On a winter morning with temps hovering right at the freezing mark and fog spread across the entire Puget Sound region, I decided to try my luck at driving an hour and a half from home to the shores of Samish Bay. Wouldn't you know it but the only location between Everett and Bellingham not enshrouded in fog was right at Chuckanut Manor -- and as the background shadows attest, it was a pretty small clear spot. Running on time, Amtrak Cascades train #513 accelerates out of the 40mph trackage along Samish Bay with an out-of-state guest on the point.
From Vancouver, BC, to Eugene, OR, this route runs along stretches of Puget Sound and the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. The TALGO trainsets that were the line's backbone for many years were withdrawn from service after they were cited in the 2017 crash
With two sections of the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, Seattle, the Cascade Mountains, Columbia Valley and Puget Sound, Washington state offers rail buffs plenty of variety and beauty.
