The Bellingham Subdivision or Bellingham Sub is a railway line running about 119 miles (191 km) from
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
to
Blaine, Washington
Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The city's northern boundary is the Canada–U.S. border; the Peace Arch international monument straddles the border of both countries. The population was 5,884 at the 2020 census. ...
. It is operated by
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
.
Description
Traveling north from PA Jct. in
Everett, the main line of the BNSF heads north through
Delta Yard and
Delta Jct The line crosses the
Snohomish River
The Snohomish River is a river in Snohomish County, Washington, formed by the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers near Monroe. It flows northwest entering Port Gardner Bay, part of Puget Sound, between Everett and Marysville. The ...
and across 4 bridges 3 that are movable for boat traffic. The line passes through the city of
Marysville and by Kruse Jct. which leads to
Arlington 6.9 miles (11.1 km) away.
The main line then continues north to the siding at English and the first
Amtrak Cascades
The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...
stop north of
Everett at the city of
Stanwood. The line continues into the
Skagit Valley
The Skagit Valley lies in the northwestern corner of the state of Washington, United States. Its defining feature is the Skagit River, which snakes through local communities which include the seat of Skagit County, Mount Vernon, as well as Sed ...
and passing
Conway and to the next station for Amtrak Cascades at
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
.
The line continues north past the old
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
station and to the junction at
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
with the offshoot to Fidalgo or
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass. The island is named after ...
to the west and the
Sumas Subdivision
Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Huntingd ...
to the east. From here the line continues north through
Bow to the next station at
Fairhaven Station
Fairhaven Station, also called Bellingham, is a train station serving Amtrak's '' Cascades'' route, as well as a bus station serving Greyhound Lines and local Whatcom Transportation Authority buses, in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Bui ...
. After passing through downtown
Bellingham and the old depot, the line continues north through
Ferndale to the end of the subdivision at
Blaine.
Scheduled traffic on the Bellingham Subdivision consists of four Amtrak Cascades Trains, several manifest trains and occasional unit trains of coal and coke going to
Roberts Bank
Roberts Bank is an undersea bank in the Strait of Georgia on the south side of the estuary of the Fraser River approximately south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located between the South Arm of the Fraser River and Tsawwassen, it is s ...
History
Gallery
Image:Great Northern Railroad depot at Marysville, Washington, ca 1913 (WASTATE 643).jpeg, Former Marysville Washington Depot
Image:Stanwood WA Feed & Seed 02.jpg, Stanwood Feed and Seed location at Stanwood
Image:271st Street at Stanwood.jpg, The Stanwood crossing in reverse from above.
Image:Double track at Stanwood.jpg, The new Amtrak Cascades
The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...
stop in Stanwood.
Image:Stanwood station platform, looking south.jpg, The new Amtrak Cascades
The Amtrak ''Cascades'' is a passenger train corridor in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It is named after the Cascade mountain range that the route parallels. The corr ...
stop in Stanwood.
Image:Fairhaven Station - platform view.jpg, Fairhaven Station at BNSF South Bellingham.
Image:Pacific International at Bellingham, July 28, 1973.jpg, Old Bellingham Station
References
{{Reflist
External links
BNSF Subdivisions
BNSF Railway lines
Rail infrastructure in Washington (state)