Exploring eastern Washington grain elevators

When I decided on a theme for the PE&A I knew that I absolutely would need a grain elevator. Not a big terminal elevator like you would find at shipping ports, but a small collector elevator like those found in railroad towns along every branch line across the Palouse. As every grain elevator is so unique, this summer I started collecting photos of grains elevators that caught my eye during my travels which I could potentially use for modeling.

Part of the massive grain elevator facility at Ritzville, Wash.

Along every railroad line through the Palouse the largest structure at each railroad station or siding would typically be a wood-cribbed grain elevator, sometimes painted, other times sided with corrugated steel to protect the structure (and its contents) from the elements. These were located along the main track or a siding, depending on the branch traffic, with the railroad on one side of the building and a wagon/truck driveway on the other side along with an office. Over time, as volume of grain production increased, the original structures were expanded or separate structures were built nearby. As various structures were added at different times, different construction methods from different periods of history can be seen today at a single site.

As a result there is an incredible variety of forms and structures and it is nearly impossible to find two grain elevators that exactly match. One can find amazing beauty in these utilitarian structures.

A view of the Uniontown, Wash. facility showing many different styles of building from different eras. Rail service, when it existed, was on the far side of the building from the viewer.

In places where steel rails have been gone for decades, some elevators have been abandoned and allowed to deteriorate, while other elevators continue to operate but the grain no longer leaves town on rail. Instead, the grain is transferred by truck to a larger elevator with at a rail shipping point or a barge shipping terminal along the Snake River.

Dayton, Wash. has a huge facility. This picture shows a couple of the older elevator buildings.

Another view of Dayton, Wash. showing more modern structures, including part of the huge slip-formed concrete structure. Dayton still has active rail service; tracks are owned today by the local port authority.

I don’t yet know exactly what my grain elevator will look like, but I know I want a classic wood cribbed elevator with at least a couple of attached lean-to structures and some supplemental grain bins. Of course, there is no need for me to design the entire thing up front, as I can always add on to it over time just like a real elevator.

Enjoy the elevator pictures. This certainly isn’t a comprehensive study – just a small smaple of a few that I happened to cross paths with that were appealing to me.

This simple and classic elevator at Joel, Idaho may be a great one to model. The original building has a stepped back headhouse which I find attractive, plus there are two annexes, one an older riveted steel tank, and the other a more modern corrugated steel bin. Rail service, when it existed, was along the side of the building facing the viewer.

Davenport, Wash.

Detail view of the headhouse of an elevator in Harrington, Wash.

Reardon, Wash.

Another view at Reardon, Wash. Rail cars are being loaded just to the right of the photo.

This elevator in Colfax, Wash. had a couple of weathered lean-to structures that look like they may have been added at separate times.

The corrugated steel siding has partially peeled away from this elevator in Johnson, Wash.

Troy, Idaho.

A long series of riveted steel plate bins in Kendrick, Idaho. 

Another elevator in Kendrick, Idaho.

Palouse, Wash.

Lapwai, Idaho.

Rails to trails in Juliaetta, Idaho. This line was built by Northern Pacific and serves as a multi-purpose trail today, providing a great view of the slip-formed concrete grain elevator.

The small elevator structure near Chambers, Wash. has been abandoned and is gradually falling down, piece by piece.

Rolling stock: Box cars GN 46006 and OSL 189777

I’ve recently acquired a few more pieces of rolling stock for my collection including a couple of used box cars made by Aristocraft. These are essentially identical cars except for the paint as they’re from the same mold, but interestingly one is labeled as a 50’ box car and the other is labeled as 40’.

I want to own at least one car from each of the four railroads that merged to form Burlington Northern in 1970, and I thought GN 46006 would be a nice addition even if it isn’t historically accurate. The colorful Great Northern paint scheme you see here was used on passenger train equipment starting in 1947 but not on freight equipment, although I suppose a box car might have had this paint scheme if it was intended for use in a passenger train. Another thing to note is the version of the Great Northern logo on this car is more like what you would have seen in the 1920’s or 1930’s, not mid-century. So it seems unlikely that a box car painted like this existed, but it is very pretty nonetheless.

