Washout at Mile Post 26.5

Below photo showing damage that took place in June of 1948. Skykomish Historical Society photo.

November 2007 photo of the same view as above.

Alstown in the early spring of '84

Alan Loebsack photos

1948 photo of Bridge #9

June 1948 photo showing flood damage and what's left of brige #9

1948 photo of bridge repaired

This trestle was located just a little bit north of the tunnel. It was orignally built with 19 trestle bents and 4 mud sills. Photo provide by the Skykomish Historical Society

Withrow Depot

This depot was retired in 1936 

The Wenatchee Daily World: August 6, 1906

This ain't good

Here is another view of the coach car that wrecked at Douglas in 1920. Photo provided to me by Harold Badten. From an older post

Wrecked locomotive

Flooding in 1923 caused the subgrade under the track to washout. This locomotive was heavily damaged when it rolled into Douglas Creek. This accident happened about 1.4 miles south of Douglas.

ROW and Track Plans

These blueprints below are from Great Northern Railway’s Engineer/Right-of-way Drawings. These were the original drawings submitted by GNRY to Douglas County and Certified by the State of Washington for start of construction. The following sample prints show all the locations of the bridge trestles within these documents. The date on these documents is 1908, but ROW acquisition began as early as 1906. These Documents have been residing in the courthouse vault for the last 100 years.

Bridge 8: 4 trestle bents and 2 mud sills

Bridge 42: 8 pile bents (1) 16’ opening for wagon road


Bridge 41: 4 pile bents, 8 trestles on piles, 3 cripple trestles and (1) 12’ opening for wagon road

Bridge 40: 10 pile bents



Bridge 39: Pile bulkheads



Bridge 38: 4 pile bents



Bridge 37: 9 pile bents



Bridge 34: 9 pile bents/ Bridge 35: 10 pile bents/ Bridge 36: 10 pile bents

Bridge 31: 8 trestle bents/ Bridge 32: 10 trestle bents/ Bridge 33: 10 trestle bents

Bridge 29: 9 trestle bents/ Bridge 30: 9 trestle bents

Bridge 28: 9 trestle bents/ Bridge 29: 9 trestle bents

Bridge 27: 9 pile bents

Bridge 25: 9 trestle bents and 2 mud sills/ Bridge 26: 17 trestle bents and 2 mud sills

Bridge 22: 10 pile bents/ Bridge 23: 9 pile bents/ Bridge 24: 10 pile bents

Bridge 18: 10 pile bents/ Bridge 19: 6 frame bents and 6 pile bents
Bridge 20: 6 trestles on piles and 6 pile bents/ Bridge 21: 9 pile bents/ Bridge 22: 10 pile bents

Bridge 14: 5 trestles on piles and 6 pile bents/ Bridge 15: 7 trestles on piles and 4 pile bents
Bridge 16: 8 pile bents/ Bridge 17: 8 pile bents

Bridge 12: 5 pile bents/ Bridge 13: 10 trestles on piles and 4 pile bents

Bridge 11: 12 pile bents (1) 16’ opening for wagon road

Bridge 10: 5 pile bents

Bridge 7: 15 pile bents

Bridge 5: 12 pile bents/ Bridge 6: 12 pile bents

Bridge 3: 12 pile bents/ Bridge 4: 6 pile bents

Bridge 2: 14 pile bents

Supplee in the late Winter of 1984

About the only thing Supplee had were grain facilities, a section house, bunk house and some out buildings. These were all removed in about the early 30's, except the grain facilities. Supplee never had a depot.  The folowing photos show the train in Supplee on a winter afternoon making its return trip back to Wenatchee.  Alan Loebsack photos.

