1930s Bluestem

Courtesy of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library.

1947 Bacon Siphon Tunnel View

Bridges Of The Adrian Cutoff

Article I wrote for "Them Dam Writers."


The Northern Pacific (NP) built the line from Cheney to Coulee City under a subsidiary, the Central Washington Railroad, completed in 1891. Plans were shelved to further the line to the west and north to the Okanogan mines, at this time.
The area traversed by the CW was prime wheat growing land, and it was found that most of the markets for that wheat were the Pacific Coast ports at Tacoma and Seattle. This meant that any shipments on the line had to be hauled back to Cheney, then to Spokane and the main yard there, before heading west to the port.
In 1902 the NP announced the potential of an extension from Coulee City to Adrian, a distance of about 20 miles, to meet the Great Northern (GN) mainline there. This was seen as a boon to wheat shipments, as shipments of wheat were charged by the mile and this would significantly reduce the mileage needed to get to the ports.
Construction to Adrian was completed by 1903, but not without some difficulties for the contractor. One note said that the rock seen along the line was some of the hardest seen by anyone, and one particular mile through Dry Coulee cost $100,000 to complete.
A fair amount of wheat was moved for a few years along this section, but the real spike in traffic came in 1909 when a further extension was built from Adrian to Connell, giving the potential of a through route, rather than a dead-end branch. This allowed the NP to keep more of the traffic headed to the ports, rather than hand it off to the GN, which was still a shorter route than the all-NP one.
During this time, there was regular passenger and mail service to Adrian, though by 1924, service was down to three days per week, and passengers were more likely to have to ride the caboose. By 1930, trains were only run as needed, and no longer regularly scheduled.
Traffic along the line spiked during the time of building Grand Coulee Dam. NP notes state that all the trestles in Dry Coulee were strengthened in 1933. Material for the dam started flowing through in 1934 and continued to 1950. Some of the trestles were even filled in, making the line much more permanent. But, operating schedules were such that the section didn’t see a further train after 1953.
The line was torn out in 1979.
Mileposts on the line were measured from Cheney to Connell. Bridges were numbered to match their milepost location. The pictures presented here show the bridges as built and views of their locations today; some of the bridges have been removed, and some were replaced by the NP with fill.
Vintage photos courtesy of the NP Telltale. The view of Bridge 114 courtesy of the Wayne Bolyard collection. The bridge with the train on it is courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation. Current views by Dan Bolyard.

 Bridge 114, just up the canal from Summer Falls.

 What's left of bridge 114, near Summer Falls.

 First train over Bridge 114, near Summer Falls, when completed in 1947.

 What is left of Bridge 114, generally looking towards Summer Falls.

 Bridge 117 in 1942.

 Bridge 117 today.

 Bridge 117.

 What's left of Bridge 117 today.

 Bridge 117.

 Bridge 117 today.

 Bridge 118.

 What Bridge 118 looks like today.

 Bridge 118.

Bridge 118 today.

 Bridge 118.1.

 Bridge 118.1 today.

 Bridge 118.1.

 Where Bridge 118.1 used to be.

 Bridge 119.

 Where Bridge 119 used to be is now a fill.

 Bridge 119.

 Where Bridge 119 used to be is now a large fill.

 Bridge 120.

 Where Bridge 120 used to be is now a large fill.

 Bridge 120.

 Where Bridge 120 used to be is now a large fill.

Bridge 120.

 Where Bridge 120 used to be is now a fill.

 Bridge 120.1.

 Sagebrush obscures the current view of the fill where Bridge 120.1 used to be.

 Bridge 120.1.

 The fill where Bridge 120.1 used to be.

 Bridge 120.2.

 Where Bridge 120.2 used to be.

 Bridge 120.2.

 The fill where Bridge 120.2 used to be.

 Bridge 120.2.

 View where Bridge 120.2 used to be.

 Bridge 126.

 Where Bridge 126 used to be.

1930s Wenatchee

Courtesy of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library.

1938 Rock Island Dam View

This view of Rock Island Dam, some 150 miles downstream from Grand Coulee Dam, shows the fish ladders located at both ends of the dam, and one in the center at the end of the island. The fish trapping and loading devices have not yet been installed. This dam, built by Stone, Webster Co. in 1932 for the Puget Sound Power and Light Co. at an estimated cost of $25 million, is a part of the plan for comprehensive development of the Columbia River drainage." The development of fisheries along the Columbia has a long and varied history. Even before the advent of the white man, some 50,000 persons made the salmon a substantial part of their daily diet, taking an estimated 18 million pounds in their annual catch. The first recorded commercial fishing operations involving export of Columbia River salmon occurred in 1829, when Captain John Dominus of the ship Owyhee salted down 58 barrels for export shipping. The first canning plant was established on the Columbia at Eagle Cliff, Washington, by the firm of Hapgood, Hume and Co., which put up 4,000 cases of salmon in 1866. By 1883 some 39 canneries were in operation." Since 1866 the river has produced almost 2 1/4 billion pounds of salmon, or a value close to a billion dollars." On Dec. 29, 1938 the U.S.B.R. awarded a contract for 8 specially constructed tank trucks to be used for hauling the trapped fish from Rock Island Dam to the Leavenworth holding ponds, to the Kenworth Motor Truck Corp. of Seattle for $59,041.12.

1915 NP AFE Hartline Water Connection

Courtesy of the NPRHA.

Powder To Fly At Coulee Dam

From the "Spokesman Review"

June 28, 1934