For a current peek of Downs, here is a Google maps link.
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!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Handling Bulk Cement
From " The Reclamation Era."
June 1936
Cement for the present contract, which included 4 1/2 million cubic yards of concrete, is obtained from five cement mills located within the State of Washington, is brought in in bulk, and stored in eight 5,000-barrel steel silos along the tracks of the US Construction Railroad which connects with the Northern Pacific Railway line at Odair, near Coulee City. In addition to the eight storage silos are two 5,000-barrel silos for storing the blended product from the several mills. Unloading from box cars is accomplished by four Fuller-Kinyon pumps. Transportation to the mixing plants is through an 11-inch steel pipe supplied by Fluxo cement pumps with a capacity of 1,000 barrels per hour. The pipe line running to the west side mixing plant is 2,000 feet in length while the line to the east side is 6,000 feet long. Approximately 6,000 barrels of bulk cement is unloaded daily under the present operation of the one mixing plant.
June 1936
Cement for the present contract, which included 4 1/2 million cubic yards of concrete, is obtained from five cement mills located within the State of Washington, is brought in in bulk, and stored in eight 5,000-barrel steel silos along the tracks of the US Construction Railroad which connects with the Northern Pacific Railway line at Odair, near Coulee City. In addition to the eight storage silos are two 5,000-barrel silos for storing the blended product from the several mills. Unloading from box cars is accomplished by four Fuller-Kinyon pumps. Transportation to the mixing plants is through an 11-inch steel pipe supplied by Fluxo cement pumps with a capacity of 1,000 barrels per hour. The pipe line running to the west side mixing plant is 2,000 feet in length while the line to the east side is 6,000 feet long. Approximately 6,000 barrels of bulk cement is unloaded daily under the present operation of the one mixing plant.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
The Rails Reach Out
From "The Reclamation Era."
September 1935
Governor Clarence D. Martin, of the State of Washington, held the throttle, July 29, when the age-long silence of the Grand Coulee of the Columbia was broken for the first time by the whistle of a locomotive and the first train on the new Government railroad traveled down the desert wastes of the great Canyon.
The occasion was the formal opening of the line which will transport most of the material to be used in building the Grand Coulee Dam. It was necessary to build the railroad, for the site of the big Federal project, 92 miles west of Spokane, Wash., was some 30 miles from the rails and it would be impossible by any other means, to move much of the heavy materials necessary for the dam construction down into the deep gorge of the Columbia. Even in the West, this descent, where is seems as if the world suddenly drops away, is breath-taking.
Representatives from many parts of the Northwest rode in the train behind Governor Martin and were guests of the M.W.A.K. contractors for the Grand Coulee Dam, at dinner at Mason City, the world's first all-electric town.
September 1935
Governor Clarence D. Martin, of the State of Washington, held the throttle, July 29, when the age-long silence of the Grand Coulee of the Columbia was broken for the first time by the whistle of a locomotive and the first train on the new Government railroad traveled down the desert wastes of the great Canyon.
The occasion was the formal opening of the line which will transport most of the material to be used in building the Grand Coulee Dam. It was necessary to build the railroad, for the site of the big Federal project, 92 miles west of Spokane, Wash., was some 30 miles from the rails and it would be impossible by any other means, to move much of the heavy materials necessary for the dam construction down into the deep gorge of the Columbia. Even in the West, this descent, where is seems as if the world suddenly drops away, is breath-taking.
Representatives from many parts of the Northwest rode in the train behind Governor Martin and were guests of the M.W.A.K. contractors for the Grand Coulee Dam, at dinner at Mason City, the world's first all-electric town.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Light Story From the Post-War Era
From “Reclamation Era.”
December 1948
Six of One . . .
About 40 years ago a homesteader on the present Columbia Basin project of Central Washington, where rainfall averages 6 inches per year, was sitting on the shady side of his homestead shack one hot June afternoon when an old car stopped in front of his desert home. The driver needed water for the radiator and inquired if the homesteader could furnish the necessary aqua pura. The forlorn dry farmer led the tourist to a barrel, took off the lid and said, "Help yourself."
"Where do you get this water?" the tourist inquired.
