A bad night on the Northern Pacific Railway

[BoxcabE50]

Copied on December 30, 1943. During third trick of the preceeding night, a tired operator had stoked up a depot coal stove. Too much. And the resulting chimney fire burned down NP's original Kanaskat depot. Oops! This order cautions train crews that firefighters, debris, and other employees may be in their way.

http://www.railimages.com/albums/kensecrest/acv.jpg

graemlins/shakehead.gif

Boxcab E50

[Stourbridge Lion]

:( :( :( :( :(

[ak-milw]

Wow, short and to the point!!
graemlins/220.gif

[Kurt Moose]

Wasn't that the 3rd one? The first was burned down, the second I think was hit with a railcar? I know for a fact, there is one still standing to this day on the old grade, and one was a boxcar they had to use as a temp! Then the brick one which was finally torn down in '95, and now a BNSF "metal shack" is there now.

[BoxcabE50]

AFAIK- That was the first depot. It was replaced by the temporary box car. Which is where noted NW author Ruth Eckes (nee-Trueblood), first began her NP telegraphy career. Right after the fire.

Then came the one now standing derelict. And then when the line was relocated in 1959, came it's twin that was demolished in the 1990's.

Ruth or Dave Sprau can probably give all the details of depots at Kanaskat.

Did you see my other topic on the first FT set out west?

:D

Boxcab E50

[Kurt Moose]

I always get that mixed up-that's alot of depot's! I live about 5 minute's away from up there and I go up whenever I can escape! I never saw your FT post. Nice?

[Kurt Moose]

Oh, never mind. Just saw it. redface.gif

[Caddy58]

Boxcab,

very clear and to the point :)

Is there a similar order for westbounds?

Cheers
Dirk

P.S. I love those old Form 19s. It really gives some sense of real life and history!!

[BoxcabE50]

Dirk-

Yes. There was a similar order for westbounds. Jim Frederickson has one copied at Eagle Gorge, for this same event.

I also enjoy these. Hence my collecting them. Always looking for more, from stations not already in my collection!

I can upload many more, if interested. Or from a specific place, if I have it.

:D

Boxcab E50

[Kurt Moose]

How's 'bout one from my town of Covington, WA? ;)

[BoxcabE50]

I'd love to find one from Covington! But have never heard that any survive. :(

I have Auburn, Auburn Yard, Ravensdale, Kanaskat (both sites), Eagle Gorge, Lester, Stampede, Martin, Easton, Cle Elum, Thorp, E-Burg,....

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Boxcab E50

[Kurt Moose]

Out of all my books that I've looked thru, no pics of the Covington depot. Was there ever one there? graemlins/headscratch.gif

[BoxcabE50]

Kurt-

In the old train order and telegraph days, more sidings than not, had a depot. Amongst them, indeed Covington had a depot.

Am trying to remember where else there was one out there. Believe Maywood. There was even a telegraph/operator at the depot in East Auburn.

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Boxcab E50

[Kurt Moose]

Ya, you can still see the platform and the foundation of the station!

[BoxcabE50]

I don't remember when East Auburn was knocked down. It was there into the 1980's. Possibly after the Pass was placed into out of service status.

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Boxcab E50

[Caddy58]

Wow, that is quite a selection of places you have :eek:

I would be interested in Lester, specifically anything that governed the movement of steam helpers. I know that NP used two Z3 as pushers (one in front and one behind the caboose) between Easton and Lester.

But where did they drop them? Obviosuly every move was according to an order, so how did they look like?

I would assume that the last pusher was dropped "on the fly" either in Martin or Stampede and returned back empty. Was the second pusher dropped in Easton / Lester and returened with the next train?

In this case the NP would need at least 3 pushers: One shuttles forth and back accross the pass between Lester and Easton, one works the west side, one the east side. The latter two would never go through the tunnel?

Help, I think I am confused... graemlins/220.gif

Cheers
Dirk

[BoxcabE50]

I'll look,a nd see what I have from Lester. Used to have quite a few. But not many now. Maybe I'll scan up a couple.

:D

Boxcab E50

[BoxcabE50]

Found several. But since we were talking about articulated steam, only one so far that mentions any. The 4012. Copied at Lester, Washington on March 5, 1944.

http://www.railimages.com/albums/kensecrest/aeu.jpg

:D

Boxcab E50

[Caddy58]

I have some troubles reading it. So I think it says:

"Extra 4012 East meet Extra 1671 West at Kanaskat instead of Palmer Junction. Extra 4012 gets this order at Kanaskat".

Correct?

It looks like 1671 (Mike W1) fast faster down the hill than originally anticipated, so it received clearance to proceed to Kanaskat.
I am sure the crew of 1671 hoped that 4012 would indeed receive its order to wait at Kanaskat: If not there would have been a nasty surprise coming at them on the Green River Bridge....

If you are interested to see a Map of the area here is a link:

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=47.32056&lon=-121.8925

I use Topozone quite a lot to get a quick view on the area I model.

Boxcab, thanks for scanning the order: It makes me want to try introducing train orders to my (infrequent) ops-sessions.

Cheers
Dirk

[BoxcabE50]

Dirk-

Yes. That's what the body of that order reads. Possibly the 4012 wasn't making enough time up the hill, or 1671 was making good time down hill. So they wanted to advance the 1671.

But they'd not have (oops!) met at the Green River bridge we know today. It didn't exist until 1959. Built because of the line relocation due to Howard Hanson Dam.

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Boxcab E50

[Kurt Moose]

It is so,so cool to read those! :cool: It's like living a piece in time! :D

[BoxcabE50]

Originally posted by Kurt Moose:
It is so,so cool to read those! :cool: It's like living a piece in time! :D This describes exactly why I collect them! I love the old depots. Memories. And each one of these I can get, is a slice of a "day in the life" from a place long gone. A way of life too many railfans have sadly overlooked.

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Boxcab E50

[Kurt Moose]

Over the summer, I would go up to Palmer Jct. and watch a train or two and then go over to the abandoned station that's still standing and just daydream. :D The old roadbed is still there, looking both ways, east and west, and you can just pictures the steamers coming into town and the "NCL" and the others stopping for a brief moment, then head off over the pass! Those were the days! graemlins/shakehead.gif It's still exciting hearing the rumble of a freight coming up to the Green River Gorge bridge during a nice sunset, whistling and all, and then goin' up. But it sure would be nice to hear a steamer too!! graemlins/222.gif I've been up there when the 4449 came west a few years ago, but it was just coasting. :rolleyes:

[BoxcabE50]

Kurt-

One of my favorite places, was where Highway 169 crossed the tracks. At Henry's Spur. Actually used to know someone down the hill from there, who was near Covington. And the tracks were close enough to their house, you could see movement through the trees. THUNDER!!!

On the Milw, waiting at Cedar Falls was much the same. Thunder echoing through the hills.

graemlins/wow.gif Memories!

:D

Boxcab E50

[Caddy58]

Boxcab,

thanks for the info! Is the original track location far away?

I once read that there was a line relocation but was unable to get more detail and to identify old and new on a map.

Cheers
Dirk

[BoxcabE50]

Dirk-

The line relocation was completed in 1959. The "new" tracks are just up the hill from the old. Maybe 1/4 mile? When the leaves are down, you could see where the new depot stood, from the old one. The radio antenna pole marked it well.

:D

Boxcab E50

[Telegrapher]

I still have that trainorder Boxcab sent me when I worked at Gerber, Ca. as a telegrapher clerk

[BoxcabE50]

Hi Dick-

Hope you've enjoyed that train order!

:D

Boxcab E50