Othello Depot View

Courtesy of Dave Morgan. L.C. Bellows photo.

No date.

Burlington Northern Plans To Abandon Line

From the "Quad City Herald."

Courtesy of Darrin Nelson.

January 21, 1982

BN Mansfield Turn Near McCue

Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.

Blair says:

"A pair of former Northern Pacific GP9's sand their way up the 2% grade through Slack Canyon, emerging from a tunnel above Douglas Creek on the ex-Great Northern branch to Mansfield, Washington, on August 1, 1983, a string of otherwise-obsolete 40-foot boxcars trailing bound for grain loading on the Columbia plateau above."

Ballot Issue To Determine Fate Of Mansfield Spur Line

From the "Quad City Herald."

Courtesy of Darrin Nelson.

October 27, 1983

1918 NP AFE Almira Standard Oil Spur

Courtesy of the NPRHA.

Eastside Port Will Form Mansfield Rail Committee

From the Wenatchee "World."

Courtesy of Darrin Nelson.

January 22, 1982

Milwaukee Service To Richland?

Courtesy of the Cascade Rail Foundation and Paul Krueger.

1986 Mon Road 557

Photo by Keith Ardinger.

October 1986 process date.

Waterville Short Line Tracks Being Torn Out

From the Wenatchee "World."

Courtesy of Darrin Nelson.

November 5, 1954

Milwaukee Power At Othello

Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.

Blair says:

"Just as their Box Cab predecessors did just a decade before, a pair of SD40-2s idle at the roundhouse on the Milwaukee Road at Othello, Washington, in August 1978.

The railroad, in later years especially, was always tight on power, so most eastbound trains into Othello would cut locomotives for the lighter grades of "The Gap" across Eastern Washington, adding more power either at Saint Maries, Idaho, for the climb across the Bitterroot Mountains or cutting in helpers at Avery. Westbound trains would add those locomotives for the Transcontinental's toughest grade across the Saddle Mountains, just to the west of Othello.

These two locomotive were likely left by that afternoon's train #200, and will go back west to Tacoma on #201."

BN Malaga Area View

Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.

Blair says:

"TEENAGE-ADVENTURE: A couple days after meeting the memorable Michael "Mad Dog" Sawyer at UP Junction in Tacoma, the two of us made the first of many rail photo trips together, over to Wenatchee in July 1978. We were just out of high school. Here's train #74 eastbound east of Malaga with an old GE U33C up front. But the REAL adventure came later. . ."

 

2015 CBRW At Frischknecht

Photo by Jonathan Fischer.

February 13, 2015.

Jonathan says:

" Columbia Basin Railroad 2294 crosses Buehler Road near Frischknecht, Washington with a northbound freight for Warden on the afternoon of February 13, 2015. Moving dead in tow is CBRY 652, formerly of the MRL. It was delivered to CBRY by BNSF at Connell earlier in the afternoon."

 

1994 BN Power At Wenatchee

Photo by Keith Ardinger.

September 4, 1994

 

1922 CW Branch Tie Plate Installation

Courtesy of the NPRHA.

Rail Contract Calls For Line Close To Dam

From the "Spokane Chronicle."

April 30, 1934

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Rail Question Issue At Dam

From the "Spokane Chronicle."

March 20, 1934

Vintage 1948 GN Views

Courtesy of Pete Kruml.

Between Malaga and the bridge at Rock Island.

Looking railroad east at the Wenatchee depot.

Train stopped at the Wenatchee depot.

Nature Helped On Coulee Dam

From the "Spokesman Review."

August 2, 1933

GN Removes Tank At Ephrata Depot

From the Spokane Chronicle.

November 24, 1952

Ephrata Depot Closure Mulled

From the Spokane "Chronicle."

September 17, 1973

Railroad Fails To Move Grain

From the "Spokesman Review."

November 20, 1943

milw

Couldn't Stop: Train Wrecked

From the Spokane "Chronicle."

September 27, 1922

First Vehicle On Overpass

From the "Spokesman-Review." 

June 6, 1959

 

Pilot Detects Train Fire

From the "Spokesman Review."

September 21, 1959

Larson Tells About Spokane's Prosperity

From the Spokane "Chronicle."

May 19, 1899

1899 Railway News

From the "Adams County News."

November 15, 1899

Four Rail Men To Lose Jobs In Ephrata

From the "Spokesman Review."

May 5, 1971

Wenatchee Apple Shipments Heavy

From the Spokane "Chronicle."

December 5, 1924

Addition Readied For Grain Storage

From the "Spokesman Review."

March 29, 1960

Depot Shut

From the Spokane "Chronicle."

December 7, 1973

Student March Bid Denied

From the "Spokesman Review."

March 26, 1971

Concrete Is Poured For Overhead Pass

From the "Spokane Chronicle."

October 10, 1934

1922 NP AFE Schaefer ROW Fence

Courtesy of the NPRHA.

Ferrovian Hephaestus-Aka Railroad Jedi

Courtesy of Frederick Manfred Simon.

December 1, 2017

Being a shortline railroader means that one must be a master of many trades. What was it Yoda once said so succinctly and poignantly? “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Here, my colleague Jeff Wall, like a Jedi Knight doing battle with a Sith switch stand cuts a truculent switch lock as scintillating sparks slice through the scene like so many lasers. In no time there’ll be a new lock installed, and order will be restored in the Eastern Washington Gateway galaxy – for the moment.

 

"Almira Anthology"

Guest post by Frederick Manfred Simon.

January 4, 2018 and July 14. 2017

A collection of images I’ve made over the last year in Almira: specifically of the Almira Farmer’s Warehouse Blacksmithery filled with wondrous ferrous homo sapiens artifacts has given rise to my first photographic anthology. Except for the weathered, just wide enough for a horse-drawn freight wagon doors, it’s contemporary aluminum-sheathed anterior is still colorfully adorned in Christmas spirit where “Glenn” toils during the day. A good-natured deadpan wheat farmer and metallurgical Hephaestus. ¶ It’s been on my cerebral bucket list for a while now: I just didn’t know how the “shot” would go down. Always wondering if I’d manage to get the image I’d envisioned. Until tonight. ¶ We’d worked through the darkness and our service time was dwindling when it was decided to tie our train down east of the east crossing in Almira adjacent the CWGG crib elevators where the platform used to load 40’ grain-service boxcars remains. Near where the once prominent two-story depot and water tower stood and, until very recently, some of the oldest rail on the line – 1889 56# – had been replaced. It’s an unusual location to tie down, I might add. Making this scene a rare capture. ¶ I hadn’t yet thought that this was the perfect opportunity to bag that yet un-had image. But as soon as we rounded the corner of 2nd and Main to head home, where abandoned anachronistic brick buildings with unique facades still stand tall though noticeably crumbling under the increasing weight of years and lack of gentrification, I said: “That’s it!” and turned back. With the townfolk undisturbed by our presence peaceably resting in the smallest hours of the 4th day of the year and regardless of the ugly three hours into the day temperature, I quickly set up, framed and voila! The result was much better than I had envisioned. Not to mention: Who would have ever thought there'd be a Johnny Reb tunnel motor from the land of cotton working on the “CW” in the wheat belt of the Union?