Train Stuff

Truck Shop

Well-known member
Hey Rob can you tell me why the bridges were left when the Milwaukee Railroad went under. There is one heck of a pile of
scrap steel in these bridges. Was there ever a plan that some railroad would take over the old road bed someday?
This pic was taken from the south side on the Snake River at Monumental Dam.

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mowingman

Member
The cost for taking down these structures was far more than could be recovered in scrap sales. In other words, the bridges had no value at all. The railroad was near or in bankruptcy at the time, so it was not going to pay someone to take them down. Even if given away for free, the cost to remove exceeded the scrap value.
Now, rail and ties are easy to remove and can be sold for a profit above the salvage cost. So that stuff got removed quickly.
Jeff
 

Truck Shop

Well-known member
That makes sense I can understand that. One thing I do know is when the railroad went under Washington St was quick to claim the ground.

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rzucker

Well-known member
Hey Rob can you tell me why the bridges were left when the Milwaukee Railroad went under. There is one heck of a pile of
scrap steel in these bridges. Was there ever a plan that some railroad would take over the old road bed someday?
This pic was taken from the south side on the Snake River at Monumental Dam.

Truck Shop

View attachment 1400
Those trestles were part of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. SPS was a joint venture between the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern railroad to reach Portland, Oregon. It became part of the Burlington Northern in the big 1970 merger. The SPS highline from Spokane to Pasco was abandoned in 1987, for what real reason I have no idea, it was much flatter and faster than the old NP route through Ritzville and Lind. But it did enter the Pasco yard at the south end. I believe the trestles still stand as part of something called "Railbanking" meaning the route could be reactivated at a later date.
 

rzucker

Well-known member
The cost for taking down these structures was far more than could be recovered in scrap sales. In other words, the bridges had no value at all. The railroad was near or in bankruptcy at the time, so it was not going to pay someone to take them down. Even if given away for free, the cost to remove exceeded the scrap value.
Now, rail and ties are easy to remove and can be sold for a profit above the salvage cost. So that stuff got removed quickly.
Jeff
Actually these bridges were left behind as an agreement between the BN and Wa. state Department of natural resources. The DNR is using the old railbed as a "nature trail". That's part of the reason they still stand.
 

Truck Shop

Well-known member
Actually these bridges were left behind as an agreement between the BN and Wa. state Department of natural resources. The DNR is using the old railbed as a "nature trail". That's part of the reason they still stand.
I knew you would have an answer for me, I was thinking it was part of the Milwaukee Road. Was looking at it as the liability end of things. The rail turns north
towards Kahlotus through a tunnel and ran towards the Speery elevator. The nature trail from Beverly to Cle Elum is called the John Wayne Trail I think.

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mowingman

Member
Well, good, I am glad the state had the forethought to preserve the structures for future use. A lot of abandoned railroad right-of way is being rail banked, where it can be reused later if a need arises for rail traffic again. A lot of times the rail banked right-of-ways are used for hiking trails, also known as "rail trails".
 

rzucker

Well-known member
I knew you would have an answer for me, I was thinking it was part of the Milwaukee Road. Was looking at it as the liability end of things. The rail turns north
towards Kahlotus through a tunnel and ran towards the Speery elevator. The nature trail from Beverly to Cle Elum is called the John Wayne Trail I think.

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Supposedly these trails are used by permit only, probably some legal mumbo jumbo you have to sign to get your permit to use the trail,
And yes you're right about the John Wayne trail on the old MILW right of way, Traveling west it starts just below Royal City, and traveling east it starts just outside of Warden. Royal City to Warden still has track that is in use by the Columbia Basin RR.I remember going with Dad to Othello in the early 70s and seeing the yard and roundhouse still in use at the time, back then the yard had a spiderweb of wires over the rails for the electric locomotives they used between Othello and Tacoma.
Just for fun, I knew a UPS driver in the early 80s that used to drive his van across the old Beverly bridge to save time getting to the orchards on the west side. I don't think all his dogs were barking... He was a bit different.
 

Truck Shop

Well-known member
When they tore out the Milwaukee tracks I hauled nine loads of rail to Broadview, Mt for a spur to elevators. But most went to General Metals in Fife, Wa
for scrap. I remember setting in a car at Milwaukee crossings and watching the rail move. They all move some but those last years for Milwaukee were
pretty bad for maintenance. I knew an old guy that lived in Kittitas that ran a track speeder, I remember him telling me how bad the line was getting.
Personally I would like to see some high speed passenger rail combined with light freight. It probably won't happen, if it does it will be years down the
road.

