The Central Washington Line

     The CW branch line, built by NP, originally ran north from the mainline at Connell, WA, to Odair where it turned east for the run back to NP’s mainline at Cheney, WA. In the 1930’s the United States Government built tracks from Odair to the site of the new Grand Coulee Dam. This increased freight traffic as the line hauled in much of the equipment for the dam. Then in 1942 the dam was completed, and shortly afterwards the railroad line was taken out. The portion of the line between Odair and Wheeler was abandoned by BN in the 1980’s. The bottom half, south of Wheeler, was sold to a shortline about the same time that Watco purchased the northern half. Today, the CW branch refers to the line between Cheney and Coulee City (5 miles west of Odair).

     Traffic on the CW branch has remained the same with just a few exceptions. Passenger trains used to run daily on the line until they were discontinued in the 1950’s. The bulk of the traffic on the CW branch consists of hopper cars. Occasionally there will be a piece of farm equipment to deliver to Coulee City. Some of the last F units and grain boxcars in BN’s fleet were used on this line because of the old rails. Since traffic is based on the harvest, train frequency can be seasonal depending on the supply, demand, and price of grain.

     The town of Coulee City used to have a roundhouse, but it was torn down years ago. Central Washington Grain Growers Inc. owns the elevator at Coulee City along with one at Hartline, Hanson, Almira, Govan, Creston, and two in Wilbur. The depot at Coulee City was moved to make room for the grain elevators that now stand on its old foundation. Heading east, you come to Odair where the lines to the north and south were abandoned and torn up. The next town, Hartline, is where two elevators are located. In the middle of the fields two more elevators stand at Hanson. Continuing east the railroad reaches the town of Almira which boasts two elevators. After climbing a hill, the line rolls through the remains of what was once the town of Govan. Presently, all that stands are a couple houses, two elevators, and what looks like an old schoolhouse.

     Gas, food, and two more elevators are located at the good-sized town of Wilbur. The next town passed Wilbur is Creston, where another elevator can be found. After 20 more miles the railroad reaches the town of Davenport, but on the way it passes another elevator at Rocklyn. Davenport is the largest of the towns that PCC serves on the CW branch. There are two elevators located here, and a wye track from the old branch line to Eleanor is still intact. Out in the middle of the fields an elevator stands at Mondovi. The Reardan Grain Growers own an elevator at Reardan and another at Hite. From here, the railroad runs under the BNSF’s Columbia River Subdivision and on into Medical Lake. Now the tracks have left the elevators and fields behind for the remaining ten miles into Cheney. In all, PCC serves 19 grain elevators along the CW branch; most of them are capable of handling 26 car blocks.

     In the old days during the BN’s reign, the P&L used to boast what was called the Highball. This train was named the Highball because of its ability to run from Spokane to Lewiston and back in a 16-hour day. In order to accomplish this, there were several locals that ran along the spurs and branches to forward all the cars to the P&L. With the closing of the line south of Moscow, the Highball shifted from a daily to a tri-weekly basis. This schedule remained the same until the line was sold to Watco in 1996. Even today, the crews on PCC today still refer to the train on the P&L as the Highball.

     The P&L line branches off the BNSF tracks at the little town of Marshall. PCC has a small yard in town for the BNSF to drop off and pickup cars. From Marshall, the line travels through some of the only forest along the route, eventually entering the rolling hills of the Palouse ten miles south at Spangle, WA. It is here that the PCC serves two grain elevators and a fertilizer plant. The tracks roll across the wheat fields for another ten miles before arriving at the small town of Plaza. Here they serve an elevator owned by Cooperative Agriculture Products which owns more than half the elevators along this line. The next town is Rosalia, where the locomotive maintenance headquarters and another elevator are located. Just south of town the tracks duck under the old Milwaukee Railroad bridge.

     After passing by an elevator at McCoy, the railroad runs through the town of Oaksdale which supplies a substantial amount of traffic. Three elevators are located in town as well as two fertilizer plants. Two more elevators stand in the middle of the fields with one at Belmont and the other at Eden. At Garfield, there is another grain elevator, although it is only served occasionally. From Garfield the tracks curve downgrade to join the Palouse River for the rest of the way to Palouse. In this town, McGregor owns a good-sized fertilizer facility, and two elevators stand next to the tracks. A small yard is positioned here too which serves as one terminus for the Highball’s run. The spur track out to Bovill, ID, is still in place as far as Harvard. The only customer remaining on this line is a mill owned by Bennett Lumber Products Inc. The entire line is FRA excepted track so maximum track speed is 10 mph.

     The tracks climb out of the valley as they head out of Palouse. Several miles south, another elevator is located at Fallon. From there it is ten more miles to Pullman where the tracks join the line from Hooper. Pullman is a big town with a population boosted by Washington State University. The tracks turn east for the final ten miles into Moscow. In town, PCC serves several industries including a couple of elevators; Columbia Tractor, which occasionally gets some new farm equipment; and Ferrell Gas, which receives regular shipments of propane.

     Before the BLMR was merged into the PCC, it was almost considered two railroads because of the two very different sections. The northern lines from Moscow to the UP interchange at Hooper were often said to be under the Palouse River Railroad Co.(PR), and you can still see this on the sides of some of the ex-BLMR locomotives. The PR lines actually consist of the Endicott, Pleasant Valley, Hooper and Moscow Subdivisions. All of these lines were part of the sale by UP to Wacto in 1992.

