ca. 1920. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, Engine #10253. This is an Asahel Curtis print, #46216, which was requested copied by the Washington State Historical Society on April 1, 1977. Three men are standing next to the electric powered engine, spaced far apart, with the man in the foreground seemingly prepared to give the "go ahead" signal. Photographer Curtis documented industry in Washington State as well as historic events and geographic features. He was based in Seattle and worked there until his death in 1941. 60,000 of his images are held in trust by the Washington State Historical Society. (www.wshs.org/wshm/online-exhibits/curtis/exhibitb.htm)

Railroad locomotives; Railroad cars; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co.; Railroads;

The Tacoma Afifi Shriners were boarding a special train at Union Depot and heading to Helena, Montana for the Pacific Northwest Shrine Association Annual Conclave. They would first travel to Spokane, where additional train cars would be added and Spokane Shriners would travel with them to Helena. The Shriners would be sleeping in the train cars during their trip, due to a shortage of lodging in Montana. View of Afifi Shriners with their families seeing them off at Union Depot (T. Times, 4/25/47, p. 1).

Railroad locomotives--Tacoma; Railroads--Tacoma; Fraternal organizations--Tacoma; Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Tacoma); Union Station (Tacoma); Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad's "Hiawathian" would make daily round trips between Tacoma and Avery, Idaho. This new train had a modern diesel engine, with two pistons to each cylinder, which came together on compression and separated on explosion. The two crankshafts are geared together at one end, and the lower crankshaft is the main one that drives the generator and air compressor on the same shaft (T. Times, 2/26/47, p. 3-A).

Railroad locomotives--Tacoma; Railroad cars--Tacoma; Railroads--Tacoma; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma);

Firemen Wally Johnson, of the Milwaukee Road, poses with the grateful woman that he rescued. Johnson scooped her up off the track, saving her life. The pair pose standing in front of a train. Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul Railways had made Tacoma its chief manufacturing point in the west. They had 300 acres with an extensive work shop and terminals, located near the tideflats. They offered transcontinental service and daily departures to Chicago.

Railroad employees; Aged persons--Tacoma; Railroad locomotives--Tacoma; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma);

This photograph, which dates from around 1890, was reproduced by Richards Studio in March of 1946 under the direction of Ernest G. Heinrich, the owner of Heinrich Locker & Ice Co. It is a view of a man with two boys, wearing hats, sitting by railroad tracks. Ernest Heinrich is the boy seated on the lap of Bill Plummer. Mr. Plummer was the bridge watchman for the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad Bridge across the St. Croix River in Rushseba Minnesota, Chisago County. The other boy is unidentified. The trio are at the ferry landing. TPL-3566

Railroad tracks; Children & adults; Smokestacks; Heinrich, Ernest G.--Family;

Northern Pacific Railway was awarded the President's Safety Plaque for 1945 for practicing the virtues of safety. G. L. Ernstrom, General Mechanical Superintendent for the company came from St. Paul, Minnesota to present the award. View of ceremony with Northern Pacific shop employees gathered to celebrate the honors (T. Times, 5/9/46, p. 5).

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Railroad shops & yards--Tacoma; Rites & ceremonies--Tacoma; Celebrations--Tacoma; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

Northern Pacific Railway was awarded the President's Safety Plaque for 1945 for practicing the virtues of safety. Northern Pacific employees were paid compliments for their safety consciousness. View of ceremony with Northern Pacific shop employees gathered to celebrate the honors (T. Times, 5/9/46, p. 5).

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Railroad shops & yards--Tacoma; Rites & ceremonies--Tacoma; Laborers--Tacoma; Celebrations--Tacoma; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

The Bellarmine High School Lions football team, the school Booster Club and Honorary Yell Queens are at Union Depot getting ready to head out to Yakima on a special six coach chartered train. More than 250 students were headed to Yakima for the football game against Marquette High School, Bellarmine intended to beat Marquette and celebrate on the train ride home. Names appear in newspaper (T. Times, 11/7/47, p. 17).

Railroad cabooses--Tacoma; Railroads--Tacoma; Clubs--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma); Megaphones; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad stations--Tacoma; Bellarmine High School (Tacoma);

Leon and Doris Titus are getting ready to board their train from Union Depot on October 17, 1947. Leon Titus, owner of Titus Ford, was just appointed as the Ford dealership representative at the National meeting, for this region. Doris is accompanying her husband on his trip to the Ford meeting. View of Mr. and Mrs. Titus standing by their train, just minutes before departing.

Railroad stations--Tacoma; Railroads--Tacoma; Railroad passenger cars--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma); Titus, Leon E.--Family; Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950;

In June 1946 Northern Pacific Railway decided to expand their freight depot and add modern offices to this location. The building remodeling is an important improvement for the railroad company, it will give Northern Pacific Railway modern facilities and an important West Coast terminal. Exterior view of the recently finished freight station and offices, located on Puyallup Avenue.

