Skykomish, WA. is getting moved?!?

[Kurt Moose]

BNSF is going to clear up the town by removing all the contaminated soil under the town from the last 75 years or so of re-fueling steam and deisel engines in the old yard. This means every building, house, outhouse, and even the depot are to be moved!! The old Skykomish Hotel may even get new plumbing so it can be brought up to code and livable in again!:cool:

[BoxcabE50]

This would interesting to see photo documented! How will they do cleanup under the tracks?

Anyone have a track plan for the vicinity during the mid-1950's?

:D

Boxcab E50

[GNFA310]

I asked the GNRHS guys about this story .. apparently this is a bit of "old" news but still here's what I found posted by John Hill on gngoat@yahoo.com:

Saw this story in Trainsmag.com

TRAINS News Wire for March 8, 2006
Wednesday's railroad news:
- BNSF to temporarily move much of Washington town

SKYKOMISH, Wash. - A three-year environmental project will require
the temporary removal of about 60 percent of the homes and buildings
that make up the tiny town of Skykomish, according to a story in the
Seattle Times. State environmental officials and the BNSF Railway
will conduct an expansive cleanup project, removing decades of oil
contamination now buried about 15 feet below the surface. Skykomish
is 60 miles east of Seattle in the Cascade Mountain range.

For nearly 50 years since the early 1900s, steam and electric
locomotives of the Great Northern Railway were serviced in Skykomish,
causing thick oil and residue to seep beneath the surface and into
the Skykomish River. In 1970, long into the diesel locomotive era, GN
merged with three other Class I railroads to form Burlington
Northern, which in 1995 became part of Burlington Northern Santa Fe,
now known as BNSF Railway.

This summer, the state Department of Ecology will remove more than
70,000 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil and river sediment.
The project will include temporarily removing homes and a levee along
700 feet of the river's south bank. Clean dirt will replace
contaminated soils. Once the cleanup is completed, the homes will be
moved back to their original locations. Skykomish's current
population is about 200.

BNSF, which is covering the cost of the entire project, will relocate
families and may even pay for temporary housing, state officials
said. The cleanup project, expected to be completed by summer 2009,
will cost $40 to $50 million, state officials said.

Complaints of oil seepage and contamination at the site date to the
1920s, said Tim Nord, Ecology's manager of the land- and aquatic-
cleanup section. The department began working with Burlington
Northern in the early 1990s to develop a cleanup strategy. There are
no human-health impacts associated with the contamination or with the
project, Nord said, and drinking-water sources are protected.

But there are environmental hazards. Because the fuel is seeping into
the river, it can cause problems for aquatic life there. The
Skykomish River is home to Chinook salmon, a federally protected
species.


'N'Joy .. and as one from Washington/Oregon area, I'd love to see all this happen. :teeth:

Roger

[GNFA310]

Here's a link to the 'Seattle Times' regarding the upcoming town move:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003007146_skykomish20m.html

'N' joy

:teeth:

[HemiAdda2d]

God forbid UP has to do the same in Cheyenne, WY..........:omg:
Thanks for the info--would be neat to see this documented.

[abcraghead]

Only parts of Sky will be moved. The Hotel for example stays put.

It's been scheduled for a long time. It'll either save Sky, or kill it.

Ironically I was there the day before it started.