Western Railroad Discussion > Identify This Very Interesting Place

Taken yesterday within a few miles on the same operation.

Anyone recognize it?

Stan

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Fun Ted's House of Horrors?

Battleground, WA?

monaddave Wrote:
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> Fun Ted's House of Horrors?


Yeah, it looks like a murder scene. Head hunters!?

OMG I need to know so I can go buy one of the cabs. Now how do I explane to my wife I want to put that in the house????

Somewhere near Portland, OR? Spare parts for Doyle McCormick?

Rob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/10 10:00 by SilvertonRR100.

LVFoamer Wrote:
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> OMG I need to know so I can go buy one of the
> cabs. Now how do I explane to my wife I want to
> put that in the house????

If you figure it out let me know so I can try it on my wife! *LOL*

LVFoamer Wrote:
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> OMG I need to know so I can go buy one of the
> cabs. Now how do I explane to my wife I want to
> put that in the house????

Just tell her you bought a "cab" and are going into business.

56-lb rail? How long has it been since that was rolled? Even in the bad old days, that would have been a bit light for OETM/OERM. And: one of those salvaged cabs would be a great place from which to operate one's G-gauge backyard railway. Brings to mind the Star Trek fan who built a full scale Federation shuttle craft in his garage.

Bob Davis
amateur gandy dancer and sometimes member of the Orange Empire track crew.

Bob,

I did a double take on that also. I've seen and installed lot's of 90lb to whatever comp joints, but never to 56lb!

Chris Campi
NCRy

Chelachie Prairie Railroad in SW Washington. The cabs are at the shop in Amboy. I assume the third is a photo of the their blue alco.

Well, Denny is within several miles saying Amboy. The cabs are actually adjacent to the west leg of the wye at Chelatchie. In the aerial photo at the link below you'll see the cabs just to the left of the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad's open observation car.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Chelatchie,+WA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.310476,112.060547&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Chelatchie,+Washington&ll=45.925881,-122.372227&spn=0.001332,0.00342&t=h&z=19

The blue Alco is the Battle Ground Yacolt & Chelatchie Prairie (BYCX) #1 which began life as the Los Angeles Junction Railway #1 in 1941.

There is quite a bit of light rail remaining on the line. I think the lightest rail in use on the current passenger train route is 66 lb.

I recall running on 56 lb. rail in early 1976 on the old Northern Pacific Railway 18-mile branch line (ex-Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway) southeastward out of Davenport, Washington which was a remnant of the 50.05-mile Spokane to Davenport portion of the SLS&E built in the late 1880s. It was a grain branch but the light rail could not accommodate modern grain hoppers so it was like a step back in time with a train of coopered boxcars. We usually had three or four units during the grain season on the Spokane - Coulee City run but had to cut off a single four-axle unit at Davenport to use on the branch. There was practically no useful ballast but it actually rode pretty good at the 10 MPH speed limit as long as the ground was still frozen. With the spring thaw it became a rock-and-roll ride from one rail joint to the next in the mush and even 5 MPH seemed questionable.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/10 11:59 by Jim700.

vcrdenny and Jim700 got it.

The cabs are at the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad shops a couple of miles east of Amboy at Chelatchie Prairie. The rail joint and Alco switcher are in Yacolt, about 8 miles away.

There are three Alco switchers stored on the Chelatchie Prairie abandoned mill grounds, a few hundred yards north of the shops. What's the story behing these?

Stan

What's the story with the cabs?

Mike Root
Madras, OR

Back in the late '80s Morrison-Knudsen used salvaged F45 cabs to build 5 F40PHL-2's for Florida Tri-Rail commuter agency- perhaps similar units were built or planned as well and these cabs were salvaged for that purpose. (Not sure how they ended up in OR, though.)

Actually WA. Who owns the cabs

Mike Root
Madras, OR

I just took a quick peek at the Google Maps view of the Chelatchie Prarie shop area east of Amboy, WA and there looks to be a lot of interesting relics in the area. Can someone provide photos of what the place has to offer. There seems to be a lot of old equipment sitting around. I would also love some history on how those F45 cabs came to be there as I had not heard they were being scrapped on site. If that is so, were they trucked in for a reason? Nice to see they are still there should anyone have a creative project purpose.

Thanks for sharing those photos. I would have never guessed they would be in Amboy WA.

Milwaukee Wrote:
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> I would have never guessed they would be in Amboy WA.

While residents and businesses in Chelatchie are served by the Amboy Post Office, Chelatchie is a totally separate community located between four and five miles (depending upon the road route driven) northeast of Amboy. Chelatchie was a booming place until the mill closed about thirty years ago. For more information click on "HISTORY" at http://www.bycx.com/.

ChrisCampi Wrote:
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> Bob,
>
> I did a double take on that also. I've seen and
> installed lot's of 90lb to whatever comp joints,
> but never to 56lb!
>
> Chris Campi
> NCRy

It is also a photo of an improperly installed compromise rail joint.

Its funny to see 90RB as the bigger rail in a comp. joint! CJ