Tacoma Rail ( reporting marks TMBL , TRMW ) is a publicly owned Class III shortline railroad . It is owned by the city of Tacoma, Washington and operated as a public utility . It is one of three operating divisions of the municipally-owned Tacoma Public Utilities service, but unlike other city services, the railroad is self-supported and generates revenue for the City of Tacoma and Washington State. Tacoma Rail provides freight switching services, serving the Port of Tacoma and customers in Tacoma, south Pierce County and formerly parts of Thurston County . It operates 16 diesel locomotives , more than 100 employees, and about 140 miles (230 km) of track, many of which are former Milwaukee Road and BNSF Railway lines around Western Washington.
25-609: Tacoma Rail operates two distinct divisions: The Tidelands division serves the area around the Port of Tacoma , including all four intermodal terminals and interchanging with both the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad . The division serves 40 customers, and handles the majority of Tacoma Rail’s traffic. The division was established in 1914 as a streetcar line to move port workers but has been freight-only since 1937. In
50-469: A large smelting facility was operated by ASARCO on the shore of Commencement Bay near Point Defiance. The town of Ruston surrounds the former ASARCO plant. Tailing waste was dumped into the bay, eventually forming a long peninsula. Today it is a project area within the Commencement Bay Superfund site. The Thea Foss Waterway , an arm of Commencement Bay near downtown Tacoma, was declared
75-531: A single entity," though they were not merging. Joint operations began with the formation of the Northwest Seaport Alliance on August 4, 2015, creating the third-largest cargo gateway in the United States; by the end of the year, it reported more than 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units handled by the two ports, an increase of 4 percent. The port plays a large international trade role in
100-547: Is among the top ten largest container ports in North America. Containers hold everything from computers and lawn furniture to apples and frozen meat. Based on container volumes, China is the port's largest trading partner. More than 70 percent of the containers imported through the port move by rail to markets in the Midwest and East Coast. The port is served by the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific railroads. Shortline rail service
125-586: Is grain (corn and soybeans) that come into the port by rail from the Midwest. In 2010, the Port of Tacoma's top trading partner, based on two-way trade value, was China / Hong Kong . China/Hong Kong was also the top partner ranked by volume imported and value imported. Japan was the top partner ranked by volume exported and value exported. The top commodities exported, by value, were cereals and grains. The top commodities imported, by value, were vehicles and parts, followed by industrial machinery and electronics. The port
150-451: Is provided by Tacoma Rail , which is owned by the City of Tacoma. U.S. Oil and Refining operates an oil refinery in the Port of Tacoma. Oil tankers bring crude oil , which is refined into a variety of products, including JP-8 jet fuel for McChord Field Air Force base . The refinery and airbase are connected by a dedicated pipeline , McChord Pipeline. The port is part of one of
175-472: Is severed by derailers at 72nd and McKinley, which is effectively the city limits. Most crossing markers south of this location have had electrical equipment removed and is completely idle as of November 2023. Built Port of Tacoma The Port of Tacoma is an independent seaport located in Tacoma , Washington . The port was created by a vote of Pierce County citizens on November 5, 1918. The Edmore
200-703: Is soft reopening in late 2023 or early 2024. Due to dwindling customer base (one as of 2023), Tacoma Rail sold the Mountain Division to WRL, which is now Rainier Rail, with RNIR reporting marks. However, the City will retain ownership of the portion of the Tacoma to Fredrickson line within the city limits, about six miles of track and structure, minus a one-mile stretch sold to Sound Transit for use by passenger and commuter trains as part of Sound Transit’s Lakewood Subdivision. This leaves just under five miles of track, for which Tacoma Rail will file for abandonment. This section
225-583: Is the costliest to maintain and includes the steepest part of the line, a 3.75% grade, a bridge over the BNSF/UP lines and a bridge and trestle over the Puyallup River, both of which are former Milwaukee Road structures built in 1917. WRL/Rainier Rail plans to use its portion of the north end of the Mountain Division (north of Frederickson) for car storage. There are four sidings, but two of them will require some significant work to be put back in service. The line
250-537: Is the main port facility. The Puyallup River is the largest freshwater stream emptying into the bay. Others include Ruston Creek , Mason Creek , Asarco Creek , Puget Creek , Hylebos Creek , and Wapato Creek . Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition named Commencement Bay in 1841, commemorating the place where he started his survey of southern Puget Sound. The first Euro-American habitation on Commencement Bay
275-488: The Northern Pacific Railroad to establish its western terminus at Commencement Bay. Tacoma was chosen over other nearby cities such as Seattle for several reasons: Commencement Bay could dock more than 50 ships at a time, the harbor was deep enough for vessels of any draft, and there were miles of tideland waterfront available for expanded port facilities. The United States Army Corps of Engineers straightened
