Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The Waterville Railway Co.

Collage of newspaper headlines about the Waterville Railway Co. ranging in dates from 1909 to 1975.   All of these headlines are from The Wenatchee Daily World, The Wenatchee World, The Spokesman Review, The Waterville Empire Press, and The Seattle Times.




The Wenatchee World: October 23, 1981




Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Wenatchee World: October 18, 1981

I found only page one of this article in the archives.  Page two was not available.  






Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The Mansfield Branch Line

Collage of newspaper headlines about the Mansfield Branch Line ranging in dates from 1907 to 1994.  All of these headlines are from The Wenatchee Daily World, The Wenatchee World, The Waterville Empire Press, The Withrow Banner, The Republic and the Quad-city Herald.  




The Wenatchee World: Article Date early 1970's


Nash two-ton truck with 4-wheel "pony truck".  Modified to haul 17 passengers, mail and express.  Purchased by the Waterville Railway Co. in May of 1920, retired in October of 1936, and scrapped in 1939.  Info from the Great Northern Railway Historical Society (Reference Sheet No. 108) 



Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Section House in Mansfield

16' x 24' two room section house built in Mansfield by the Great Northern Railway in 1909.  It was labeled on the GNRY track plans as 'Jap Ho' (Japanese House).  It was retired, along with several other buildings, in 1956 and removed off site in 1958.  It was one of two section houses built in Mansfield by the railroad.  It was most likely occupied at one time by this man, who was killed between Withrow and Supplee in 1952 while working on the Mansfield Branch Line.  It now resides in an undisclosed location.  

For more on that accident click here.  




June 2014 photo of section house.  Bob Kelly photo.




1917 photo of section house.  The larger section house is just the the right.




1949 plans




1956 plans showing the building being retired.




1958 plans showing the building removed.





The Wenatchee World: September 16, 1981






Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The Wenatchee World: April 9, 1975



Muriel Horton passed away in 2010, but her husband Milas James 'Jim' Horton still resides in the home as of 2015.  He is 82 years old.

Monday, June 2, 2014

The Wenatchee World: January 7, 1973


The train in the picture is on the track wye in Waterville with the locomotive pointing northeast.  The building on the far right behind the locomotive is the engine house.  Here is a picture of the engine house today.