More GN AFE's

Great Northern Railway AFE’s ( Authorization For Expenditure) on the Mansfield Branch
Info compiled from Great Northern Railway Historical Society Archives


Columbia River
1946 Install steel span bridge #1

Moses Coulee
1901 Put in steel bridge and approach
1918 Install ROW fence
1920 Install ROW fence
1922 Move public crossing
1930 Culvert #1
1938 Remove passing track

Bon Spur
1952 Install Bonneville Power Spur
1957 Grading, ditching, roads and culvert work

Appledale
1947 Replace steel span bridge #2
1949 Repair flood damaged steel span bridge #2
1963 Renew bridge #2
1966 Renew stringers on bridge #2

Palisades
1911 Install 4,975’ of Right of way fence
1915 Remove mail crane
1922 Retire car body depot
1927 Retire fill in bridge #8
1932 Renew timbering on tunnel
1936 Retire Depot
1936 Stream channel and rip-rap bridge #3
1945 Renew timbers in tunnel
1947 Replace bridge #3
1952 Repair tunnel
1964 Fill in bridge #4

McCue
1918 Install mail crane from Rock Island
1928 Remove mail crane
1940 Alter bridge #11
1949 Move camp buildings to Loon Lake, WA
1962 Renew bridge #9
1963 Renew bridge #11, 14, 20, 21, 25
1964 Renew bridge #10, 14, 15, 17, 26, 30
1965 Renew bridge #15-fill 4 spans, #16-fill 1 span
1966 Renew bridge #22

Alstown
1915 Install car body depot
1916 Install portable stock chute
1928 Rip-rap from Alstown to Douglas
1936 Retire section house and bunk house
1950 Remove water tank and pump
1956 Move section buildings
1964 Renew bridge #30
1964 Fill easterly span on bridge #27
1966 Re-drive bridge #30, 31 pilings

Douglas
1912 Transfer track for Waterville Railway Co.
1917 Extend industry track
1919 Install Waterville Railway Co. Engine Wye
1937 Install automobile unloading platform
1938 Repair flood damage-grading, ditching, roads and culverts
1941 Install driveway around depot
1946 Install electrical lights in depot
1947 Install 2-wire telephone circuit-mile post 35 to 37
1949 Extend Cent Mills Spur
1956 Acquire Waterville Railway Co. tracks
1956 Move section buildings
1957 Renew bridge 39
1960 Drill well for depot and section house
1962 Purchase pick-up truck

Supplee
1921 Remove section house and privies, moved to Omak, WA
1957 Grading, ditching, roads and culvert work

Withrow
1915 Move water tank to Glasgow, MT
1916 Remove pump house
1916 Install stockyard
1918 Install section foreman’s cottage
1919 Install private spur track
1929 Section house moved from Withrow to Mohler, WA
1930 Section house moved to Brewster, WA
1928 Remove section buildings
1932 Remove Standard Oil Spur
1936 Retire Depot
1940 Grading, ditching, roads and culvert work
1944 Extend industry track
1957 Renew bridge #41

Touhey
1964 Renew bridge #42


Mansfield
1913 Install portable unloading platform
1916 Install Standard Oil Spur
1917 Install express lockers in depot
1918 Install unloading platform
1920 Lay cinder ballast-Columbia River to Mansfield
1922 Repairs to bridges
1923 Install Columbia Valley Lumber Spur
1931 Remove engine house, coaling platform and 4 tracks
1932 Move tool house from Palisades to Mansfield
1940 Remove industry track
1941 Remove tail end of wye
1942 Remove depot
1942 Remove water tank
1949 Install crossover track between main line and siding
1956 Move section buildings
1957 Retire right of way on Mansfield Branch Extension
1963 Rearrange bents on bridge #43
1964 Rearrange bents and steel span on bridge #43

Farewell

Locals gather at the Douglas Depot to see off the very last train to run the Mansfield Branch Line. The pictures above were taken by Alan Loebsack on March 2, 1985, 76 years after the line opened. One year later the line would be ripped out. The wood ties would go to landscape supply companies and the steel rails where shipped to Korea to be melted down. In late 1993, the depot would see the same fate as it was burned down thus eliminating almost any evidence a railroad ran through the area.

Memorial Day Weekend Ride (Sunday) 5-30-10

I took a nice ride on the Line between Douglas and Withrow on my bike and it was surprisingly easy going. It was an overcast Sunday afternoon of Memorial Weekend. The following pictures below are from that ride.

Looking on the upgrade across bridge #40 just south of Douglas

Large cast culvert pipe just a mile or so SW of Supplee

Supplee

AC 440 tractor used to push box cars back in the day

Withrow

Station sign poles (old wood station sign)

What remains of bridge #41

I came across a large pile of galvanized flashing. I assumed it came from bridge #41