BN/BNSF Loop
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BN/BNSF Loop
Schematically, the BN Loop is a single-track loop of about 1.6 scale miles in length. Off the loop are three yards, two hidden for staging and one visible. The loop provides for continuous running of a train in an unattended fashion or for the movement onto and off stage to represent several hours of mainline traffic along the Burlington Northern (now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) through Wenatchee, Washington. The visible portion represents Wenatchee from Appleyard to W-O junction.
Appleyard is the main subdivision yard between Spokane and Everett on BN's Pacific Division. Locomotive and car service are performed here, although not as heavily as in the heyday of the predecessor Great Northern's electrified Cascade Division. Some classification occurs here as a result of the switching of local industries and interchange with the Columbia & Okanogan.
Wenatchee has a long siding running from about W-O Junction back along Appleyard with a capacity of over 40 50-foot car lengths (FFCLs). This will be the arrival departure track. It shares three cross-overs with the mainline allowing some operational flexibility. Appleyard itself has four body tracks of 22-28 FFCLs. In addition, there are industrial leads and tracks. The industries along them include a large grain terminal, a intermodal/auto-rack yard, and a wind turbine factory. (Wind turbines are used to pump water in fruit orchards throughout the region.) In addition there is a small locomotive and car service shop and a passenger station for Amtrak's Empire Builder.
At the west end of the Wenatchee is W-O Junction, the point where the Columbia & Okanogan diverges from the BN mainline. The Columbia & Okanogan has trackage rights from W-O Junction into Appleyard so there is only a very short siding at the junction. The purpose of the siding is not to store interchange but to accommodate run-arounds when there are cars to be delivered to Rocky Reach Dam via the Rocky Reach spur.
The two staging yards, called simply Large and Small yards (or, alternatively, East and West yards), store trains that represent the traffic through Wenatchee. Each yard consists of two double-ended, three-track subyards. Large Yard's six body tracks can each hold a trains of 40 or more FFCLs. Small Yard's tracks can hold trains of 22-30 FFCLs. Large Yard has cross-overs approximately at mid-point along the body of the yard, so it can double its train capacity to twelve 20-plus FFCLs. The total capacity of the two yards is about 410 FFCLs. Small yard is hidden behind and beneath the Rocky Reach peninsula and the town of Entiat. Large Yard extends from beneath Brewster to past Omak and is mostly accessible from outside the north and east sides of the layout. Should "fiddle yard" operations be used, Large Yard is where they will occur. This would be for trains interchanging traffic at Wenatchee. Small Yard will be used for fixed-consist trains such as the Empire Builder and various through freights. Large Yard will also be used to stage longer fixed-consist trains like intermodals or unit grain trains.