Seattle Sounder Commuter Train - Past, Present, and Future: Train Talk Ep. 36
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- The Sounder is a commuter train service that runs in the Central Puget Sound region of Western Washington State. Sounder is operated by Sound Transit and serves the major cities of Everett, Seattle, and Tacoma using a fleet of Bombardier Bi-level coaches and EMD F59PHI and MPI MP40 locomotives. In this episode of Train Talk, we take a look at this interesting operation, discussing the railroad's past, present, and future.
Video Chapters:
1. Introduction 0:05
2. Sounder Overview 0:48
3. History 7:26
4. Future 20:13
5. Conclusion 21:45
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©2022 Mike Armstrong Media
Sounder is one of America's most underrated commuter operations. Much like ACE Train it serves a dynamic and varied population who are quite critical of any move or action it takes in serving its communities. Sounders' service and safety record is impeccable, which is noteworthy considering the terrain and challenges it faces from the sound itself, the ever moving hillsides to the rain and snow the area sees regularly which oft wreaks havoc on the railroad itself. Its staff, on and off board, are among some of the friendliest and professional people folks I've had the pleasure of interacting with. Among the above, its history and orgins, and much more Sounder has a soft-spot in my heart. It is the little railroad that could - and does.
I’m glad all the locomotives are still in good shape and has no plans on retiring them!
They do have a neat fleet!
Very well made video! Never knew that this relatively small commuter railroad had so much history, and leased their EQ to so many other railroads.
Thank you! Yeah, Sounder does have a pretty interesting history, especially for one of the younger commuter railroads.
Great ep! Sounder is my favorite commuter rail company because I love that blue look
Thank you! It’s a really neat railroad.
Well, it is a nice story again. I support you to present videos like that! Best Wishes From Hungary😃🇭🇺
Many thanks!
Great video as always Mike! train talk has alway been one of my favorite series of yours and I get excited when a new episode is announced
Thanks, Sam! I will hopefully have at least one more episode before the end of the year.
Your footage is so well done! As a relatively semi-recent Washingtonian, this video was really entertaining. Thank you - can't wait to ride!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for watching!
Welcome to Washington!
very well done and well made video! I never knew that Seattle sounder train had so much history in the past!
Great stuff! So nice to get a comprehensive look at the whole Sounder history. As a frequent rider of Sounder trains, I love all the beauty shots of the different train sets over the years.
Thank you, Neil! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video Mike. I have taken the Sounder north line a number of times when I was working in downtown Seattle. SR
Many thanks, Steve!
Excellent work, I did a lot of commuting last year on the South Line I could instantly recognize the shots!
Keep up the good work!
I still consider the north line one of my favorite rail trips since it hugs the water for most of the route and the scenery is amazing. It passes through a second tunnel in Everett as it approaches Everett Station. The mukilteo station is newer (as mentioned in 2008) and exclusively Sounder service unlike the other stations which are also Amtrak. The north line is also subject to land slides although they've been doing a lot of work to mitigate them. If one happens they cancel service for 24 hours.
Great Train Talk episode Mike. Funny that my birthday was on a Friday this year. Thanks for the unknown birthday present!
Thanks so much! Happy birthday!
@@CoasterFan2105 Thanks! Turning 17!
Great mini documentary, thanks Mike.
I ❤ TRAINS ! !
Mike Armstrong, Keep Up The Awesome Work
One my favorite commuter rail the Chicago Metra rail, anyway this very awesome video!
Sweet video. Sounder Locomotives looks cool. 🙂❤️💖
Another awesome video with great commentary. We really enjoyed watching the trains and the scenery. Have a great upcoming weekend.
The lover of trains
Oh, Heavens Yeah ! !
Very informative train talk video, as always! I would like suggest you do history train talk videos on Chicago’s Metra and Maryland’s MARC trains. I know you need more footage for VRE trains, but that will be another commuter rail service to cover in future train talks.
Thanks so much! The two that I tentatively have for next spot on the list are Metra and Metrolink. Marc would also make an interesting episode.
Remarkable video!! Well done Mike!
Fun fact: Sounder leased some of it's equipment to Metrolink
VRE in Virginia as well
*Southern California Represnt!!!!*
And West Coast Express
as well as VRE
Beautiful video! Thanks for sharing! 👍🏻🎥
Awesome video, Mike! Did the close-to-home commuter road justice!
