From here to Point Ruston , a mile from the elevator, is a Great place to Railfan ! Water, Ships, Restaurants, the road where people cruise in their Classic Cars and Trucks on nice, sunny weekend days, and The BNSF / UP shared mainline, and the occasional Military Aircraft departing or on approach to a nearby base. something for everyone !
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| Posted by Dan I. on October 14, 2020 | |
Some years ago when I was still truck driving, I made a delivery of some sort of machinery to this place. I noticed that were a lot of covered hoppers there along with a switcher doing it thing pushing cars around. I also noticed a couple of BNSF trains going by as well. I asked an grainery employee where did the BNSF tracks cross the inlet. I was told that the trains did not but rather enter a very long tunnel in the Ruston community at the northernmost point of the peninsula. The tunnel tracks curve around to the other side of the peninsula and follows the "coastline" to points south. I had been delivering freight of all kinds to the Tacoma area for years and never did know that there was a long railroad tunnel there.
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Used to be an Asarco Smelter across from the R R Tunnel, but demolished years ago and turned into shopping , restaurants and million dollar plus condos . the road went thru a tunnel at the smelter's edge.
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I remember when that long curved tunnel was double track. It was single tracked to allow double-stack container wells to use the tunnel. This does hamper traffic and is one reason Amtrak/WSDOT wanted to run their passenger trains on the old NP Prairie Line up the Nalley Valley to Nisqually.
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