Sunday, March 31, 2013

New Power On The CBRW

August 26, 1999

Recently delivered SD9 in service on the Columbia Basin Railway at Wheeler, WA. This one (and the 166) formerly served on the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range. It may be hard to note that the paint was very fresh and shiny that day.



Saturday, March 30, 2013

1993 Burlington Northern Work Train Power

Caught this rebuilt GP9 at Ephrata back in October of 1993. It was notable for being the last locomotive to be rebuilt in the Hillyard shop before it closed down. It had been wrecked while on the Camas Prairie, where it had spent most of its life after having been bought by the Northern Pacific for service there. After having been rebuilt, it was considered a better locomotive than when it was new.

After the BNSF merger, it got the orange and green paint and the number 1600. It was one of the last GP9s on the system when stored, out of service, in Tacoma a few years back. Before being sold BNSF relettered it with Great Northern reporting marks.


Friday, March 29, 2013

2000 PCC Reardan

Lucky grab shots I got when traveling through Reardan in March of 2000.



Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

1940s Rock Island Dam View

This shows a siding track, no longer here, along the stretch below the dam. During construction of the dam, there was quite a bit of extra trackage around, so it is assumed the Voltage siding was extended to hold cars with construction material.


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Early Davenport View

No date.


1954 Moses Lake

This view clearly shows the Milwaukee Road track crossing the arm of the lake along the right center of the photo. Implied is the wye not far from the crossing, with one leg following the arm of the lake on the left and to the depot, and the other leg headed in a southerly direction ending near the large building with the white roof. Most of this track is still extant, except for the wye and southern leg, though you can still find a few buried rails if you know where to look.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

1889 Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Map

I posted a version of this one some time ago, but have since found the full state of Washington version.

Note the many miles of proposed tracks crisscrossing the state.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

1917 Quincy Plat

Note the depot is located next to Douglas Ave, while today that spot is an empty lot and the depot is now just to the right of the old location.


Original Quincy Depot

Date and photographer unknown.

This is the only photo I've yet come across for the 1906 built depot.

Its clearly a standard GN plan depot.

1959 Quincy Depot Drawings

Courtesy of the GN-NP Joint Archive.







1973 Harrington Depot

Photo courtesy of Norm Hochhalter.


Friday, March 15, 2013

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Bad Freight Wreck Near Soap Lake

From the Leavenworth "Echo."

May 19, 1916

Bad Freight Wreck On Great Northern

Near Soap Lake, Wednesday Morning-Track Men Blundered in Removing Rail Without Giving Warning

One of the worst freight wrecks that has occurred on the Great Northern in a long time took place west of Ephrata, near Soap Lake station, Wednesday morning about nine o'clock, when an east-bound freight train of seventy-odd cars drawn by one of the big Mallette engines went off the track and piled some fifteen cars, partly covering the engine. Cars of oil which were in the wreckage took fire and some fifteen loaded cars and the engine were destroyed. The train crew blew up several cars with dynamite to break the contact and thus saved the balance of the train.

The wreck was caused by the track repair men having removed rails and failed to put up a warning sign as the rules provide. Fortunately no one was hurt. The engine men having had time to jump.

The arrival of trains No. 1, due here at 2 a. m. and 43 due at 3:45 was delayed eleven hours. In the destruction of property and loss to the company the amount will figure up over a hundred thousand dollars. The engine, which was covered with oil and wreckage, is declared by railroad men to be a total wreck, the heat having bent and twisted the iron out of shape.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

1998 PCC

Photo I took on one of the rare times I caught the Palouse River & Coulee City operations at Coulee City. Location is at the Road J NE crossing outside of town.



Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Chopaka Rock Oven

From the "Wenatchee World."

May 25, 1989

More evidence of Great Northern crews using stone ovens while building the railroad in Eastern Washington.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

1981 Adrian

Photo courtesy Scott Anderson.



Train is sitting on the siding. Bridge over the train is on the Central Washington branch, but this section had hardly been used since the 1950s. Bridge was torn down in 1983.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Crater Rock Oven Article

From the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer."

1961

Find my original post, referencing this article here.