So much has changed. There is still some left to see. Most has quickly faded away. Memories.... BIG *Sigh*
Thanks Hardcoaler, and everyone else! Whenever I get a chance,(and the rare nice day around here lately!), I like to get out and find old rare lines, even if they are abandoned. I just missed the Milwaukee Road by a year when it pulled out of the west, so I like to find whats left, and imagine what it was like!
I have a good NJ friend who once intoned of abandoned rail lines, "the deader the better". He's an encyclopedia of long-gone lines. When we'd railfan active lines and cross long-abandoned lines, he'd say "bump bump" to let passengers know that we'd just crossed long-gone rails at a long-gone grade crossing. The resulting conversation was always informative. One day we were out and he said "splish splash". Confused, I asked what was up. He smiled and said, "We just crossed over the old Delaware & Raritan Canal!" (It was last in use there in 1932!)
Ha ha, that's funny!! I got a buddy who always says "peanut butter, peanut butter" every time we go over the tracks, cause that's the sound the tires make, lol!!
There's tons of old logging lines and even Class 1's around here, so it's interesting to still find old RoW's that no one knew were there!
Great thread, I wasn't around when the Milwaukee was still running but I have traversed Lewis County time and time again, that line looks so sad now. Always look forward to your stuff from the PNW, it sure is good stuff.
The former Milwaukee Road station at Chehalis, now the ticket office for the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Museum, on former Milw trackage that you can still ride over behind the Cowlitz, Chehalis, & Cascade #15 steamer!!
Now on this line in later years, the Curtis Milburn & Eastern/Chehalis Western RR would exchange log loads with the NP/BN here at Milburn. After the Milwaukee Road left the NW in 1980, the Chehalis Western bought this trackage, and the rest of the Milw to Tacoma.
Almost to Milburn... After looking again, I realized this is Curtis, where the log reload originally was, (some truck loading still occurs here, mostly poles for electricity and such), and where the Chehalis-Centralia Steam Train reverses.
A note on this structure- For those who never saw it in the original location, MILW days, it is very heavily modified.
Kurt: Great pictures, perfect for modeling. The bridge shoe pictures are something that is overlooked sometimes. I am starting work on some more Z-Scale ribside boxcars. If you could find the time a to shoot a few more pictures of the ribside boxcar, it would be helpful. The one that you have photographed is a late variety with the 4/4 ends. It would be nice to see a good picture of the roof to see if it is a Murphy or Stanray roof. Either way, a good picture of the roof and ends would be appreciated. I think your pictures are great and helpful to modelers, keep up the good work. Thanks Tom
Your welcome! And love those Z Ribsides!! I got more pics at home, I'll post some more tonight. I wanna get back up to the Snoqualmie Railroad, there is another 40' Ribsied there to that I photographed some time ago, but can't find the pics....
