This site features daily historical railroad posts from the Big Bend/Columbia Plateau region of Washington state. As a personal site, this is my online filing cabinet of interesting things I've come across about railroading in the area. Thanks for stopping by!
Shoutout to Kirtus Dolorina for stopping by to borrow other people's work!
Monday, January 26, 2026
The War That Never Was; The Coulee City Railroad War
Hey, speaking of rail spurs leading nowhere in Coulee City, I was poking around in Coulee City yesterday and I saw all those refrigerator cars at O'dair. I was wondering if you knew what they were doing with them? And also, is the track they're on the remains of the track to Grand Coulee?
Those cars are in storage. The owner has them parked there, and other places. Such a deal generally nets the railroad a dollar per car per day. Those indeed are on the remaining spur to Grand Coulee. The crane building is out there on the end of the spur, though the crane has been removed.
Thanks! I had never driven up that far before in all the countless trips thru Coulee City. I usually just take a left off of J Street and head out of town but I was curious to see if there was still signs of the grade coming in from Adco. I see there's a wye track there, assuming that was the intersection coming from Adco?
Yes, but... It did go to Adco, but traffic never went that way beyond 1950. Just a bit up the hill, further east, is the original alignment of the main that skirted Odair and the wye. Some locals have been working on it of late. It was the through route to Adco, but was abandoned in 1953, not long after traffic south stopped in 1950.
5 comments:
Hey, speaking of rail spurs leading nowhere in Coulee City, I was poking around in Coulee City yesterday and I saw all those refrigerator cars at O'dair. I was wondering if you knew what they were doing with them? And also, is the track they're on the remains of the track to Grand Coulee?
You were near my world headquarters!
Those cars are in storage. The owner has them parked there, and other places. Such a deal generally nets the railroad a dollar per car per day. Those indeed are on the remaining spur to Grand Coulee. The crane building is out there on the end of the spur, though the crane has been removed.
Thanks! I had never driven up that far before in all the countless trips thru Coulee City. I usually just take a left off of J Street and head out of town but I was curious to see if there was still signs of the grade coming in from Adco. I see there's a wye track there, assuming that was the intersection coming from Adco?
Yes, but...
It did go to Adco, but traffic never went that way beyond 1950. Just a bit up the hill, further east, is the original alignment of the main that skirted Odair and the wye. Some locals have been working on it of late. It was the through route to Adco, but was abandoned in 1953, not long after traffic south stopped in 1950.
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