From the yard at Tacoma Junction/Fife (MP 0.0) on the UP Seattle sub., on the west end of the UP Fife Yard, where the former Milwaukee Road/Oregon-Washington Railroad & Naviation line is headed west-northwest, the connection to the BNSF Seattle sub. at Reservation departs on the south side of the line, which then splits into one (UP) segment heading north to River Street, and one (Tacoma Rail) segment heading west, bridging over the Puyallup River and then over the BNSF Seattle sub., single track, Yard Limits, maximum speed 10 mph, past the junction with the southwest quadrant connector from the Seattle sub. at BNSF Junction (MP 1.3), the 800 ft. siding and extra track on the north side at Coach Yard (MP 1.5), site of the erstwhile Milwaukee Road coach yard and Tacoma Station, now used as the yard by Sounder, a bridge over a street, the Freighthouse Square Sunder station (platform and wooden depot in the former freight house to the north), where there is a north-facing stub-end platform track, a grade crossing with D Street, and the erstwhile junction with the original NP line to Centralia, at Tacoma D Street (MP 2.0).
The former Milwaukee Road line passes a grade crossing and makes a sharp turn to the south, beneath dual road bridges overhead, becoming quite curvy, past dual road bridges overhead, a concrete-walled cutting, a tree-lined cutting, two road bridges overhead, two grade crossings amid housing, extra track to the east to an industry, a grade crossing, the 3,658 ft. east side siding at East Shanty/Hillsdale (MP 5.3), where the maximum speed has risen to 20 mph, and the 4,078 ft. siding at West Shanty (MP 6.0), an angled grade crossing, two grade crossings, a south-facing spur to the east, three grade crossings, a bridge over an Interstate highway, a bridge over a street, and a grade crossing, and angling just east of due south, still curvy, past Midland, a bridge over a stream, a dirt track grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, a bridge over an angled road, the top of Tacoma Gulch the 4,800 ft. siding at East Allison (MP 9.0), a grade crossings, and the 1,500 ft. siding at West Allison (MP 10.0), a former road bridge over head (being demolished), and a grade crossing, to the wye junction with the Morton Branch, and yard, at Fredrickson (MP 13.0), where there is a 10 mph speed restriction, the Chehalis Branch turns southwest, and the Morton Branch continues just east of due south.