Everett (Tunnel Junction) – Everett, Washington, USA | Train Spotting Location

Tucked between Everett’s waterfront flats and the rising slopes that lead to the Cascade foothills, Everett (Tunnel Junction) offers railfans a front-row seat to one of the Pacific Northwest’s busiest railroad choke points, where BNSF’s east-west transcontinental line funnels through a short downtown tunnel and immediately fans out toward the mountains, Seattle, and the Canadian border. The compressed trackage, constant parade of mixed freight, intermodal stacks, and passenger consists, plus the dramatic moment trains burst from the tunnel’s north portal, make this junction a must-see location for anyone chasing steel wheels in Washington state.

🛤️ The Trainspotting Experience

Visitors usually station themselves near the unfenced public sidewalks that parallel the main line just north of the portal. From here you can watch trains materialize out of darkness, the echoing horn and tunnel reverb announcing their arrival seconds before the locomotives emerge into daylight. Acceleration is audible: crews notch up as soon as the tail clears the tunnel, so expect rich, low-rpm diesel sound and a noticeable increase in speed within a few car lengths. Train lengths vary from short, 6-car Sounder commuter sets to 11,000-foot stack trains bound for Chicago, so a camera with plenty of storage is useful. Because tracks are at grade or slightly below eye level, sight lines are clean and obstruction-free. Noise levels are high—ear protection is wise during long freights—and the rumble reverberates off nearby concrete retaining walls, amplifying every wheel click and flange squeal.

🌄 Landscape, Setting and Local Atmosphere

The junction sits on a narrow shelf between Possession Sound and the first terraced bluff of Everett’s downtown. Lowland alder, big-leaf maple, and blackberry thickets fringe the right-of-way, while patches of salt-air grass peek through ballast along the tidal flats. Elevation change is modest—about 30 ft from waterfront to street level—yet the quick rise creates a natural amphitheater, giving watchers an elevated but still intimate perch. Morning brings fog rolling off the water, muting colors until the marine layer burns off around midday. Summer afternoons deliver crisp sun angles and Mount Baker glimpses to the north; winter can be wet, but mist curling out of the portal adds mood few other spots can match.

🚂 Type and Frequency of Train Activity

Everett (Tunnel Junction) sits on BNSF’s Scenic Subdivision immediately north of Delta Yard, so freight density is high. Local observers report an average of 25–30 freight movements per 24 hours, dominated by intermodal, empty grain empties westbound, loaded grain eastbound, manifest freights, and unit coal or petroleum coke runs. Passenger traffic includes:
• 4 daily Amtrak Cascades trains linking Seattle, Vancouver BC, and Portland
• 2 daily Amtrak Empire Builder sections (one each direction toward Chicago and Seattle)
• 2 Sounder North commuter round trips on weekdays
Freights normally run with GE ET44C4 or EMD SD70ACe leaders, but older Dash-9s and GP road switchers still appear on locals. Distributed Power Units (DPUs) are common on the longest stacks, often mid-train inside the tunnel when head-end power exits, creating a memorable “locos at both ends” visual.

📸 Best Angles for Photos and What Railfans Enjoy Most

The pedestrian walkway that parallels the north portal provides a head-on angle of locomotives erupting from darkness, perfect for capturing ditch-light drama. By stepping 20 yards east, shooters can frame the entire train against Everett’s modest skyline and the distant Olympic Mountains across the sound. Late afternoon (14:00–17:00) offers warm side light on westbound freights; mornings favor eastbounds charging into the rising sun. A short climb onto the public grass berm above the portal gives a three-quarter overhead that highlights roof detail and allows a sweeping view of the double-track fan-out and signal array. Tripods are welcome but be mindful of vibration from nearby highway traffic.

🕰️ Historical or Cultural Relevance

The downtown tunnel, completed in 1900 for the Great Northern Railway, allowed James J. Hill’s route to bypass waterfront street trackage and conserve grade before attacking the Cascades via Stevens Pass. The alignment cemented Everett’s role as a regional rail hub, funneling timber, ore, and later aerospace components from the city’s Boeing plant. Though only about 2,000 ft long, the tunnel marked an early engineering solution to urban rail congestion in the Pacific Northwest and remains an operational bottleneck that dictates dispatching on both the Scenic and Bellingham Subdivisions.

🧭 What Makes This Spot Different from Others

Many Puget Sound railfan sites showcase sweeping shoreline vistas; Everett (Tunnel Junction) supplies something rarer—a convergence point where mountain, coastal, and urban lines intersect in a single frame. Nowhere else in Western Washington can you document a tunnel breakout, a major yard throat, and active passenger service within the span of a 50-mm lens. The short pedestrian distance between multiple vantage elevations lets photographers vary perspectives quickly without repositioning a vehicle, ideal for rapid-fire railfanning when trains are spaced minutes apart.

📚 Additional Resources

BNSF Railway – Scenic Subdivision Overview
Northwest Railway Museum
Amtrak Cascades Service Information"