Western Railroad Discussion > Washington Central Railroad Company

Can anyone give me information, or link to information, about the Washington Central Railroad Company (reporting marks WCRC)?

Thanks for the help.

Jimmie Fisher
Oriental, NC
Flickr

Washington Central was the short line that acquired most of the east side of the Stampede Pass route when BN closed the pass and sold off the east side east of Cle Elum. Nick Temple and his family were the principals.

When BN/BNSF reopened Stampede they bought the mainline portion of this back. The Temples kept the Yakima shops and some trackage in the Columbia Basin they had acquired that became the Columbia Basin Railroad.

The Temple family ran the dinner train that ran from Renton to Woodinville.

Google Columbia Basin Railroad and Temple Industries to get their public information.

Washington Central may no longer exist, or may be an overhead company or something.

Washington Central is part of BNSF. Whan they bought back the stampedee line they also bought Washington Central RR. Mr Temple then re-orginized the remander of his RR into the Columbia Basin. BNSF even uses ones of the SW12's at Interbay (Seattle) Roundhouse to this day still in full Washington Central paint.
KEvin

I used to see WCRC GP 9 302 down around Tacoma. My last picture of it was 12/21/99 at Sumner. I wondered how that came to pass. Thanks for the information.

Thanks for the information.

The Temple website gave reference to Central Washington Railroad, but not Washington Central Railroad Company. The BNSF site listing short-line partners gave no reference to Washington Central.

I was asking about it because a 66-ft gondola loaded with coiled steel wire and carrying WCRC marks was westbound on NS train 135 through Asheville, NC, yesterday. First time I ever saw those marks.

Jimmie Fisher
Oriental, NC
Flickr

Pacific_Division Wrote:
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> Washington Central is part of BNSF. Whan they
> bought back the stampedee line they also bought
> Washington Central RR. Mr Temple then re-orginized
> the remander of his RR into the Columbia Basin.
> BNSF even uses ones of the SW12's at Interbay
> (Seattle) Roundhouse to this day still in full
> Washington Central paint.
> KEvin

I think it's curious to say that WCRC "is part of BNSF." An interesting point of view. BNSF reacquired the former BN Yakima Valley and Stampede Pass lines (the latter which WCRC operated up to Cle Elum) from WCRC; WCRC had acquired them from BN in late 1987 (as well as some trackage in the Moses Lake area and some branchlines in the Yakima area).

The paint scheme and "bird" logo on Freckles (the Interbay shop goat) is actually one that CEECO applied to several EMD SWs and two Geeps before subsequently leasing them to WCRC. WCRC put its name on the units. The bird, contrary to popular opinion, is not a seahawk, but a toucan. Why a toucan? Beats me.

johnwvan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I used to see WCRC GP 9 302 down around Tacoma.
> My last picture of it was 12/21/99 at Sumner. I
> wondered how that came to pass. Thanks for the
> information.

I last saw the 302 at Warden, WA on 7-9-09 lettered for CBRW about to head out on a southbound freight. Still looked pretty good for its age.

Brian Ambrose
Renton, WA

---

signalmaintainer Wrote:
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> The bird, contrary to popular opinion, is not a seahawk, but a toucan. Why a toucan? Beats me.

They would have had to get the lawyers involved and probably pay some fee to use the Seahawks see-chickin (registered and copyrighted etc...) The toucan was probably the closet thing that wouldn't get them in trouble. Looks close enough to me.

BrianA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> johnwvan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I used to see WCRC GP 9 302 down around Tacoma.
>
> > My last picture of it was 12/21/99 at Sumner.
> I
> > wondered how that came to pass. Thanks for the
> > information.
>
> I last saw the 302 at Warden, WA on 7-9-09
> lettered for CBRW about to head out on a
> southbound freight. Still looked pretty good for
> its age.
>
> Brian Ambrose
> Renton, WA

Interesting. The Temple group must have reacquired her.

Here she is in Tacoma in 1997.

---

signalmaintainer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pacific_Division Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Washington Central is part of BNSF. Whan they
> > bought back the stampedee line they also bought
> > Washington Central RR. Mr Temple then
> re-orginized
> > the remander of his RR into the Columbia Basin.
> > BNSF even uses ones of the SW12's at Interbay
> > (Seattle) Roundhouse to this day still in full
> > Washington Central paint.
> > KEvin
>
> I think it's curious to say that WCRC "is part of
> BNSF." An interesting point of view. BNSF
> reacquired the former BN Yakima Valley and
> Stampede Pass lines (the latter which WCRC
> operated up to Cle Elum) from WCRC; WCRC had
> acquired them from BN in late 1987 (as well as
> some trackage in the Moses Lake area and some
> branchlines in the Yakima area).
>
> The paint scheme and "bird" logo on Freckles (the
> Interbay shop goat) is actually one that CEECO
> applied to several EMD SWs and two Geeps before
> subsequently leasing them to WCRC. WCRC put its
> name on the units. The bird, contrary to popular
> opinion, is not a seahawk, but a toucan. Why a
> toucan? Beats me.


Actually, the Washington Central became a wholly owned subsidiary of the BNSF in December 1996. By merging the two companies, there were certain tax advantages vs. an outright purchase. Nick Temple essentially retired at this point in time. In December 1996, the Columbia Basin Railroad (CBRW) came into being. Nick Temple's son Brig still runs this operation which is based out of Warden, WA and serves Moses Lake, Othello, Wheeler and interchanges cars with the BNSF at Connell, WA. Ownership of the old Milwaukee line between Othello and Warden was (and may still be) controlled by the BNSF and leased to the CBRW. This was done just in case the old Milwaukee line should ever be reactivated between Lind, WA and Ellensburg, WA. Hopes of such a venture are quite dim --especially considering the fact that Stampede Pass is currently shut down. In January 2005, the BNSF decided to spin off the rest of the Yakima Valley branch lines. Brig Temple was the successful bidder and created the 'Central Washington Railroad' (CWA). The CWA now operates the Granger branch line which runs from Gibbon, WA to Zillah, WA (Zillah is on a dormant section of the old U.P. Yakima branch). Other CWA lines include the Moxee City branch, the White Swan branch (formerly Toppenish Simcoe & Western -TWSR) and what's left of the Naches branch. CWA also switches the former U.P. trackage in Yakima and Union Gap. The entire operation --both the CBRW and CWA-- is controlled out the Temple office complex in Yakima, WA. Note that all U.P. trackage in the Yakima Valley is actually still owned by the Union Pacific with service being provided under a haulage agreement that has been in place since the U.P. pulled out the Yakima Valley in 1992. Traffic is definitely not what it once was in the Yakima Valley. Oddly enough, traffic probably peaked in the late 1990's under the BNSF. The WCRC name still rubs certain BN employees the wrong way. However, it is actually the BN management of the 1980's they should blame. BN management of the 1980's was more interested in exploiting the land and resource aspects of the BN property and had little interest in running a railroad. It was really only under Rob Krebs that an interest in the railroad reappeared. With Stampede Pass shut down, questions come up about the BNSF selling off the entire line again. PROBABLY not. In closing, the WCRC was certainly an interesting little railroad that truly brought customer service back into a business that frequently turns its back on its customers.

StampedeJ, thanks for that succinct explanation. I did not know of WCRC's legal status following the BNSF acquisition.

It's interesting that UP has kept ownership of its trackage in the Yakima Valley -- interesting from a "what might that portend if the stars line up" perspective.