1912 Paha

From the "Standard Atlas of Adams County."

1912

Map of Columbia River and the Start of the Mansfield Branch

From the "1915 Standard Atlas of Douglas County."

Note the little spot called "Moses Coulee Siding." Up to the point where the branch turns up Douglas Creek was once part of the original GN mainline.

The Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern in Wenatchee?

From "He Built Seattle, A Biography of Judge Thomas Burke," by Robert Nesbit
..."The line from Spokane Falls ran almost due westward into the Big Bend country, far north of the line originally projected. After surveys and a proper interval, the promoters announced the abandonment of the Snoqualmie Pass route in favor of a mountain crossing further north over Cady Pass. This route would use the line of the Wenatchee River on the east side, crossing the Columbia near the Wenatchee's mouth. This move relieved them of the necessity of paralleling the Northern Pacific's Cascade division which now was in use down the Yakima River. But it was announced that the original line would be pushed as far as the summit of Snoqualmie Pass to reach the iron mines there, in order to serve the Kirkland works.

"Before the announcement of the new route, a syndicate of Seattle men including Burke, Gilman, and Haller quietly bought up the site of the present city of Wenatchee where the expected Columbia River crossing was to be. The Columbia was navigable for some miles above this point, and a mining boom in the Okanogan country promised to make this an important connection. Although the SLS&E did not survive to reach this crossing, this stroke of business was not lost; the site became the crossing and division point on the Great Northern after the Hill road was cut in for a one quarter interest in the townsite.

"Wenatchee was the most ambitious townsite plan for which Burke and others connected with the promotion got up syndicates. The judge also had in interest in such a site a few miles west of Spokane, which they christened Logan to honor the general. The site of Logan was not a success; Burke had it rented as a wheat field for many years after."

1912 Lind

From the "Standard Atlas of Adams County."

1912

1889 Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern Map

1912 Batum

From the "Standard Atlas of Adams County."

1912

Dam Large Load at Odair

From the "News & Standard," Coulee City, WA

August, 9, 1973

Unloaded last week at Odair by Weilhelm Trucking, Portland---One section of main generator shaft---The largest shaft ever built, this section is 18 feet long, weighs 240,000 pounds, has an inside measurement of 8 feet and inside walls 8 inches thick. It bolts together with two other sections, using 26 bolts weighing 500 lbs each and 26 nuts weighing 150 lbs each. An ingenious method had been adopted for tightening the nuts. Each bolt and nut is preheated before being placed in position, the nut is then threaded and turned a pre-determined  number of turns. The bolt is then allowed to cool drawing up the nut so tight that the only way it can ever be loosened is to reverse the preheating process.

The hollow shaft is built of special steel which allows the shaft to flex. According to Mr. Reekie, West Coast General Manager of Westinghouse Electric Corp., the water wheel attaches to the bottom of the generator shaft and when the water from the 40 ft water tubes hits the wheel there is so much force that the lower  end of the shaft twists and begins turning before the top end starts. The flexible feature then allows the top to catch up with the bottom in revolutions.

Burlington Northern Inc. handled the shipment from Portland and from Cheney to Odair, speed was limited to 15 mph because of the weight. The special 16 wheel deep well flat car with the shaft weighed 447,000 lbs. Shown in the picture is Skip Connor, BN Agent and John Reekie, Westinghouse Electric West Coast Manager.