Western Rail Switching

Western Rail Switching (reporting mark WRS) was a switching and terminal railroad, operating a line west of Spokane, Washington.

Western Rail Switching
Overview
HeadquartersAirway Heights, Washington
Reporting markWRS
LocaleSpokane County, Washington
Dates of operation2004–2009
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

Ownership

edit

It was owned by Western Rail, Inc., a leasing company.

In 2004, Spokane County bought the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway's Geiger Spur,[1] and designated WRS to operate it, beginning in October.[2]

Following the takeover of the nearby Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad by the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad (EWG), the Washington Department of Transportation financed a newly constructed connection to the new short line operator.

Opening

edit

This realignment was opened on January 2, 2009, bypassing Fairchild Air Force Base, through which the spur had run.[3]

The west end of the spur is now at the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad, near Medical Lake.[4]

Operator

edit

Not long after beginning operations, EWG filed with the Surface Transportation Board to replace WRS as operator, and now[when?] runs the Geiger Spur an exclusive operator.[needs update][5]

Cargo Traffic

edit

Traffic carried on the Geiger Spur consists primarily of inbound steel loads.

References

edit
  1. ^ "STB Finance Docket No. 34541". October 1, 2004.
  2. ^ Railroad Retirement Board (December 2, 2004). "Employer Status Determination: Western Rail Switching, Inc".
  3. ^ "Spur Rail Opens Next Week". Spokane Spokesman-Review. December 25, 2008.
  4. ^ Washington State Department of Transportation. "Rail - Geiger Spur/Airway Heights - New Rail Connection". Retrieved February 12, 2009.
  5. ^ "STB Finance Docket No. 35201". December 5, 2008.
edit