A fun filled journey (or at least a nauseating side trip) stuffed with pumpkin orange BNSF power units (along with the various permutations that came together to make the huge Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate rail superpower) around the southeastern quadrant in the state of Washington; along with side excursions to BNSF Vancouver Center and Amtrak station, a couple trips along the Columbia River Gorge, and even up to Spokane. Plus multiple visits to the sprawling metropolis of Connell featuring towering (low rolling) sage steppes.Special sections cover everything from the little pieces of history in Pasco, WA to the orphan train impact on Deanville, Texas after the Texas A&M refurbishment of that local depot down South. Plus the two stations in Connell (we told you it was a metropolis.) Even the Hanford B Reactor from the Manhattan Project makes an appearance with specialized uranium transport freight car and the infamous pink locomotive (and less famous orange version.)Educational reviews of the main locomotive power types, Class I railways caught on Pacific Northwest rails… plus news and events from 2022: rail traffic impacts of the Ukrainian invasion by Russia, threatened rail worker strikes, and even a major merger / acquisition cutting down the railroad livery landscape possibly by yet one more major player in North America. Along with tons of lovely little tidbits and editorial comments concerning less major news developments - like the mystical We need to tear down the dams in Washington to save the salmon! Oh, and we just blew up our last coal fueled electrical power generating plant this month that supplied 15% of our power to Portland… but no worries! We’ll make up for it with hydroelectric power by putting in new dams.There’s even virtual vacations, little drops of odd, ATSF Centennial Livery revived, and tons of hidden bonus pictures. All make for hours of entertainment (if not days… maybe even years if you happen to be a really slow reader.)Perfect for the rail fan, train buff, model railroader looking for some authentic views from the Pacific Northwest as we approach the quarter century mark, or cubicle convict trying to look like you’re not wasting time while staring at a computer screen (but you completely are) while waiting on quitting time.Still on the fence? How about a tax deduction! Yes, there’s even stock and investing advice within the covers of this book. So keep your receipt after you purchase it and deduct the cost from your taxes! (Although please keep in mind, financial advice is usually worth what you pay for it. And look on the bright side! If this screws you up and you go to prison for tax evasion because of any of this uneducated tax advice, you’ll have more time to read this book (and others!) during your time incarcerated. - Yes, always have your loved ones use that word, because nobody truly listens after they ask the question, Hey, what happened to your husband? We haven’t seen him for a while. - answer: Oh, he’s incarcerated or He’s doing good! He’s doing a little incarceration. Say it out loud in a conversation with conviction (ha! Get the joke?) and nobody questions it, hearing he’s in Carseration - and they don’t want to look like a fool not knowing where Carseration is located, so just pass right over it. Ta da! For this amazing piece of advice, I think you owe me at least the effort of purchasing one of my books. Trust me! If you can’t trust a random, non-licensed tax advisor and self-proclaimed financial guru willing to give you bad advice, who can you trust?)So climb aboard, toot the horn (or at least toot your own horn for being smart enough to get a copy of this book), and enjoy the year of 2022 in trains.
