Temco's Tacoma railroad operations: grain switching on the waterfront [6/14/2021]

Some things will sit in front of your face for years at a time, but yet you never bother to pay attention to them or give it a look.

Temco's grain elevator and transload operations in Tacoma is an example of something in my life that always was there and I saw it every week, but I never bothered to really look into. Along with good shooting spots being difficult to access, train operations at Temco are as-needed throughout the day, and as such, totally sporadic.

After a previous failed attempt at watching them switch cars, I arrived that day on foot to try again. walking up Dock Street, I spotted Temco's GP9 locomotive, EFX 1611, shoving a cut of BNSF grain hoppers in reverse, a hearty amount of diesel exhaust pouring out of it's stacks. After some exploration, I found a few hideaway spots to be able to film Temco's old iron horses, still at work after over 70 years on the rails.

Along with being able to film all three of Temco Tacoma's locomotives in action, I was able to shoot a good amount of action from the BNSF Seattle Subdivision, which is the grain elevator's rail artery to the rest of the North American continent, via BNSF and Union Pacific.

I've come to really enjoy Temco and the company's operations in Tacoma, and I can assure you, this won't be the last time the company fleet of three black-and-white EMD diesel locomotives appear on the SSRM YouTube channel.

Locations and trains that appear in this video:

Temco Grain Elevator at Tacoma, WA
0:00 Clearing the unloading track w/engine 185
3:00 Moving the 1611 and 219S
3:44 Reverse movement to the unloading track

Dock Street, Tacoma, WA
4:09 Spotting a USDA Inspection Car w/185
4:50 BNSF H-VBTVAW & Q-ATLPTL
6:55 BNSF X-TACMCE & Amtrak 505
7:27 X-TAC interchange delivery to Temco
8:13 Amtrak 504
9:10 Union Pacific MFIPD
10:31 Spotting BNSF interchange cars w/engine 185

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