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Railroad stations--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shipping--Tacoma; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen auxiliary group held their regular meeting, after the regular business was discusses they were joined by the Brotherhood members for a social hour and refreshments. The social hour was hosted by Mrs. James Murphy and Gladys Miller, of the Milwaukee division No. 317 G.I.A. The meeting was held at the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall (T.N.T., 6/20/48, p. D-4).

Railroad employees; Railroad employees' unions--Tacoma; Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen No. 403 (Tacoma); Odd Fellows Hall (Tacoma);

On March 8, 1948, Tacoma Scouts troop 78, representing a number of grade schools, was given a special tour through the South Tacoma Northern Pacific shops at 5102 South Adams Street accompanied by Scoutmaster H.F. DesVoigne (back row, far right). They were shown the huge 5,000 pound hammer used to pound out railroad drive rods and a 2 1/2 ton steam-operated hammer that was dropped by gravity and stopped by steam using manual controls. They watched as it was used to crack open a walnut without crushing it. The group is standing in front of Northern Pacific Railway Company engine number 98. ( The names of the scouts are listed in the Tacoma Times.) (McMurtrie) (T.Times, 3/12/1948, p.2)

Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Boy Scouts (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Railroad facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Maintenance & repair--Tacoma; Railroad employees;

A group of workmen load 100 lb. bags of flour into a Southern Pacific railroad freight car at the Sperry Flour-General Mills plant on Tacoma's waterfront in February 1948. The company's facilities, on what is now Schuster Parkway, was ideally located between the railroad tracks and the "Ocean Dock". The company's products included all white flours, whole wheat, pancake and cake flours, cereals and mixed feed. Sperry's cereals were sent to Portland for packaging. The flour operations at the mill ceased in 1965, and the last of the mill buildings was demolished in the late 1980s. (Special order for special edition, Tacoma Times, George Beckingham)

Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Shipping--Tacoma; Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Southern Pacific Lines (Tacoma); General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma);

Connors Steel & Supply. A railroad car with a winch on one half of the car, the other half is covered with a light structure similar to a caboose. A man stands leaning against the siding of the structure.

Railroad cars--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery;

In March of 1949, 57 children from the morning and afternoon kindergarten classes of the Fern Hill school took a 40 mile roundtrip train ride from Tacoma's Union Station to Auburn. Ninety percent of the children had never been on a train before. After the ride, they were given a tour of the station by the stationmaster, and all 57 children climbed onto a giant scale in the baggage room. The entire group weighed 2,880 lbs. (T.N.T., 3/27/49, p. A-7). TPL-8804

Railroad stations--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Railroads--Tacoma; Railroad companies--Tacoma; Union Station (Tacoma); Railroad travel--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Engine round house at Northern Pacific Railway, Elwin Barker. The Northern Pacific Railroad was created by Congress on July 2, 1864. Actual construction got underway in 1870 near Carlton, Minnesota. The railroad closely followed the route of Lewis and Clark. Then, after 13 years, the last spike was driven at Gold Creek, Montana, on September 8, 1893. (Pacific Northwest Railroads of McGee and Nixon, Richard Green)

Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad roundhouses--Tacoma;

Northern Pacific locomotive No. 1783 rested on the turntable at the Northern Pacific Railway round house at 2211 East D St. in May of 1949. The round house was built in the late 1890s to service Northern Pacific's fleet of steam locomotives. Over the years, as the railroad companies switched from steam to diesel-electric engines, work at the round house dropped off. In the early 1970s the round house was closed down, and eventually demolished. The Reliance Lumber Company at 323 Puyallup Avenue can be seen behind the railroad facilities.. (TNT 11/30/1971 p.1) TPL-4421, TPL-3728

Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad roundhouses--Tacoma;

Milwaukee Road engine E-3 left Tacoma in early June, 1949 for Chicago to take part in a Railroad Fair that was scheduled to begin on June 25. The mammoth engine, known as "the world's mightiest electric locomotive" was stationed in Tacoma and pulled passenger trains through Seattle and over the Cascades. She was 67 feet in length, weighed 521,200 pounds and had 24 drive wheels. In the 1920's the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad pioneered the modern application of clean, quiet, electricity to power heavy trains. In 1949 and the 1950's the company purchased new electric locomotives. For electrification, the Milwaukee originally intended to generate their own power, but the railroad decided to purchase commercial alternating current and convert it on their own property to direct current. (TNT, 6/2/1949, p.6; Pacific Northwest Railroads of McGee and Nixon, Richard Green) TPL-9426

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Railroad companies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Maxwell-Runacres. A June 24, 1949, view of two bridges over the rushing Spokane River in downtown Spokane, Washington. A railroad train is crossing the river on the upper bridge. A reader has identified the arched bridge closest to the foreground as the Monroe Bridge in Spokane. This was the third Monroe (Street) Bridge. At the time of its November 23, 1911, opening, it was considered the largest concrete-arch bridge in the United States. The steel viaduct running diagonally across it was built by the Union Pacific Railroad three years later in 1914 and not removed until 1973 in time for Expo '74. The historic bridge gradually deteriorated and was dismantled with a new bridge, nearly identical to the old, opening in September of 2005. (www.historylink.org) (Identification provided by reader)