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rzucker

Well-known member
Well, good, I am glad the state had the forethought to preserve the structures for future use. A lot of abandoned railroad right-of way is being rail banked, where it can be reused later if a need arises for rail traffic again. A lot of times the rail banked right-of-ways are used for hiking trails, also known as "rail trails".
The only problem with railbanking is that it's a million dollars a mile for new track, eastern Washington has hundreds of miles of abandoned railbed that was once prosperous grain hauling lines. It's a little late for them to get it back. Just for perspective there was a 40 mile spur line that hit at least 8 major elevators that the BN abandoned here. One of the ex managers told me that line grossed 6 million a year the last year it was in operation. But the company would rather run UPS and other hot freight coast to coast.
 

rzucker

Well-known member
When they tore out the Milwaukee tracks I hauled nine loads of rail to Broadview, Mt for a spur to elevators. But most went to General Metals in Fife, Wa
for scrap. I remember setting in a car at Milwaukee crossings and watching the rail move. They all move some but those last years for Milwaukee were
pretty bad for maintenance. I knew an old guy that lived in Kittitas that ran a track speeder, I remember him telling me how bad the line was getting.
Personally I would like to see some high speed passenger rail combined with light freight. It probably won't happen, if it does it will be years down the
road.

Truck Shop
Well, little known fact... for 2years I was the part time manager of the short line between Royal City and Othello. That was 98 to 2000, the track was really bad by that time, less than 15 MPH and down to less than 10 in some spots. It's kinda spooky having a 120 ton engine and 5 boxcars trying to rock themselves off the track.
 

Truck Shop

Well-known member
Sounds like the rail from Wallula to Walla Walla. I think the top speed is 10 mph for the thirty mile trip. She really rocks back and forth, that train has
hit the ties several times in the last twenty years.

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rzucker

Well-known member
It must be worse when they get up around Weston, Oregon. Up there I can walk faster than they creep the tracks there.
 

Truck Shop

Well-known member
The engineer starts the day clean shaven by the time he gets to the end of the line he's grown a beard three feet long.:D.

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Truck Shop

Well-known member
Rob you would have enjoyed talking to my dad. He was a depression era child hobo, he left home when he was 14 and road the rails all across the southern US.
Got tired of starving so he joined the army at 17 in 1934. He was in the horse drawn artillery to 1938 which was the last year for using horses and mules.
He drove six horse team pulling munitions and piece at Fort Sam Houston TX. He stayed in till the end of 1945. Spent the last three in the south pacific.

I remember him working in the sign shop in the evenings and he would hear the train horns down at the station when the Empire Builder still operated.
He would tell what was going on by the short and longs from the horn. He liked trains-he passed away at 66, retired only 6 months.

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rzucker

Well-known member
Rob you would have enjoyed talking to my dad. He was a depression era child hobo, he left home when he was 14 and road the rails all across the southern US.
Got tired of starving so he joined the army at 17 in 1934. He was in the horse drawn artillery to 1938 which was the last year for using horses and mules.
He drove six horse team pulling munitions and piece at Fort Sam Houston TX. He stayed in till the end of 1945. Spent the last three in the south pacific.

I remember him working in the sign shop in the evenings and he would hear the train horns down at the station when the Empire Builder still operated.
He would tell what was going on by the short and longs from the horn. He liked trains-he passed away at 66, retired only 6 months.

Truck Shop
Great story, Sorry he only got 6 months of hard earned retirement.
 

mowingman

Member
That must have been the Royal City Railroad. Google Earth shows the old MRS Alco is still sitting in Royal City, probably just where you left it. Supposedly, a shortline railroad operator with 5 or 6 other small operations, has a lease on that line, and is trying to get freight operations started again.
Jeff


Well, little known fact... for 2years I was the part time manager of the short line between Royal City and Othello. That was 98 to 2000, the track was really bad by that time, less than 15 MPH and down to less than 10 in some spots. It's kinda spooky having a 120 ton engine and 5 boxcars trying to rock themselves off the track.
 

rzucker

Well-known member
That would be the one. It's a Alco MRSXT-4 built for the US Army in 1952 as B-2070. The B signified it was equipped with a train heating boiler. 1600HP ALCO 244 12 cylinder engine and 6 drive axles with 120 tons on them. At the end it was getting pretty sad, needed a bunch of 3" rubber oil lines replaced, and the batteries were in bad shape. Most of the time I had to jump start it with a welder if it had been sitting for a week or more. that's not cool if it shuts down in the middle of nowhere. It was a very interesting job running it, we got to deal with herds of cattle on the tracks, during hunting season people would park on the tracks... all kinds of fun stuff. And in my spare time I got to patrol several sections of track with a backhoe clearing rockslides.
 
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