Rock Island Plymouth Difference Of Decades

Current photos by Matt Johnston. Vintage photo courtesy of Chelan County PUD.

Current day photos were taken at Rock Island Dam, where the engine resides.

There is a small change there was more than one Plymouth during the construction season of the dam.

Vintage view:

When The Milwaukee Isn't THAT Milwaukee

My photo.

September 12, 2024

Photo from today of the inspection pit of the single stall locomotive shop at the former Larson Air Force Base outside of Moses Lake, WA. When the former government railroad to the base from Moses Lake proper was sold to the Milwaukee Road, the land adjacent to the right-of-way, including this old shop, was sold to the Milwaukee Land Co. 

This structure was torn down in 1971, at the time of the sale, and wasn't used by the Milwaukee.

1970 Terminal Ice & Cold Storage Co

Thanks to Anthony Quinn for digging this out. 

Behind it is Pronto Produce, which later became Carnation, and then Nestlé, and now Simplot. To the left of it is now National Frozen Foods.

Wheeler Road coming in from top left to mid right of the photo. The railroad tracks to the left of Wheeler are the clue to this location.

Golden Glow At Cement

My photo.

February 26, 2020

Dust in the air gave the scene this lovely golden look, as 3 SD40-2s of the Washington Eastern pull loaded grain cars east past the elevator at Cement, between Coulee City and Hartline, WA. There was no processing of this photo after the image was taken.

Keokuk Electro Metals Co

Thanks to Darrin Nelson for sharing this.

From "An Economic Survey of Douglas County" by William T Nordeen.

1959

1936 Moon Road Crossing

Courtesy of JP3.

Located between Schlomer and Connell.

See this spot today. Note the road has been straightened and now crosses at grade. From the satellite view, you can easily see the old alignment seen in the image below.

Current view of the trestle.

Old Bridge Number 68 Views

Courtesy of JP3.

Located about midway between Hartline and Hanson. 

1925 Weber Coulee Trestle

Courtesy of JP3.

Located between Bassett Junction and Ritell.

See this spot today.

1936 Raugust Area Underpass

Courtesy of JP3.

Located near the NP station of Raugust. Milwaukee line to Moses Lake running below. See this spot here today.

Othello Roundhouse Scene

Photo by Wade Stevenson.

No date.

1889 CW Construction Bids Davenport To Almira

 

1934 Ritell & Bassett Junction Track Profile

 

CBRW Near Warden

Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.

September 2020

Blair says:

"Are there any places in the United States remaining in 2020 where massed sets of SD9s and a GP9 or two regularly move 8000 ton trains for the employer? I can't think of any--the big shows of gatherings of Espee Cadillacs have been gone for probably 20 years now.

"So it's puzzling to me why railfans aren't beating a path in the plowed dirt of Central Washington to photograph the Columbia Basin Railway, which operates a network of ex-BN and Milwaukee Road lines out of Warden, with a connection of the BNSF mainline at Connell.

"Traffic has boomed on this railroad, which 20 years ago required only a few GP9s and SW1200s to move its traffic. But the traffic expansion has required more yards, new locomotive facilities, and an addition of heavier motive power--mostly rebuilt SD9's acquired from Montana Rail Link but originally built over 60 years ago for the Missabe, the EJ&E and Colorado & Southern.

"This past Monday's train was bigger than usual, coming after a weekend, but the spectacle of five SD9s and a single former Santa Fe GP7u working at least 8000 tons and 96 cars north from Connell, approaching Warden would have been spectacular in the days when first-generation EMDs were common sights--but to see and hear something like this in 2020 is simply not repeated anywhere else in the United States.

"So keep it on the down low--it'll be our little secret, right? Go see this, but don't tell your friends, and especially be evasive about that climb winding up the hill out of Connell on the grade well over one percent and including a horse shoe curve. . ."

 

BNSF EAS At Quincy

Photo courtesy of Steven J. Brown.

July 17, 2000

Southern Pacific 4449 / BNSF Employee Appreciation Special eastbound at Quincy, Washington.

Another Plant Handling Columbia Basin Crops

From "The Northwest."

September-October 1960

Jaguar Rail Holdings Purchases The Columbia Basin Railway

In one of those uncanny things where this website is on top of the news, here is a document from the Surface Transportation Board dated 7-14-25. It's over 60 pages, so here are just the first 4.

1925 Rock Island Dam Area View

Thanks to Chuck Hatler for finding this.

From the Wenatchee "World."

July 16, 1925

Photo is of the Big Eddy Fill on the new Rock Island-Trinidad Highway. A 90-foot fill was reported to enable the Great Northern Railway to remove its tracks out to the Columbia River and permit the highway to occupy the space where the tracks run. It was reported that there would be enough space for a double track and a 30-foot-wide highway.

New Station For Stratford

From the "Spokesman Review."

May 11, 1912

E-4 and 16 at Othello

Wade Stevenson photo.

July 9, 1952

1892 Coulee City View

Courtesy of the Montana Historical Society (online) Haynes Collection. 
March 1892

"Another terrific Northern Pacific scene, with Baldwin 4-4-0 No. 37 and train at Coulee City, Washington in March 1892. Snow could still be expected in that month, hence the wedge plow pilot still affixed in place. Her engineer was listed by the photographer as F. J. McClung. The photographer's rolling studio car was at the end of the train.


"NP's then-new division engine terminal made a fine background, the coaling dock at left and 6-stall stonework roundhouse at right."

WER At Hite

Courtesy of Blair Kooistra.

September 2020

Blair says:

"Morning shadows are long across the freshly-cut wheat at Washington Eastern’s “Scoot" grain shuttle pauses to add a third locomotive to get it across the undulating wheatfields of the land west of Spokane at the elevator siding of Hite."

 

Sunrise With The CW Local

Photo courtesy of Blair Kooistra. 

August 15 1981

Blair says:

"Sunrise with the CW Local. Climbing the hill into Hanson Washington, having left Almira a little before with a fresh relief crew on out of Spokane.

"No place can one feel so alive than standing with your feet in the soil amid wheat fields the wind gently blowing, the sun making its first efforts to warm the day's air. It'll be a hot one by afternoon."

2019 CBRW Connell Turn Views

Photos by Jonathan Fischer.

November 19, 2019

Just south of Warden.

 

Shano

Schlomer

Descending into Connell.

1937 Bipolar View

From the Walt Ainsworth collection.

Douglas-Waterville RR

From the Wenatchee "World."

October 23, 1909

Interest In Railway Plans

From the Wenatchee "World."

July 15, 1909

1942 Tiflis To Moses Lake Abandonment Study

Jay Lentzner Collection. Courtesy of the PNRA and Aaron Schwarz.