     The line from Moscow west to Pullman is the same line that is considered to be part of the P&L. In Pullman a McGregor Fertilizer Plant stands next to an elevator. From Pullman the line splits away from the P&L and heads northwest towards Colfax. During the 20 miles to Colfax the tracks only pass through one small town called Albion. A few elevators stand here or there but the tracks don’t traverse any agricultural fields because they hug the Palouse River all the way. Colfax is the last good-sized town along the railroad heading west. Multiple industries including several grain elevators and another McGregor Fertilizer Plant are located in town. There is also a small yard in town where locomotives will rest when not making a run.

     The tracks leave Colfax and curve west on a 4.4% grade out of the Palouse River Valley. Back in the farmland, the railroad passes several more elevators at Mockonema, Diamond, and Endicott. Endicott is also the location of a fertilizer plant that makes the fire retardant used to fight forest fires. After another five miles the line rolls into Winona. In town, PCC serves an elevator and the railroad splits. The north branch of the wye curves north and then back east to Thornton, while the south branch continues southwest to Hooper. On the way north, the railroad continues to cross fields of wheat, barley and oats. Multiple elevators are spread out along the 30 miles to Thornton, and at St. John a McGregor fertilizer plant and an elevator sit adjacent to the tracks. In the actual town of Thornton, McGregor owns another fertilizer plant and the railroad serves yet another elevator.

     Back at Winona, the scenery starts to change as the line continues west towards the UP interchange. After a few miles, the fields have all been replaced by sagebrush and dry grass. Ten miles past Winona lies the town of La Crosse where McGregor owns another plant and where one of the last elevators along the line is located. For the remaining 15 miles into Hooper the tracks wind down through several coulees and cross only a couple fields. The town of Hooper possesses the last elevator served by PCC. A mile west of town the PCC joins the UP railroad at Hooper Jct. where a yard is located.

     The branch lines around Walla Walla are known as the Blue Mountain lines. Most of the rail operated by PCC is ex-OWR&N. The tracks start in the yard at Wallula where PCC can interchange with both BNSF and UP. From there the tracks leave the Columbia River and follow the Walla Walla River for 15 miles to Touchet. Now the tracks have entered the Walla Walla Valley and are surrounded by agricultural fields. The PCC serves a few industries on this branch in Touchet, Lowden and Whitman.

     Arriving in Walla Walla the tracks enter a yard which serves as the base for operations in the area. When not in use the engines can usually be found in this yard. Unlike the northern section of PCC, grain is not the only dominant commodity in town. Of course a few elevators are still in town but PCC also serves multiple food processing plants and delivers refrigerated boxcars to shippers. Also, McGregor owns five fertilizer plants in the vacinity with one at Touchet, Walla Walla, Prescott, Waitsburg, and Dayton. Several industrial leads are located throughout the town with the biggest one to Walair.

     From the yard the tracks split into two branches. The northern branch heads up to Dayton while the southern one heads to Weston, OR. On the way down to Weston the tracks make a steep climb up and over a hill after passing through Milton-Freewater, OR. The town of Milton-Freewater has many of the same industries as Walla Walla. Twenty miles south of the Oregon/Washington state line the tracks end at Weston where PCC serves a food processing plant.

     Back at Walla Walla, the northern line takes off from the yard and heads out of town. Once again the tracks traverse rolling fields of grain. After heading north for 20 miles, the tracks turn east at Prescott where PCC serves an elevator and a fertilizer plant. Eight miles east at Waitsburg, the tracks start to follow the Touchet River. The line ends at Dayton where a food processing plant and some elevators are located. Because the tracks crisscross fields for most of the way, several other elevators not in towns are located along the route.

     The only other line operated by PCC is the eleven and a half mile branch from Arlington, OR, to Gilliam, OR. This line was originally built around 1905 by the OWR&N and connected all the way to Condon, OR. However, the only industries on the line until the late 1920’s were agricultural related. In May, 1928, the Condon, Kinzua & Southern Railroad was formed to operate 24 miles between the UP connection at Condon and a big lumber mill at Kinzua. Traffic really boomed, and by the 1970’s products from the mill constituted 90% of the traffic on the Condon branch. Then operations shifted to other mills, and the Condon line was rarely used after the mill shut down in 1976. When the landfill at Gilliam opened, the UP decided to abandon everything south of that point.

     The locomotives used on PCC include seven GP35’s and four GP30’s. They own a CF7 but it stays in the yard at Wallula and is used exclusively to switch the Boise Cascade Plant. Currently, PCC has two switchers on lease, one lettered for HLCX (1012) and one for LLPX (179). After Watco acquired the CSP and started the GNRW, all of their new locomotives have been running on both the PCC and GNRW railroads. Over the next few years, Watco is requiring all of its companies to paint their locomotives into the uniform black paint scheme that it has already applied to its own locomotive fleet. With this change the locomotives will still keep their individual railroad company names but they will carry the WAMX (Webb Asset Management) reporting mark.

     PCC, like most shortline railroads, uses a red flag instead of an EOT. They normally use a two-man crew consisting of an engineer and conductor. Sometimes a 3rd man will ride along if a lot of work needs to be done or if they have to clear switches and crossings in the winter. Unlike most railroads however, PCC’s conductors drive a company car instead of riding the train. They have found this system works much better for them because the conductor is mobile. He can inspect the train as it rolls by, talk to the customers before the train arrives, get the cars ready for pick up, and line all of the switches in advance of the train.

     All of the communications that are transmitted between the crew and headquarters or locomotive maintenance are made using cell phones. The conductor and engineer, however, will talk to each other over the radio, and if you have a scanner it can assist you in finding out how many cars are being picked up. The entire railroad uses 160.785 for all broadcasts between crew members. Also, the conductor is very friendly and will usually tell you where the train will be dropping off or picking up cars that day. However, this gives you no right as a railfan to trespass on railroad property for any reason. PCC is very concerned about the safety of its crew members and trains so always give a safe distance between you and the train.