Spring maintenance work

With the recent good weather I was able to make some progress on railroad maintenance. As I mentioned in the my last post there was relatively little damage over the winter so it was an easy task to get everything fixed up. I did some minor trestle work a couple of weeks ago and this week I returned to track alignment and ballasting.

This cribbing had dropped and shifted slightly out of place as the fill settled over the winter. I nudged it back where I needed it and then top filled with more ballast to hold the tracks in place.

This short retaining wall had started sliding down the hill so I anchored it using a few wood stakes.

I then back filled with ballast so the tracks are now secure.

Here is a reverse view of the same area.

I'm working on finalizing the alignment of the lines and setting them in place. I think I'm happy with this area and now I just need to join the track securely and add ballast. On the right is the main line. The middle track is the connector between the main line and the upper loop. And the track on the left will allow me to reverse the direction of trains on the main line.

I've finished roofing all three cabins for the railroad maintenance workers as well as the company store where workers can find overpriced organic produce and oversized novelty coffee mugs.

No new flowers in my garden yet so here is a picture from a recent hike of yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica). Locally the native wildflowers are going crazy right now and every time I go out I see something new in bloom.

Crew housing for PE&A employees

Spring is here and it's time to resume work on the PE&A. Damage over the winter has been pretty minimal. The rock work has settled but is stable and I didn't experience any rock wall failures over the winter. The ballast has settled as I expected it would and, with a few minor exceptions, I can pick up where I left off in the fall.

Ballast has settled into place and I'll need to add more ballast to some sections which I was expecting. Here there was quite a bit of settling and I think the gravel has pulled the cribbing down with it. The track is now floating above the ballast, supported by the end of the trestle which has stayed in place.

This was the biggest surprise. Here the entire slope seems to have slid downhill, taking the small retaining wall with it. Won't be too much work to repair, but I am concerned that the slope may continue sliding. I may want to drive stakes in here to help stabilize the slope

I thought the PE&A workers could use a few crew houses along the line. I found these unfinished wood houses at Joann Fabrics (on sale for about six dollars) and they seemed about the right scale (and price), even if they are marketed as "bird houses." I started off with a coat of primer on all sides.

I tried a brush and latex paint but ended up switching to spray paint as it is so much easier to use on a small object like this with lots of corners. I left the roofs primed but unpainted as I would be covering them with corrugated metal sheets.

For roofing I went with something even cheaper than the houses. Why recycle when you can upcycle? Cans have been rinsed and dried.

With a pair of tin snips I removed the bottom and top from the can and cut open the cylinder so I had a rough rectangle of aluminum. Leather gloves are a must given all the sharp edges.

After flattening the aluminum along the edge of my workbench, I used a guillotine paper cutter to trim both long edges so the sheet was exactly 3.4 inches wide, then trimmed one short edge so it was perpendicular. I decided that my roofing would be made from 8' x 4' panels of corrugated metal, which in my target scale of 1:29 ends up being 3.4" x 1.7". 

Next step is to corrugate the metal. I'm using a crimper designed for paper that you can get at any craft store.

I then cut the metal sheet into 1.7" wide pieces. Each can produces four pieces.

Several cans later, I taped down all my metal pieces onto a piece of cardboard to hold them steady for painting. I used a combination of a medium gray and a metallic aluminum spray paint to give the pieces a weathered look.

I next used a few colors to try to mimic rusting. This is new for me so the results aren't the best. I think I need to watch some online videos and practice some more. My second batch turned out a little better than this first batch.

Once everything was dry it was just a matter of gluing the panels on the roof and cutting some to size to fit around the chimney.

With more panels on the roof the clamping got a bit creative.

And here is the first completed house set out by the track.

The very first colors are starting to pop up in the yard. Mountain kittentails (Synthyris missurica) are pushing up through the leaf litter.

And this is a new one for me this year. These catkins are the bloom of the Scouler's willow (Salix scouleriana). They are attracting a variety of flying insects which I was excited to see.

Along the Spokane & Inland Empire route on the Colfax Trail

After last week’s post I wanted to share some of my photos from various visits to the Colfax Trail, built on a section of roadbed of the Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad. The trail runs a little under three miles along the Palouse River downstream from Colfax so it is a very gentle and even slope. I’ve found that while this trail is most beautiful in the spring and early summer, it is also especially nice in the winter as long as you have appropriate footwear for the ice and snow. As the Palouse River is one of the few places in the region with open flowing water even in the coldest part of winter, you’ll find hundreds of water birds here that would normally be residing on area lakes and ponds when they aren’t frozen over. I've included wintertime photos below from a few different trips.

