Friday, April 19, 2013

2009 Othello Area Trip With Fred Hyde

Fred Hyde, author of the 1990 book "The Milwaukee Road," announced he was coming out west to see what was left of the Milwaukee 29 years after the last train left the state. I contacted him with the intent to see what was left for myself and rub elbows with the author of my favorite book.

I caught up with him on June 25, 2009. We looked briefly at Othello before heading west along the right-of-way, making it as far as Royal Jct, where the branch to Royal City left the mainline.

Crossbuck seen in Othello.




These boxcars never left the state on the last train and are used by a local for storage.





Sentinels waiting for the next train.







Many date nails were found, all with 1930s dates.









Interior views of the substation at Taunton under private ownership.





Basement views.


Looking west.

Mr. Hyde and son Chris.


View from the signal at West Taunton.



Foundation of a bungalow.

Another bungalow foundation view.


Mr. Hyde brought along some HO scale SD40-2s for a shot with an authentic background.
Big fill just west of Taunton.








Broken rail from a derailment.



Views at Royal City Jct.







7 comments:

The Industrial Lead said...

Very cool photos. Thanks for posting.

Greg

Rod said...

Fred's book is an absolute gem. My favorite railroad book.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting these, Dan! makes me wanna get back out there again (tho' we need to find a better place to eat in Othello than we chose at the time!!!). Chris wants to come, too.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting these, Dan! makes me wanna get back out there again (tho' we need to find a better place to eat in Othello than we chose at the time!!!). Chris wants to come, too.

Unknown said...

Dan or Fred I'd like to get a hold of you as I have pictures of the substation in operation my grand dad ran it and I have pictures of the derailment thanks

Unknown said...

Where are those boxcars and crossbuck located?

SDP45 said...

Somewhere in Othello, as I recall we drove around a bit that day.

Dan