Basin Folk Speak For Rail Service

From the "Spokane Chronicle."

June 10, 1966

Laying Rail In The Grand Coulee

Photograph courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Ryan Construction Company was the winning bidder for the construction of the railroad line in 1934. They had a small crew of men out in the coulee laying rail with a crane. Note that the ties are untreated, probably to reduce cost knowing that they would not need to be in place for 30 years.

Sugar Company Officers To Leave For Dedication

From the "Deseret News."

October 20, 1953

Dam Inspection Trip

Upper photograph by the Bureau of Reclamation; courtesy of the Grant County Historical Museum. Lower courtesy of the Hu Blonk Papers, EWU Archives, Image Number 5-36-1-B1

The two most important visitors on the train crossing Grand Coulee Dam on October 25, 1938, are Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes and the Commissioner of Reclamation John Page along with Construction Supervisor Frank Banks.  That’s Ickes below the locomotive number, and Banks to his left.  Ickes’ trip to Grand Coulee was part of a much larger trip that Ickes took with his wife Jane starting on October 16, 1938.  This trip was, in part, a chance for Ickes to inspect a number of Bureau of Reclamation projects that were underway throughout the West along with Page, who was responsible for getting the projects implemented.

Power For Dam Trails Rail Line

From the "Spokane Chronicle."

August 30, 1934

Coulee City Depot Location

Coulee City Standard Oil Spur

Must have been a fairly interesting place to spot a car, being so close to the end of track.

I'm not sure when the dealer closed, but it was in the early 1980s.

One building survives there today, along with a cell tower and a house built on the edge of the property.

See a satellite image here.

17 Boxcars Of Freight Off Tracks

From the "Spokane Chronicle."

August 5, 1972

1954 Ephrata Aerial View