Wow! Bravo 👏👏 i like your train talks! I always teach my teacher about trains at recess
After someone pointed it out to me I can’t help but giggle at the name sounder
Wish they build a Georgetown station for some of the Seattle commuters. I think it would help connect with Metro riders from parts of West Seattle, South Park, Beacon Hill, etc. If done right redo revitalize Ruby Chow Park and the land across the street from the Georgetown City hall and the land along Airport Way to create some sort of bus station connecting to and from that Georgetown station if that were to happen in the future.
I totally agree! Infills on the S at Georgetown and maybe a limited service one at Boeing Field would be awesome. I also think that we should build some infills on the N at Belltown, Interbay, and Richmond Beach.
Great production, thanks for sharing!
I’m a regular s line rider. I think the s line has a great future connecting se King and e east pierce to Seattle. Those trains are full everyday and even the reverse commute ones get a decent number of people.
I am pretty skeptical that the N line has much of a future especially once Lynnwood link is open. Pretty much everyone I know who commutes in says that the sound/community transit buses run more often, start closer to their houses, run to closer to their work, and are faster.
It’s a very pretty ride though.
Thank you Mike... 👍
Great video I have a request for a train talk video. Next time can you do the Trinity Railway express? Give this comment a like if you wanna hear the story and history about the Trinity Railway Express, which is now over 25 years old and still running strong.
Nice catchs you got
Very nice Mike I like train talk so cool
The f59phis look good in that pain scheme
The train is so cool
Great video! Can you please do a Metrolink Train Talk? Thanks for the amazing content!!
Thank you! Metrolink is one of the next commuter railroads I have on the list for another episode.
Mike, thankyou so much for your great videos. TRAIN TALK is awesome. I have learnt so much from you. I live in a railway city. Canadian Pacific and CN run side by side, both have massive yards here. Awseome places to make videos. I am just starting to do these videos, I got the equipment I need and so on. Unbelievable viewing places North, Southt, East and west. Detroit and Port Huron are in arms reach, got all day because I am retired. Also love the steam Locos as well, 2 museums in close proxsimity. I make notes as I watch your vids. By far you lead the way in explaining trains, Number one one the internet as far as I'm concerned. I still have a lot to watch on your channel, at times 3 to 4 times over. A couple of things I would like to ask of you. 1. What is the best radio to purchace and some frequencies, and how do you get them. 2. The top three Class 1 Railroads in North America are 1.) BNSF 2.) Canadian National 3.) Canadian Pacific than you have CSX, Kansas City Southern, Northfolk Central, Union Pacific. according to my research, the first three are for sure, not sure about the last ones. CP rail outwest cut through mountains, longest tunnel in NA, The double spiral witch bores through a mountain. So gave a shout to CP and CN if you can.
Awesome video!!!
Nice train
Good video my friend👍
Fantastic video Mike
To the past and the future we go!!
Happy First Day of Fall Seasoning, By The Way
Love the sounder but haven't ridden it in years. The north end is pretty much useless with two trains south, two north.. I'm glad they're investing so heavily on the south line but they'll never increase ridership to Everett with the current plan.. Great video.
I like it. Nice train
Just found your video, and as a life long Washingtonian, the puget sound is definitely NOT brackish. The only brackish areas are where the rivers flow into the ocean at the river deltas, but those are considered part of the rivers, not the open ocean. The Puget Sound is the southern part of the Salish Sea, which is part of the Pacific Ocean
I appreciate the information. My understanding of the term "brackish" is salt content greater than fresh water but less than sea water. I checked a few different sources and most of them describe Puget Sound as a combination of brackish and marine, with an approx 80% marine water content.
www.eopugetsound.org/articles/puget-sounds-physical-environment#:~:text=Oceanographers%20define%20Puget%20Sound%20as,extending%20landward%20from%20Admiralty%20Inlet.&text=It%20is%20part%20of%20the,Strait%20of%20Juan%20de%20Fuca.
