Meet At Adrian

My photo. 

June 29, 2026

A westbound Z train is doing track speed at Adrian, WA, while passing an empty oil train holding the siding. 

My photo location is part of the filled in Northern Pacific trestle which leapt over the GN main and Crab Creek here. This structure was removed in 1983. There was an actual interchange track here, starting at a point along the oil train marked by the water tank in the distance. There was another bridge over Crab Creek there, and a ramp going up to the NP at a point called Adco. Adco was a conjunction of the names “Adrian” and “Connell.” The line to here had been built between those points in 1910, connecting with the 1903 build NP branch down from Coulee City. 

At one time, this junction had been envisioned to allow the large quantities of wheat coming off the NP, which wanted to go to tidewater at Seattle, from having to be hauled all the way back to Spokane, and then to Seattle. This would save about 200 miles. 

During the mid 1930s, this interchange boomed with carloads of construction material for the abuilding Grand Coulee Dam. While much was handed over to the NP at Spokane, the cement plant along the GN at Grotto, on the west side of Stevens Pass, added it’s share to the other 5 places enlisted to provide product.

In the early days of the newly merged Burlington Northern, there had been a plan floated to build a unit train loader in this area. Unfortunately, the boom of Wyoming coal took the bulk of BN’s money and time, so this project never came to fruition. 

The interchange had a longer life than expected. While the line through to Coulee City was largely unused after 1950, the interchange and line south boomed due to the sugar beet processor built outside of Moses Lake. Nearby Quincy and Winchester, along the GN, became huge beet growing regions. Beets from there were shipped by rail along the GN to Adrian, where they were handed off to the NP for furtherance south to the plant. This continued until the plant was closed in 1979. 

Both bridges were removed in 1983 after BN got permission to abandon the line south.