The first mile of the trail is across mostly open flood plain, with few trees for shade, so it can get hot in the summer. But just up ahead you can see the cool shade of the ponderosas inviting you to push forward.

The Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad ran south from Spokane and broke into two branches; a southeastern branch terminating in Moscow, Idaho and a southwestern branch that terminated in downtown Colfax, about two miles from the current trailhead. See this blog post from last year for a short history of the Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad including route maps.

Construction on the Colfax Trail segment of the railroad began in 1906 and it opened to service in August, 1907. The S&IE was purchased by the Great Northern Railway in 1909 and fully merged into GN in 1929, which continued to operate the line up until 1967 when it was closed due to a structurally unsafe tunnel, and the track here was removed in either 1968 or 1969. Whitman County purchased the abandoned roadbed in 1969 in order to provide access to a dump site right by the river, which was closed and covered soon after to protect the river thanks to the 1971 Shoreline Management Act. The County considered turning it into a trail as early as 1973, but like many trail projects, it took many years (decades, actually) for that to come about.

Excerpt from a 1964 USGS topo map when the railroad was still in operation. Point A is the trailhead and Point B is the end of the trail at a former river crossing. Across the river from Point B is the tunnel that ultimately caused this segment of the line to be abandoned. Downtown Colfax is to the right, about two miles from point A.

There is now an effort to convert another old rail line to a trail running southeast from Colfax to Pullman. That rail segment was originally built in 1883 by the Columbia & Palouse Railroad Company which became part of The Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company and later on Union Pacific. UP eventually sold off the line to the State of Washington, and it was operational up until a fire in 2006 destroyed a bridge and closed the line. I hope to see that trail completed in my lifetime.

Looking south from the trail along the first mile.

A few of the many, many geese and ducks you can see in the winter. Other winter residents include hawks and bald eagles, as well as forest birds that are resident year round.

A small cataract provides beautiful sound regardless of water level.

This rock cut was made wide enough to accommodate a second track, however, the SI&E never double-tracked this route.

As you move downstream the basalt cliffs become more dramatic. In winter this section of the trail is in full shade but there may be sun just across the river.

Another view of the basalt cliffs near the end of trail.

Parts of the trail are in full shade throughout the day in winter so you will encounter snow and ice buildup.

At this spot a large part of the cliff seems to be breaking off

You can still find a few traces of railroad infrastructure. This may have been part of a support for the catenary that powered the electric motors.

Looking upstream on a very cloudy day when the river was running just high enough to spread out across the channel. I haven't yet been on this trail on a high water day but hope to do that someday.

Trail ends when it runs into the river. There was a bridge here up until 1991 when it was destroyed by fire. Across the river is the tunnel that became structurally unsafe in 1967, leading to the abandonment of the line. On the other side of that tunnel was another bridge crossing the river (also destroyed), and just a little downstream from there the railroad crossed the river for a third time over the beautiful Manning-Rye Covered Bridge, a single span Howe truss, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and was destroyed by fire in 2020.

A close-up of the tunnel portal. The inscription above the portal has been obscured but it may have been the year it was completed.

References

• Carter, Clive. Inland Empire Electric Line: Spokane to Coeur d’Alene and the Palouse. Museum of North Idaho, 2009.
• Robertson, Donald B. Encylopedia of Western Railroad History, Volume III. Caxton Printers Ltd., 1995.
• U.S. Geological Survey. Diamond Quadrangle, Wash. 1964. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Denver, CO: United States Department of the Interior, USGS, 1964

Along the Great Northern route through Riverside State Park

I went hiking along the old Great Northern railroad grade through Riverside State Park today. While the grade does not appear on all trail maps (including the official state park map), you can find it marked on some trail maps, and it is very easy to walk along as it was used and maintained by the railroad up until 1973. Trail 25 provides runs along a short section of the railroad grade and provides easy access to it. I had written about this trail a bit in a previous post which you can find here and I had always meant to provide more details on this route as well as photos from various trips over the last two years. It's a beautiful, easy trail that clings to the side of a bluff with great views to the north and east. Trees shade parts of the trail while much of it is exposed, making it a great option on sunny days when the weather is cooler. On warmer days it's best to visit late in the day when the bluff provides shade for the trail. 

Great Northern grade through Riverside State Park. The trail is essentially on a shelf between basalt cliffs on one side and a steep drop off on the other. Trees provide some shade relief along some stretches of the trail.