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#1732873642777300-462: The Pacific Northwest , and is a municipal corporation that operates under state-enabling legislation. Each year, the port handles between about 9 and 13 million tons of cargo, and more than $ 25 billion of commerce. Major imports include automobiles, electronics, and toys, while major exports include grain, forest products, and agricultural products. Based on tonnage, the port's largest export
325-414: The U.S. state of Washington . The city of Tacoma is located on the bay, with the Port of Tacoma occupying the southeastern end. A line drawn from Point Defiance in the southwest to Browns Point in the northeast serves to mark the generally accepted division between the bay and the open sound. Commencement Bay has become home to one of the most active commercial ports in the world. The Port of Tacoma
350-472: The 1856 Medicine Creek Treaty and the Puyallup's 1856–1857 renegotiation of their reservation boundaries at Fox Island. The reservation still exists legally and includes at least the Port's land between Hylebos and Blair Waterways and the entire city of Fife . On October 7, 2014, the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma announced an agreement to "jointly market and operate the marine terminals of both ports as
375-474: The Puyallup River between 1948 and 1950, leading to litigation in the early 1980s over ownership of 12 acres of land formerly in the riverbed. The Puyallup Indian Tribe won their case in federal court. Subsequently, The Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act of 1989 ceded the Tribe's remaining land claims over 120 acres of the Port of Tacoma, in exchange for $ 162 million and other benefits. The claims dated to
400-465: The Puyallup River, splitting Commencement Bay between the two counties. In 1901 the border was changed, giving Pierce County the entire bay. Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding operated out of the bay during World War 2 producing escort carriers and auxiliaries as one of the yards belonging to the Todd Corporation , which included a nearby yard on Harbor Island, Seattle . For much of the 20th century
425-478: The establishment of the Port of Tacoma, much of Tacoma's shipping activity took place along Ruston Way and along the mouth of the Thea Foss Waterway , which opens into Commencement Bay and the larger Puget Sound . Tacoma's role as a shipping center dates to 1853, when the first cargo of lumber was shipped to San Francisco. Tacoma's status as a major trading hub was greatly strengthened by the 1873 decision by
450-718: The largest superfund federal environmental remediation sites in Washington, the Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats Site. The Port of Tacoma has been working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington State Department of Ecology on cleanup efforts at various sites within the larger superfund area. Commencement Bay Commencement Bay is a bay of Puget Sound in
475-464: The line in recent years with plans to reroute the Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight to the tracks planned for 2019. The Mountain division ran between Tacoma and Frederickson , where it splits into two branches, one serving McKenna , the other serving Eatonville and Morton . The 97 miles of track were owned directly by the City of Tacoma and are operated by Tacoma Rail under contract. It
500-592: The past, the division was called the Tacoma Municipal Belt Line. The Lakewood division runs between Tacoma and DuPont . The operation of the division was acquired from BNSF Railway in November 2004. The division serves 11 customers, mostly in the Lakewood area. Sound Transit also owns tracks and has trackage rights between Tacoma and Lakewood to operate its Sounder commuter rail . WSDOT has paid to improve
525-401: The railroad reached the bay in 1883 it caused a boom of development in Tacoma. The railroad facilities were located near the extensive tide flats by the mouth of the Puyallup River, about a mile from the original site of Tacoma. Not only did the tide flats provide level ground compared to the steep slopes surrounding the rest of the bay, but dredging work would quickly provide deep water access to
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#1732873642777550-459: The railyards and warehouses. A new town, called New Tacoma, quickly grew up by the railroad hub. "Old town" Tacoma and New Tacoma soon merged. Large land grants were provided to the Northern Pacific, including a significant part of the coast of Commencement Bay. Over time the city of Tacoma bought up this land. Originally the boundary between Pierce and King counties ran east from the mouth of
575-560: Was by Swede Nicolas Delin (b. ca. 1817). He built a water-powered sawmill in 1852 where a creek entered the head of the bay. A small community grew up around the operation, but the settlers evacuated during the Puget Sound War of 1855–56 and did not return. In 1873 the Northern Pacific Railway , the first transcontinental railroad in the northern United States, announced it would locate its terminus at Commencement Bay. When
600-609: Was considered a separate railroad and was operated using its own TRMW reporting mark . This segment of track was originally built by the Milwaukee Road and later used by the 2nd Chehalis Western Railroad and was purchased by the city on August 12, 1994. The division served as many as 14 customers at one time, mostly in the Frederickson area. The Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad leased the portion of track from Eatonville to Morton for passenger excursion service. MRSR ceased operating, but
625-435: Was the first ship to call at the port in 1921. The port's marine cargo operations, among the largest in the United States, was merged with the Port of Seattle 's in 2015 to form the Northwest Seaport Alliance . The port started out on 240 acres (0.97 km ) of land, and now owns more than 2,400 acres (972 hectares) of land that are used for shipping terminal activity, warehousing, distributing, and manufacturing. Prior to
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