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.
Built by the Great Northern Railway in 1909, the 61 mile line branched off the mainline at the Columbia River and snaked its way up across Douglas County, WA to its terminus in Mansfield. In 1985 it was abandoned, thus closing the book on railroading on the Waterville Plateau. This blog is dedicated to preserving the history of the Mansfield Branch Line and Waterville Railway Co., as well as showcasing my scratch built HO scale models.