The log train has Chehalis Western engine 684 (an Alco C415) on the point. The station had a rather interesting train order board. In the top picture you can see it just to the left of the large telephone pole. It looks just like a switch lantern and plate from the top of a switch stand. In reality that is exactly what it was made from. A chain went around a gear on the shaft and both ends went back inside the station. Depending on which end of the chain was pulled, set the indication for clear or stop for orders. In both of the pictures on the following page, you will see the board set to stop.

The train has just cleared Western Junction on April 19, 1973. This had been a sleepy little junction. However, Weyerhaeuser built a line north from here to the South Bay log dump on Puget Sound and secured trackage rights over the Milwaukee Road to Chehalis. With the addition of the log trains and through freights, the number of trains operating through Western Junction went up by ten fold. Disk 10

Index

Milwaukee at Western Jct