First some background on the Great Northern Railway’s arrival in Spokane, one small but important step on it’s 1,726 mile route building westward from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle. By early 1892 the Great Northern Railway had built within 50 miles of Spokane but had not yet determined whether it would actually enter Spokane. The challenge with Spokane was the westward climb up to the Columbia Plateau after crossing the Spokane River. An 1891 plan had the railroad passing about 10 miles to the north of Spokane where a route was identified that would be just slightly more than a one percent grade. Spokane citizens wanted the railroad to come through the city. James J. Hill, who controlled the Great Northern, claimed that going through Spokane would cost about one million dollars more (whether this estimate was true is unclear, but it was likely exaggerated), so he made an ultimatum to the city demanding that citizens offset that cost with free right of way within the city, about half of the presumed cost. Citizens capitulated to the demand within days and construction quickly followed on a line directly toward downtown. The first through train from St. Paul arrived in Spokane on May 28, 1892.

Rather than building a line west from downtown and across the river immediately, Hill reached an agreement with the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway to temporarily use a few miles of their trackage through the western part of the city as well as their bridge over the Spokane River. About a mile west of that bridge the Great Northern built a junction with the SLS&E, eventually called Ft. Wright Junction, and began road grading westward toward Seattle sometime around or after March, 1892. Track laying began at the junction with the SLS&E on July 23, 1892 and progressed eastward about three to four miles per day, so the entire section within Riverside State Park likely was completed on the first or second day. After some winter weather delays, the last spike for the line between Spokane and Seattle was driven January 6, 1893 just west of Steven Pass and scheduled freight traffic began rolling over the line in February, although through passenger service to Seattle would not commence until June, 1893.

The grade that goes through Riverside State Park was in use by Great Northern, and later by successor Burlington Northern, until 1973 when it was replaced with a new, shorter route slightly further south. Most of the right of way through the park is now owned by the Washington State Department of Parks and Recreation, except for one stretch of right of way (near Highland on the first map below) which is somehow still owned by BNSF, successor to Burlington Northern. Between the south park boundary and Ft. Wright Junction, the old railroad right of way is still there but not easily accessible. Part of the right of way is now owned by the State of Washington, part by the City of Spokane, part by BNSF and part is a city street (N. Houston Rd.) There is a potential for this to become a developed trail in the future, providing a link to the Centennial Trail, as most of the land is publicly held. For now I’ll just have to enjoy the grade that’s within the park boundaries.

This is an excerpt from a map compiled by the Spokane County Surveyor and published in April, 1900. Map is part of the Washington State University Libraries collection. Highlighted in yellow is the section of the GN route that is within the boundaries of Riverside State Park today and is accessible to the public. At the north end of the curve is a spot labeled Highland, which is approximately where the state park boundary is today. Point A on the map is Fort Wright Junction where the GN branched off of the SLS&E route. Point B is the SLS&E crossing of the Spokane River. Point C is the the second crossing of the Spokane River that the Great Northern built a few years later, providing an easier and more direct route west from Spokane than the SLS&E route. The segment between points A and B is part of the Centennial Trail today. The north half of the segment between points A and C is preserved as it is owned by the federal government; the south half has disappeared due to development.

This excerpt from a 1954 USGS topo map shows the railroad hugging the side of the cliff. Near the top of the curve labeled 2052 (referring to elevation) is the location of Highland you saw on the previous map, very close to the park boundary today. At some point the Great Northern moved their Highland station to where you see it labeled on this map.

An open stretch of the trail looking north

And a photo in the same location in winter. No recent human activity on the day we visited, just deer and bird tracks in the snow.

On a foggy day the rest of the park disappears.

Old foundations for railroad equipment can be found along the route, gradually being reclaimed by nature.

Some more old equipment

It looks like an old tree stump but this was a utility pole, now being colonized by the next generation of trees.

Looking up toward the trail from below you can clearly see it cutting across the landscape. The Great Northern dumped a lot of rock here which has gradually been colonized by vegetation except for a few bare patches of talus.

Another view looking up at the trail from below. The snow highlights the railroad fill and clearly shows where the trail is.

Further north near the trail is enclosed by trees that create a tunnel effect.

As you reach the north end of the trail the trees suddenly disappear. This view is to the west from the end of the trail segment within the park boundary. Beyond this point the roadbed is still owned by BNSF but is surrounded by private property owners on both sides. Other park trails converge here so there are hiking options beyond returning on the same trail. 

References

• Lewty, Peter J. Across the Columbia Plain: Railroad Expansion in the Interior Northwest, 1885-1893. Washington State University Press, 1995.
• Wetzel, John. Map of Spokane County, State of Washington (1900). Scale 1/2 inch to one mile. Spokane, WA: Publisher unknown, 1900.
• U.S. Geological Survey. Airway Heights Quadrangle, Wash. 1954. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Denver, CO: United States Department of the Interior, USGS, 1954