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!
It still puzzles me at why, after all the expenditure and effort that was put in to this that it was never completed. Even with the downfall of business, it seems prudent to shorten the route by 100 miles. I can't help but think it was the Columbia river crossing and subsequent heavy helper district between there and Ellensburg that killed it. Even to have used the Milwaukee up and over would have been expensive to supply steam vs electrics through that district.
If this had in fact been built, BN woulda' definitely kept Milw's former Snoqualmie Pass line open, then a straight shot to Spokane. The redo on Stampede Pass in '95 woulda' been axed for sure.
Would have been interesting to see if BN used the ex-Milw bridge, or what the NP would have built.
5 comments:
It still puzzles me at why, after all the expenditure and effort that was put in to this that it was never completed. Even with the downfall of business, it seems prudent to shorten the route by 100 miles. I can't help but think it was the Columbia river crossing and subsequent heavy helper district between there and Ellensburg that killed it. Even to have used the Milwaukee up and over would have been expensive to supply steam vs electrics through that district.
Perhaps the Staggers act would have been the key to completing it, had the NP made it that far.
If this had in fact been built, BN woulda' definitely kept Milw's former Snoqualmie Pass line open, then a straight shot to Spokane. The redo on Stampede Pass in '95 woulda' been axed for sure.
Would have been interesting to see if BN used the ex-Milw bridge, or what the NP would have built.
One more for the what if category.
For sure!
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