Palisades, WA

Great Northern Railway maintenance flat car, #X4125 resting on the Palisades Siding next to a fruit warehouse. This car was probably getting ready for use, since the line needed many repairs during the spring months. Photo taken by Mac McCulloch on March 18, 1968. Photo provided by Bob Kelly.


Great Northern Railway Wedge Plow, #X1584 parked at the Palisades Siding on March 18, 1968. This plow was probably assigned to the line to clear large snow drifts up on the plateau in late winter and early spring. Photo was taken by Mac McCulloch when he was just a kid. Photo provided by Bob Kelly.

Waterville Railway Co. Locomotive 949

1949 aerials of the Waterville Railway Co. Bridge locations

Locations of bridge #1 and #2 shown in the aerial are near the "s" curves along highway 2 between Watervlle and Doulgas.

Bridge #3 and #4 are located across Highway 2 from the old DOT rock quarry between Waterville and Douglas.



Bridge #5 is located just south of Douglas. In the photo you can see the engine wye and the Mansfield line that runs parallel to the Waterville Railway.

The Wenatchee Daily World: September 4, 1908

Bridge #21

Duffy Creek is in background.  Photos were taken by the Great Northern Railway looking on the down grade.

Bridge damage caused by 1948 flood

Bridge repaired

2007 photo of the same location as above

Withrow, Wash

1940's look at GN boxcars resting on the Withrow Siding.  View looking east.

Sept. 18, 2009 trip down through Douglas Creek

Snapped a few pictures of the old MB Line while riding my Honada XR650L motorcycle down through Douglas Creek. It was a beautiful hot afternoon with not a soul around. The following pictures are of the line between Slack Canyon and about 2 miles north of Palisades. Enjoy!

Down grade 2 miles north of Palisades near Airplane Canyon

Down grade about 1/2 mile south of the tunnel

Rock cut on the down grade about .25 miles south of the tunnel

Up grade view looking at the south tunnel portal entracne. You can still see a little bit of timber from the tunnel that is exposed out the the hillside.

Standing on top of the tunnel looking on the down grade at the south tunnel portal entrance. Notice the sink hole at the bottom of the picture.

Standing on the upper road looking down at the North tunnel portal entrance

Looking across bridge #9 on the down grade

Down grade view between bridge #10 and #9

Up grade view just after bridge #11

Looking on the down grade across bridge #11

Up grade view .25 mile up from bridge #11

Up grade view across the creek from Mohr Canyon

Aug 2009 photos on the MB Line

I when out for a nice ride on my Honda XR650L and snapped a few pictures of the old grade. These pictures were taken a few miles north and south of Alstown. Enjoy!

Bridge #36 looking on the upgrade south of Alstown

Looking on the down grade at the Kelly Davis Crossing

Standing on top of a rock cut just south of the elevators at Alstown

About a mile north of Alstown looking on the down grade

About a mile north of Alstown looking on the upgrade

looking on the down grade about 2.5 mile north of Alstown



Bridge #39 at Daling's Farm next to their cattle corrals. This would be almost in the middle of Douglas and Alstown.

Snow Plow Wreck

Frederick D. Kelsey (standing with his hand on the gondola car), a Great Northern Railway Superintendent on the Spokane Division from 1915 to 1917, inspects the wreckage of a train near Supplee, Washington. This photo shows a wrecked wedge snow plow, gondola full of coal and a steam locomotive. This train was plowing snow on Great Northern Railway's Mansfield Branch Line when it derailed. Date of photo c. 1915.   Bob Kelly provided photo.

GN Standard Pile Trestle for Branch Lines

These are some construction plans that I drew up in AutoCAD. I reproduced these plans from Great Northern plans dating back to 1921. Enjoy.....

1917 panorama of Great Northern operations in Mansfield, WA

This is a picture that I scanned in and stitched together using a free online program called Auto Stitch. I touched up the photo by using Photoshop. This picture was provided to me by Darold Wax of Wenatchee.

Bridge #7 at Palisades

This was three separate photos that I stitched together using Auto Stitch. Photo provided to me by Bob Kelly (date unknown).  Aerial of this bridge from 1949

Mansfield Depot in 1947

GN Steam Locomotive #1147

Henry Gallaher standing next to GN loco #1147 in Mansfield around 1947. This locomotive now sits at a park in Wenatchee Wa.





#1147 blowing steam near the Mansfield Depot. 1947

The Wenatchee Daily World: October 11, 1909

Waterville Railway bid awarded and ready to start construction.

The Wenatchee Daily World: July 20, 1908

The Wenatchee Daily World: July 31, 1908

Waterville Railway Co. Ticket and depot photo

Original never used Waterville Railway Co. ticket.  c. 1948




1911 photo of the Waterville Railway Co. Depot.  

Douglas: Then and Now

You can see the depot in the 1949 and 1990 aerials. This depot was one of the last Burlington Northern structures on the line until it was burned down in Dec. 1993.  It lasted almost 9 years after the line was removed. The structure just the the right of the depot on the 1949 aerial was used as an automobile ramp. It was removed in the early 70's.