Great Northern box car GN 46006

As I also have a Union Pacific locomotive I want to acquire a few UP cars as well. I liked this particular UP box car as it uses OSL, the reporting mark for Oregon Short Line, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Union Pacific that was anything but short. The OSL was created by UP to connect the UP main line at Granger, Wyo. to the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. main line at Huntington, Ore. (You may recall from previous posts that the OR&N was the railroad that built through Elberton). The OSL grew through extensions, mergers and name changes to over 2,400 miles by 1936. It was not fully incorporated into the UP until 1987 so the OSL reporting mark was seen on cars through much of the 20th century.

Union Pacific / Oregon Short Line box car OSL 189777

The UP car is missing a ladder but otherwise these two car bodies are in perfect shape. I can tell from the wear on the trucks that the GN car did have some mileage, and when changing out the wheels I broke one of the trucks as the plastic had become so brittle. So I ended up completely replacing the trucks on the GN car as well as replacing couplers, while the UP car only needed new couplers. 

Outdoor construction on the PE&A has essentially wrapped up for the season. I finished the second of the two drop-girder spans and I’ve continued to do some landscaping work so the railroad is all set for the rainy season. The next big construction projects are concrete piers for the bridges, the wooden trestle work along the east loop, and a spur into the garage where the train yard will be located. These outdoor projects will likely wait until spring for construction. Over the winter I’ll be doing inside projects such as designing the freight yard, building trestle bents, converting one or more of my locomotives to radio control and battery power, and possibly building a couple more structures such as a barn and a grain elevator. All of this activity, of course, will be covered in this blog.

Bridge complete with both drop girder approaches. Total bridge length is just under eight feet (240 feet in 1:29 scale).

Inland Northwest Rail Museum Opens

I’ve been roaming through eastern Washington a few times this summer and my most recent trip included a visit to the newly opened Inland Northwest Rail Museum outside of Reardon, about 25 miles west of downtown Spokane. This new museum grew out of a local chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) that originally formed almost 50 years ago. In 2002 they started looking for a new site for their extensive collection of rail cars and decided on a 30 acre parcel outside of Reardon along U.S. Highway 2. They built a spur off an active rail line that was originally Northern Pacific’s Central Washington branch, built in 1888-89, and today operated by a short line called Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad.

View of the museum site from the south

Looking east from the the upper level of the shop building. You can see the spur from the main track crossing the road, and Reardon is in the distance.

The museum aims to preserve the history of all of the railroads that operated throughout the Inland Empire and has a great master plan to develop the site over time as they are financially able to. An extensive amount of work has occurred just to get to where they are today, including a spur line and highway crossing to access the site, a few thousand feet of track to store the museum’s collection, installation of a turntable, not to mention less glamorous but necessary things such as a water well, fire hydrants, septic system and security fencing. The key feature that allowed the museum to open last week was finishing the 12,000 sq. ft. restoration and maintenance shop, which will also house the museum and gift shop until another structure is built in a future phase.

Railroads were incredibly important in the history of Spokane and it is exciting that the Inland Empire will have a first class museum to share that story. I can’t wait to see how this museum grows in the future. Do visit them if you have a chance -- for now, they plan to be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October.

A key piece of the collection is this Brill street car built in 1906 for the Washington Water Power Company, the only remaining street car from Spokane's once extensive street car system. It has been extensively and lovingly restored.

The turntable is in place and balanced on its pivot. Eventually a round house will be built around this turntable.

An EMD F9 originally built for the Northern Pacific in 1956.

A 40-foot box car with Spokane, Portland & Seattle livery. I definitely need to get one of these for my railroad.

A Great Northern baggage car that also included space for Railway Express Agency.

A view of the shop with a Great Northern caboose in front.

A diner car built for Union Pacific in 1914.

I'm not sure what this portable steam engine was designed or used for, but it sure looks nice!

What would a trip to a train museum be without a ride on a train? The museum has installed a 3/4-mile long 2-foot gauge track and has a small diesel locomotive pulling a few passenger cars. The track work is still in progress but it is usable—just hold on tight!

Just for fun, here is a map likely from 1890 or 1891 showing railroad lines in the area south and west of Spokane. I've highlighted Reardon, Palouse and Elberton so you can see their relative locations.