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!
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? Boxcab E50
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
Skykomish Washington Move 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:
God forbid UP has to do the same in Cheyenne, WY..........mg: Thanks for the info--would be neat to see this documented.
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.
