NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/railroad/10111

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-22 | 3.1 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Paul Shoeman x2896)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Milwaukee Road Line Northwest
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 21 Dec 92 19:09:50 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Paul Shoeman x2896)
Organization: Intermec Corporation, Everett WA
Lines: 42

>I never rode the line, but remember seeing it in the vicinity of Drummond MT
>where it was within sight of the NP for several miles, and in Butte.  I believe
>that Deer Lodge was the location of the main shops facility for the electric
>operation.  Aberdeen, Mobridge, Marmarth, Miles City, Harlowton, Three Forks,
>Deer Lodge, Avery and Othello appear to have been the Division points, but
>some of that is "educated guess work" on my part.  The map shows a second route
>around Spokane from Plummer Junction ID to Marengo WA, so that may have been
>the through freight route, and the line through Spokane may have been just for
>passengers, or on somebody else's railroad as you suggest.  Without checking a
>map, I'd guess GN also, but maybe NP.  The MILW, however, used "Union Station"
>in Spokane, which was the UP station, not GN or NP.  I think the UP line out of
>Spokane goes through Marengo, so they might have used that one west of town -
>I'd have to check a map to be sure.  There's a branch from Cedar Falls WA to
>Everett that is listed as freight service only, and a disconnected branch from
>Bellingham to Glacier, freight service only.  From Tacoma, on the map the line
>continues south then west to Hoquiam on the Coast, with several branches
>including down to Longview and Portland.  I'm sure the latter was trackage
>rights on someone else's railroad (probably the joint NP-GN-UP line), but
>Hoquiam was purely MILW trackage.  None of these lines had passenger service,
>though a schedule is shown for a "freight" train between Chehalis and Raymond.
>

This is my first posting to the net so I hope I get this halfways right.
I wanted to point out that there was also a branch line of the Milwaukee
Road in Washington state that ran from Port Angeles (my home town) to
Port Townsend where the rail cars were barged to Seattle.  The line was
about 40 miles in length and was freight only (it would've been a pretty
line for passenger service).  When Milwaukee went into bankruptcy, a
company called Seattle and North Coast Railroad took over the line and
kept it running for several years.  They went under in the mid '80's and
the line was removed for good a few years ago.  The mills in Port
Angeles that used the line now truck their shipments off the Olympic
Peninsula (where Port Angeles and Port Townsend are located).  Portions
of the old line in Port Angeles have been converted to a bike/walking
trail.  Hopefully other portions will be converted in the near future.

Again, I hope I got all this posting to the net stuff right :-).

Paul Shoeman     [e-mail]
Software Engineer
Intermec Corp.
Everett, WA