Nostalgia & History > For Funnelfan or anybody familiar with Spokane

While snooping around Spokane using Google Maps I found this location of an old roundhouse and large yard off East Wellesley Avenue. Looking further the line appears well used heading north towards Canada. Any idea what railroad this was then and is now? I am not familiar with Spokane but didn't know there was anything on the north side of town like this.

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Roundhouse at Great Northern Hillyard, the GN Spokane yard. GN to/from the east extended north from Spokane toward Newport.

TAW

Thank you. Not being familiar with Spokane I assume Hillyard was east, not north.

Posted from Android

Railbaron Wrote:
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> Thank you. Not being familiar with Spokane I
> assume Hillyard was east, not north.
>
> Posted from Android

Hillyard was Railroad east by timetable, but geographically north of Spokane.

Ah, ok, thank you. It's been 30+ years since I was in Spokane and I assumed everything was on an east/west axis; didn't know GN was north of town. Who knows what I missed.

GN came into downtown Spokane from the west, then just east of downtown it turned 90 degrees to the north to exit town through Hillyard up to Newport where it headed more easterly again toward Sandpoint, Idaho.

The footprint of that roundhouse is about to be erased by the US395 project. 

czephyr17 Wrote:
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> GN came into downtown Spokane from the west, then
> just east of downtown it turned 90 degrees to the
> north to exit town through Hillyard up to Newport
> where it headed more easterly again toward
> Sandpoint, Idaho.

Just to add a little but more, the GN east-west mainline route was north of Spokane so it fits for the facilities to be north of town. The approach from the west was over a huge steel trestle, removed as part of the World's Fair project and also that little RR merger thing going on.

To the east they hooked up with the Pend Oreille River, then to Sand Point  and further north. The present BNSF main was the old NP mainline, a little but further south until Sandpoint. The BN merger allowed them to pick and choose their mainline route.

Interesting that the roundhouse area can still be seen.

Hillyard has an interesting history...

http://www.nostalgiamagazine.net/2018/12/02/how-hillyard-became-a-city-against-its-better-judgment-and-relectantly-stayed-one-for-29-years/

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

If you look down between Hillyard and Parkwater you will find another roundhouse along Mission? St which belonged to the Spokane International which was the UP connection to Canada and the Soo Line.