"From the railroad siding 5 miles away," replied the settler.
"Why don't you dig a well?" asked the tourist.
"Oh, it's the same distance and harder work," explained the farmer.
December 1948
Six of One . . .
About 40 years ago a homesteader on the present Columbia Basin project of Central Washington, where rainfall averages 6 inches per year, was sitting on the shady side of his homestead shack one hot June afternoon when an old car stopped in front of his desert home. The driver needed water for the radiator and inquired if the homesteader could furnish the necessary aqua pura. The forlorn dry farmer led the tourist to a barrel, took off the lid and said, "Help yourself."
"Where do you get this water?" the tourist inquired.
"From the railroad siding 5 miles away," replied the settler.
"Why don't you dig a well?" asked the tourist.
"Oh, it's the same distance and harder work," explained the farmer.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Coulee City Spur For Sale
From the "Grant County Journal." Ephrata, WA
April 4, 1996
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. said it will sell 227 miles of track in Eastern Washington and northern Idaho for potential short line operators.
The properties being sold include the 108 mile Coulee City branch from Cheney to Coulee City, a 47-mile line from Palouse to Bovill, Idaho, and a 122-mile branch from Marshall to Arrow, Idaho.
The segments being sold include a Moscow-to-Arrow, Idaho, branch that was abandoned in 1984 and a line from Harvard, Idaho to Bovill, Idaho, that is currently restricted.
The company is soliciting bids for the lines, track, right-of-way and other structures, but will retain mineral, water and other rights, spokesman Doug Babb said Monday from company headquarters at Fort Worth, Texas.
"The local focus of a short line allows it to remain in very close contact with shippers, which often translates into service better tailored to customers' specific needs," Babb said.
Also, reduced costs of short lines can lead to reduced costs for shippers and improved chances for survival of marginal lines, he said.
The railroad hopes to find buyers who will keep the short lines alive for the region's shippers, Babb said.
There will also be reciprocal switching agreements between the short haul lines and Burlington Northern, he said.
The company hopes to complete the sales by July, 31, Babb said.
April 4, 1996
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. said it will sell 227 miles of track in Eastern Washington and northern Idaho for potential short line operators.
The properties being sold include the 108 mile Coulee City branch from Cheney to Coulee City, a 47-mile line from Palouse to Bovill, Idaho, and a 122-mile branch from Marshall to Arrow, Idaho.
The segments being sold include a Moscow-to-Arrow, Idaho, branch that was abandoned in 1984 and a line from Harvard, Idaho to Bovill, Idaho, that is currently restricted.
The company is soliciting bids for the lines, track, right-of-way and other structures, but will retain mineral, water and other rights, spokesman Doug Babb said Monday from company headquarters at Fort Worth, Texas.
"The local focus of a short line allows it to remain in very close contact with shippers, which often translates into service better tailored to customers' specific needs," Babb said.
Also, reduced costs of short lines can lead to reduced costs for shippers and improved chances for survival of marginal lines, he said.
The railroad hopes to find buyers who will keep the short lines alive for the region's shippers, Babb said.
There will also be reciprocal switching agreements between the short haul lines and Burlington Northern, he said.
The company hopes to complete the sales by July, 31, Babb said.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Burlington Northern's CW Branch
From "Northwest Railfan."
October 1991
Eastern Washington's CW Branch (Cheney-Coulee City 108 miles) is seeing more frequent operation recently due to the seasonal grain rush. BN's CW Local is an up-one-day-back-the-next job usually powered by 4-6 GPs/B30-7ABs. The branch is currently full of slow orders with new ties and surfacing required in many areas to get track speed up to 15-20 MPH. BN recently re-aligned and moved a switch at Reardon, WA following a late August derailment.
October 1991
Eastern Washington's CW Branch (Cheney-Coulee City 108 miles) is seeing more frequent operation recently due to the seasonal grain rush. BN's CW Local is an up-one-day-back-the-next job usually powered by 4-6 GPs/B30-7ABs. The branch is currently full of slow orders with new ties and surfacing required in many areas to get track speed up to 15-20 MPH. BN recently re-aligned and moved a switch at Reardon, WA following a late August derailment.
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