Chasing the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad

In March 2023, I departed Spokane early in the morning for Newport, Washington, and the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad, or POVA.
POVA is a shortline operating three days a week, M-W-F between Newport and Sandpoint, Idaho where they interchange with BNSF Railway. The track east of Newport is the former Great Northern, being part of the GN transcontinental route between the twin cities and Seattle. Between Dover and Sandpoint, POVA uses trackage rights on Union Pacific's Spokane Subdivision to reach the interchange at Sandpoint. The track north of Newport is the former Milwaukee Road line to Metaline Falls, but currently only operated as far north as Usk.
The train is often referred to as the Sandpoint Turn. The crew usually starts early in Newport, heading east along the Ex-GN to Sandpoint and picking up loads in Priest River and Laclede on the way if needed. At Dover, the POVA crew calls UP dispatch for permission to enter the UP Spokane Sub and proceed east to Sandpoint. On the way back west, the crew will drop empties at Laclede, Priest River, and Albeni Falls, using a small spur that takes the train up and around the Albeni Falls Dam located on the Pend Oreille River.
POVA has 4 active locomotives on their roster, including an SD9, and three former Illinois Central GP10s, two of which are seen in the video. Two are in POVA's paint scheme, while one remains in the IC "Death Star" paint scheme.
This video starts at Laclede since I arrived late to Newport and had to play catch up. This train is easy to chase but moves at a good pace. A great place to catch them is at one of the rock cuts between Thama and Laclede. The bridge at Albeni Falls was also nice. Unfortunately, it ended up being overcast on the day I decided to chase this train, so I will have to make a return trip in the future.
Enjoy!
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