Uploaded April 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
On a Sunday evening in September, 1999, I visited BNSF's Salmon Bay Bridge in the Ballard district of Seattle to enjoy the weather and video any trains that might happen to pass. The bridge crosses the channel between Lake Washington and Puget Sound where the Chittenden Locks raise and lower the boats to accommodate the difference in water levels between the two bodies of water. The railroad bridge, built in 1914, is a double track single leaf bascule structure (thank you Wikipedia) that can be raised to accommodate the larger vessels. Rail traffic heads north along the sound from Seattle to Everett where it can turn east over Stevens Pass or continue north to Vancouver, BC.
On a Sunday evening in September, 1999, I visited BNSF's Salmon Bay Bridge in the Ballard district of Seattle to enjoy the weather and video any trains that might happen to pass. The bridge crosses the channel between Lake Washington and Puget Sound where the Chittenden Locks raise and lower the boats to accommodate the difference in water levels between the two bodies of water. The railroad bridge, built in 1914, is a double track single leaf bascule structure (thank you Wikipedia) that can be raised to accommodate the larger vessels. Rail traffic heads north along the sound from Seattle to Everett where it can turn east over Stevens Pass or continue north to Vancouver, BC.
