McCue, WA

1986 abandonment track plans for the section of track between McCue (siding retired in 1961) and bridge #15.

Sheet No. 6 of abandonment set.  Milepost 21 to 24.75.

Blow-up of McCue ROW

These plans also show areas where the railroad changed the alignment of the line.  Below shows a line change in 1948 at the base of Slack Canyon at milepost 23.  The result of this change was the elimination of bridges #12 and #13.

Below is a current aerial photo with a 1908 ROW drawing superimposed on top showing the alignment change and where bridge 12 and 13 used to be prior to 1948.

Palisades to McCue

1986 abandonment track plans for the section of track between Palisades and McCue.

Sheet No. 5 of abandonment set.  Milepost 16.5 to 21.

Blow-up of the tunnel area about milepost 19.75.  Two years later, in 1988, the railroad would close up the ends of the tunnel.  Here is an article of them doing just that.

Palisades Abandoned

Abandonment track plans for the Palisades section.  These plans were revised in 1986 to reflect the line being nonoperational.

Sheet No. 4 of abandonment set.  Milepost 11.5 to 16.5.

Below is a blow-up area of the sheet above showing ROW or easment the railroad secured for water usage out of Skookumchuck Spring.  Today this parcel no longer exists.

Tracks Abandoned at Appledale

Revised plans from the year 1986 showing the track to be abandoned in the area formerly known as Appledale in Moses Coulee.  The siding track at Appledale was retired and removed back in 1940.  Official abandonment of the line was effected on May 10, 1985.

  

Sheet No. 3 of abandonment drawing set.  Milepost 7.5 to 11.5.

Blow-up area of above sheet

Below is a drawing from 1930, revised in 1986, showing all track abandoned within the existing ROW.  Yellow highlights and red wavy lines litter the drawings making it seem even more official on paper.

Moses Coulee / Bon Spur Abandoned

Revised plan indicating that the track within the former ROW for Moses Coulee Siding (abandoned in 1938) was non operational as of Jan 1986.  In 1952, Bonneville Power built a spur off from this section of track to service their power station.  This connection is not shown on this plan.  The ROW still exists today, but is no longer is owned by the railroad.

Sheet No. 2 of abandonment drawing set.  Milepost 3.5 to 7.5.

Blow-up of above sheet

Touhey Abandoned

Revised plans showing abandoned tracks at Touhey, WA.  The last revised date on these plans show January 1986 and few months later the tracks would be taken out.  The name Byron was changed to Touhey in 1911.  The Right-of-Way still exists today, but is no longer owned by the railroad.  Here is link to the abandonment documents for the Mansfield Branch Line.

Sheet No. 14 of abandonment drawing set.  Milepost 53.5 to 58.

This drawing below shows a 32' x 100' warehouse constructed along the Touhey Siding.  First time I've seen any evidence of this structure.

The elevator belonged to the Waterville Union Grain Co. and the Warehouse was owned by the Seattle Grain Co.

Bridge #1

1965 aerial showing bridge #1 of the Mansfield Branch Line situated between the Columbia River and SR 28 Highway at the mouth of Moses Coulee.

Drove the Last Train

George Mengelos drove the last train on the Mansfield Branch Line.

Great Book!

Great book put together by Dan Bolyard.  Dan is a blogger of history of the Big Bend Area Railroads and has now put it in a book.  You can find it on Amazon.com here. 

The Wenatchee Daily World: July 18, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: August 17, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: October 13, 1910

The Leavenworth Echo: October 22, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: March 11, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 17, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 13, 1908

The Wenatchee Daily World: October 12, 1908

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 2, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: September 14, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 25, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 19, 1908

The Wenatchee Daily World: January 16, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: August 19, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: September 10, 1908

The Wenatchee Daily World: June 11, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: January 3, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: March 19, 1910

The Newport Miner: March 2, 1911

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 11, 1909

Ellensburg Daily Record: July 13, 1982

Spokane Daily Chronicle: October 5, 1909

William 'Willie' M. Nollmeyer

I know this is not railroad related, but I thought this was worthy of posting.  Willie Nollmeyer was a staple of Withrow for many, many years.  He passed this last July at the age of 89.  His personality was infectious and he was interesting as hell.  He and his wife Shirley loved it when you came to visit and have a drink with them.  Withrow will never be the same.

These signs were just for fun and posted outside his house for years.  I was able to acquire them recently from his family.

The Spokesman-Review: January 14, 1916

Spokane Daily Chronicle: June 5, 1913

The Spokesman-Review: February 17, 1916

The Wenatchee Daily World: October 7, 1909

The Wenatchee Daily World: January 29, 1910

The Wenatchee Daily World: January 29, 1910

Here is the first printed article of the accident from the 27th of January 1910.

The Wenatchee Daily World: November 15, 1910

Samual R. Supplee, Ralph's dad, homestead in the area now known as Supplee.  Because of the Great Northern Railway naming its siding after their family, the name Supplee was kept alive.

The Spokesman-Review: April 7, 1948

The Wenatchee Daily World: March 4, 1909

Where McCue Siding got its name?  William McCue was born in Minnesota in 1865 and was never married according to the 1920 census.  At that time, his home was in Ephrata, WA.  We was never married and had no children.