Amazing video man
Hello, good sir. In complete ignorance, I started my own railroad discussion series called "TrainTalk" completely oblivious to the fact that you already had one of the exact same name. I'm going to change the name for future episodes, but I just wanted to let you know that I in no way intended to copy you and this is rather wild irony. Continue making good content, and God bless. :)
I enjoyed the video very much. One point in the commentary referred to TR Jct. as Tacoma Rail Junction, but in fact the official name is TR Jct. The TR does not stand for anything.
Perfect video
I met you at the Horton Street Crossing, I was in the Hallcon Yard Shuttle.
So their F59PHI’s have been overhauled to meet tier 3 emission standards, meaning the capability to do so does exist. I really hope that Metra (Chicago’s commuter rail service) does the same with theirs in the not to distant future.
The Future is Bright
Great video. Just subscribed
Thanks you
Nice Video
Nice video BTW coaster is getting cem cabcars and are starting service very soon!!!!
Great video Mike! Have you ever thought on making an episode on Tri-Rail? It has a pretty interesting history and future.
Passing the train
Could you do a train talk on the Acela Train and Amercias next fastest train?
Nice u should do something on a electric commuter Railroad like lirr or septa or njt. Njt have both electric and diesel
Cool!
Thanks for doing this.
I'm going up to Tacoma in a few weeks for vacation (getting there by Amtrak Cascades of course) and I want to go to Seattle by taking the Sounder. This will be my first time riding a commuter train.
Now I know what to expect with fares, schedules, etc.
If you plan to use public transportation aside from the Sounder, be sure to pick up an ORCA card (our regional transportation card) at one of the vending machines at most stations. It's compatible with all modes of public transportation in the service area (Pierce, King, and Snohomish Counties) and you can transfer between different modes of transportation and agencies (only needing to pay the highest priced fare within 3 hours of your first trip).
N line is back to four daily round trips!!
no mention of possibilities for through-running trains or expansion to all-day frequent service :(
While that would be neat, neither of those ideas are currently part of the Sound Transit 3 plan for expansion. Maybe that will be part of the next funding package in a few years?
I liked this vid alot hey Mike quick and fun fact if you ever make a vid a Bob hope airport train station south everyday a union pacific passes between 10pm and 1am and also at the antelope valley station it passes at like between 10am an 12 pm
I just recently read about this in Railfan & Railroad and can't wait to start watching. However, before I start watching I want to ask you a few questions before I forget. First, how big do you file sizes tend to be. I just got the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera this Wednesday, and file sizes are pretty big - 1GB/10 seconds. Of course, those are on really good settings, but I just wanted to get an idea. Also, would you like to join the U.S. - Canada Railfan Club of mine? Take care, Mike!
Nice Video
🎉🏵️🇮🇳🏵️🎉
Hey mike when are the steam train videos coming back? because I kinda miss them!
It's very factual, but the sounder right now, Seattle, to tacoma is only running 5 car sets. Going to Everett is 3 car sets.
⬆️ Line should have the cab on the ⬇️🔚 & 🚂 on the ⬆️🔚
Can you do one for the UTA FrontRunner, but overall great video
you should do one about the northstar
I have a few questions Mike
- Will San diego California ever replace there New SC-44 trains or is it a 21 year contract? next -
- what will They do with F59 3002 & 3001? will they get put in a Museum or sent Somewhere else for a new paint scheme?
- I heard they might be making a new train station or even for coasters at the NAVWAR Military building by downtown? is it true?
- Will they ever build or have Track 3 in San diego? will it ever be built? If they did it it would cost but would give California's Economy over 5.67B Dollars.
last one what was it like growing up with seeing Amtrak F59s and 2103 and the others all the time? i have 1 Experience with 2101 and 2105 passing by, now i grow up seeing 5001 everyday. Pls reply this is important
how about a Train Talk Episode on NJ Transit?
Maybe mid 2023, federal way is making a new station for the link and you miss one there's a city named sea tac.
Umm total Washingtonian. Pronounced Puyallup correctly.
I ride this sometimes it sucks it only runs at peak hours
Are their new cars coradias?
CoasterFan2105
Ah yes Sounder
*THE AMERICAN GO TRANSIT*
(Minus the F59PHI)
So every American commuter railroad with Bombardier cars and MPI locomotives is an American GO transit?
Actually, actually live in Kent
6:21, *MILWAUKEE ROAD*
Great video !!
Great video. Just subscribed