PCC Cab Ride

 
Guest post by Vaughn MacKenzie.

Railroading with Mike & Tom on the Palouse River & Coulee City, early November 1997. Longtime friend David Roberts and I scored a cab ride from Cheney to Reardan and it was a fantastic adventure. The weather was perfect, albeit cold & drafty in the aging GP35 lead locomotive. The excitement began just as we were rolling out of town at 10mph with our consist of 52 cars when we nearly hit a white Olds at a crossing. A lady panicked and stopped on the tracks then couldn’t get backed up, and her passenger quickly bailed out. She was frantically fumbling with the gear selector. Tom dumped the air and we stopped mere inches from her bumper. The rest of the ride was less eventful but beautiful. The accomodations in the locomotive were somewhat lacking, so if nature called we were instructed to step onto the catwalk when we were out in open countryside, secure a firm grip on the railing with one hand and let it fly with the other 😂.

1943 Riverland View

The Riverland Rail Yard ca. 1943. The US Army took over the Milwaukie Road Hanford Branch Line, rebuilt it, and constructed a rail interchange yard, shop, engine storage and station. The Army constructed 163 new track miles on H.E.W. Railroad. Huge amounts of materiel and supplies came to the H.E.W. through this yard. There is no trace left.  (Photo by Robley Johnson and courtesy of the National Archives)

Yes, This Is A Railroad Photo

February 12, 2026

An Air Tractor AT-802 fully loaded with fertilizer is in the process of taking off from "Meise Field" today, as the moderate temperatures have local farmers getting started on the growing season. Yes, it's only February 12 when this photo was taken.

The railroad connection? The airstrip is build on the former Northern Pacific's Connell Northern right of way, near the station of Mitchell, about 3 miles north of the current end of track at Wheeler.

Back From The Dead?

My photo.

February 12, 2026

In the deadline at Warden, WA since last August, the 2274 has been a pigeon roost out near the Bunge canola pressing plant. I figured today would be no different, so imagine my surprise to see it tied up to the 651, an SD9 still in service on the CBRW. 

Admittedly this could just be preparation for moving it to a new owner.

Locomotive Crane At Grand Coulee

 March 1, 1945

Who's Who-First Train To Grand Coulee

July 29, 1935

1893 Spokane County Map View

 

Davenport At Dusk

Photo by Tom Carver.

Date unknown.

BN's CW (Central Washington) local, a.k.a. Coulee City Turn, got a late start from Parkwater (Spokane) and is only as far west as Davenport to make some setouts at dusk.

1980 Mt. St. Helens Story

Photo by Dick Herbert, used for attention. Photo location is in Montana.

Story below was told by Ken Albrecht.

Ken says:
"Good friend of mine (Dan Perkins, BN switchman at the time, worked Seattle & Stacy St yards, now deceased) was over in Odessa, WA that weekend with another BN engineer (Mike Gelhaus, Spokane area, also deceased) reviewing NP steam negs/pix for a book about NP Steam. Both had driven by auto to get there. When Mt St Helens popped Dan took pictures during the ash fallout. He said it got very dark Sunday morning and then ash started falling out of the sky. There was about 10" accumulation on the picnic table outside. Spokane TV news talked about ash destruction of car, truck, bus motors driving thru it as well as the geological destruction. Both my BN friends were able to get to the Odessa depot, contact the railroad, arrange freight train transportation to their respective locales (picked up their cars much, much later) for work availability. Dan said the engine crew had already duct taped every possible opening where air could enter the cab: windows, doorways, etc. Same for caboose. Dusty all the way across east side. Crew out of Wenatchee reinforced duct tape in cab. They last heard contact from crew in caboose at Skykomish but did not thereafter. All radio contact with caboose crew was met with zero response. Concerned, conductor called on railroad personnel to physically check caboose upon train arrival at Everett. Both crewmen had passed out but were still alive, barely. Apparently, enough ash dust had filtered in to affect their breathing. They were taken to the hospital in Everett, WA. They survived. Had the engine crew waited until Seattle the caboose crew would've died from asphyxiation account ash intake. It was several days before Dan, likely Mike too, could safely drive their vehicles home after the ash accumulation fallout east side of Cascade Range."