…in the US is about to cease operations. I ran across this post on Freerails.com this morning. I didn’t even know they existed, I live in the same state, and now they’re gone. Sniff.
Does anybody know anymore about this that they can fill in some details?
Simpson Timber Company Railroad
If you listen closely, you can hear David Russel’s voice at the end of the video. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Loading logs at the waterfront.
I know that they run the only dynamic brake equipped SW1200’s that are around! I’ve seen them a couple times in person, switching the waterfront as I drove through Shelton, but I don’t know enough to say beyond that. The go to guy about Simpson RR is Joel Hawthorn. He’s got lots of videos and pictures of the operations. At one point in time it was much larger railroad operation, but over the years they removed more and more rail. What exists now is basically a point to point line from the waterfront to a truck/rail reload site.
http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?railroad=Simpson%20Railroad
The second highest railway arch bridge ever built in the United States, the Vance Creek arch bridge soars 347 feet (106 mtrs) above a thick forest valley in Washington State’s Olympic peninsula. Originally constructed in 1929 by the Simpson Timber Company, the bridge was eventually abandoned and has neither tracks nor a roadway on top of it. Located several miles north on the same rail line and still in use as a road bridge since 1950 is the High Steel bridge over the South Fork of the Skokomish river and the highest arch bridge ever built for a U.S. rail line at 365 feet (111 mtrs). Both bridges were built by the American Bridge Company.
Images by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com Shared under Fair Use Doctrine for Education.
That’s interesting. There was an article published in I believe Railroad magazine that claimed that St Maries River Railroad was the last operational logging railroad in the US. When Potlatch sold it and it ceased to run logs from Clarkia they claimed it was the end of the last true logging railroads.
So it is nice to see there is another but said to see it go. I love logging railroads.
Here’s an interesting video taken by quadcopter. I’d say that the bridge still has both rail and roadbed.
Video by: Spencer Findlay
thats a cool bridge
The Vance Creek Bridge would make an interesting modeling project. Any takers?
