H-EVESPO

Amid the parade of intermodal trains, H-EVESPO and its counterpart M-SPOEVE are the only
regular manifest trains over Stevens Pass. This scenario which takes place in the Summer of 2003
will have you take the eastbound H-EVESPO from Delta Yard in Everett to Skykomish. With a
power lash-up harking back to the Cascade Green era, your consist represents one of the last hurrahs of the SD40-2 as the venerable locomotive gets gradually replaced.

It was not uncommon to find the SD40-2 still being extensively used as road power on the BNSF
even after the turn of the century. This was especially true in the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, in
response to rising fuel costs, BNSF issued a bulletin that all SD40-2s were restricted to a maximum speed of 55 mph. This in turn meant that many SD40-2s were transferred to the
Northwest Division as the lower speeds here allowed for more efficient utilization of the locomotive fleet.

Update 07/May/2024: More refined ReadMe

Tags: bnsf stevens-pass