Railroad bridges--Spokane; Railroads--Spokane; Bridges--Spokane; Monroe Street Bridge (Spokane); Spokane River (Wash.);

In June 1946 Northern Pacific Railway decided to expand their freight depot and add modern offices to this location. This building remodeling was an important improvement for the railroad company, it gave Northern Pacific Railway modern facilities and became an important West Coast terminal. Throughout the years Northern Pacific has expanded in Tacoma and in the United States, making this railroad company one of the largest railroads in the country. Close up view of Northern Pacific's railroad caboose number 1627. TPL-5840

Railroad cabooses--Tacoma; Railroad companies--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

A copy of an earlier photograph of two steam engines pulling a load of logs. Engine No. 7 is the front engine with a cattle catcher on her front. Steam-whistles can be seen on both locomotives. The crew stand nearby while the engineer and fireman lean from the cab. The letters B.B.&.B.C. are seen on the coal tender. This was a Bellingham Bay and British Columbia locomotive, an early railroad in Bellingham/Whatcom County. Ordered by Philip S. VanWyck who was the director of the Tacoma Vocational-Technical School in 1953. (Additional information provided by a reader)

Railroad locomotives; Steam-whistles;

ca. 1926. Wenatchee Apple display in window at Great Northern Railroad ticket office, located at Transportation Row. (alternate address 112-18 So. 9th St.) Placards in the window offer the information that "over 15,000 car loads of apples are shipped annually over the Great Northern Railway" and that "National Apple Week" is "October 31 through November 7th." The sign board below the "Tickets" neon sign has pictures of Paramount stars Jack Holt and Billie Dove eating Wenatchee apples while in the Cascades filming "Ancient Highway." (filed with Argentum)

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1920-1930; Facades--Tacoma--1920-1930; Ticket offices; Window displays; Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1926. Wenatchee Apple display in window at Great Northern Railroad ticket office, located in Transportation Row. (alternate address 112-18 So. 9th) Two unidentified men pose in the window along with the apples advertising National Apple Week, October 31 to November 6. (filed with Argentum)

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1920-1930; Facades--Tacoma--1920-1930; Ticket offices; Window displays; Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1926. A railroad crossing. A factory belches smoke in the distance. Photograph is labeled "No. 4." (WSHS)

Railroad crossings--1920-1930;

Window Display at Union Pacific Railroad ticket office. Promotion for Streamliner Passenger Rail Service from Tacoma to Portland in center, small World War II poster at right. The office was housed in the Drury building. The main address for the office was 112-18 So. 9th St. Known as Transportation Row, it housed the offices of the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroads from 1926-1975. The office had been remodeled in May of 1942.

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Union Pacific Railroad Co. (Tacoma); Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960;

On January 6, 1943 a Lotan Fuel Company truck was crossing the belt line tracks near 2500 East 11th Street on the tideflats when it was hit broadside by a Municipal Belt Line train engine. The engine was knocked off the tracks, and the truck ended up laying on its side, its load of fuel wood dumped onto the tracks. Surprisingly, no one in either the truck or the engine was injured. (T.Times, 1/7/1943 p.16)

Railroad accidents--Tacoma; Municipal Belt Line (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lotan Fuel Co. (Tacoma);

Steam escaped from a Great Northern freight locomotive after the southbound train derailed at 24th and Bay St. on October 15, 1942, and fell over on its side. Six cars piled up behind the derailed engine. Over 100 feet of track were torn up in the mishap, but luckily no one was hurt. The locomotive, known as the Extra 3210, was scheduled only to pause in Tacoma for the coupling of a helper engine. The train was past the Reservation Junction, on the east city outskirts, and had reached the line leading to the drawbridge when the locomotive and tender turned over on their sides. The cause of the accident was unknown at the time the story ran in the newspaper. (TNT 10/16/1942, pg. 1; T. Times 10/16/1942, pg. 1)

Railroads--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Railroad accidents--Tacoma; Disasters--Tacoma; Railroad locomotives; Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma);

Interior of office, Great Northern. Employees help individuals including two nuns and a soldier with tickets and travel plans. Other employees handle other work at their desks. (alternate address 112-18 So. 9th)

Railroads--Tacoma--1940-1950; Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma); Ticket offices--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Televed, Inc., Railway Exchange Building, Chicago, Illinois, for Mr. D.A. Highet. A gasoline-powered generator, on a movable housing made for riding on railroad tracks sits on one set of track while an engine and railroad cars head toward the camera from the opposite direction.

Railroad tracks; Railroads; Electric generators;

Interior of the remodeled Great Northern Railroad Ticket Office in November of 1942. Pictured are the long, curved ticket counter with agents seated at the desks lying beyond. Three large landscape paintings decorate the walls. The office was located in the Drury building. It was part of "Transportation Row," 112-18 So. 9th St., which housed the ticket offices of all area railroads.

Railroad companies--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960; Ticket offices; Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma);