alco RSC-2. RGW has renumbered the Alco #444
and it has recently been
given a coat of primer in anticipation of the new
color scheme and logo that Management hopes to debut
by next fall. Other units owned by the RGW include
SD40-2, Number 421, ex-BN 7151, purchased in 1999.
It is currently assigned to
Coast Engine and
Equipment (CEECO), a Dennis Washington Company. The
RGW contracts with CEECO to perform equipment
upgrades, painting and repowering.
The major source
of revenue for the RGW continues to be the coal mines
in Black Diamond owned by Pacific Coast Coal
Company; specifically the mines known as Old Mine
#11 and John Henry. Additional sources of revenue include the
Edwards & Bradford lumber mill in Maple Valley,
Shell Oil’s plant near Ravensdale and the Rabanco
Transfer Station just east of Black River Junction.
Management Perspective:
We hope that you
enjoy your stay on the Rainier Great Western. This
is an ongoing process and we encourage any and all
to contact the Management should any suggestions for
improvement be noted. We hope that your ride along
our tracks is smooth, enjoyable and enlightening.
Thank you for your consideration.
Take a Video Tour of our work progress through
October 2008:
