The Milwaukee Road’s Tacoma Eastern line, south of Tacoma, is rather unique in that it is one of the few completely intact segments of "Lines West". The line comes off from the UP (former UP/Milw) mainline at Fife Junction and continues south to Fredrickson, where it splits with one line continuing down to Chehalis, and the other running down to Morton.
I don’t know the early history of the Tacoma Eastern, but I understand it was purchased by the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway somewhere around 1910 (someone can correct me on this). I believe that the line served mainly Weyerhaeuser, along with other industries. This line wasn’t much more than a branch line until the Burlington Northern merger in 1970, which resulted in the opening of the 11 Gateways, including the Portland gateway. This created a surge in traffic over the line that lasted throughout the 70s.
In 1980, Weyerhaeuser, fearing the loss of its outside connection, purchased the entire line from the Milwaukee Road along with several Milwaukee log flatcars. This new part of the Weyerhaeuser system became the Chehalis Western. Weyerhaeuser’s logging operating continued throughout the 80s, but bad maintenance had made their original railroad almost inoperable, with several sections having 10mph speed restrictions. For this and other reasons, Weyerhaeuser decided to shut down its logging system in 1992. The entire system sat unused until 1995, when Tacoma Public Utilities approached Weyerhaeuser about purchasing the line.
TPU was at that time already operating an industrial railroad in and near the Port of Tacoma. Weyerhaeuser sold the line to TPU during 1995, and abandoned its remaining lines. The line reverted to its original name – the Tacoma & Eastern (yes, there was an "and" in there this time).
While the Weyerhaeuser lines have been abandoned, the ex-Milwaukee parts of the line remain. In 1998, the Tacoma & Eastern was absorbed into Tacoma Rail (the industrial railroad) and became its Mountain Division. The line is operating on a daily basis between Tacoma and Fredrickson.
For the most part, this section of Milwaukee trackage (at least the Chehalis line) is easy to follow. It is easy to pick out as the track is all still there. I also highly recommend a DeLorme Atlas to help guide you – it will be extremely helpful. Whether you use the paper or CD-Rom is more or less personal preference.
Tacoma to Fredrickson
The TE line cuts off from the UP/Milw mainline at Fife Junction. If you are driving south on I-5, you can see this easily to the left as it is the line that runs upgrade from the mainline. It runs under the freeway, and on the right you can see the bridge over the Puyallup river and the Burlington Northern (now BNSF) line into Tacoma. The freeway roughly follows the line, and you can see several bridges and a long trestle while on the freeway. If you take the Tacoma Dome exit, you can drive down to Freighthouse Square. Not surprisingly, the Freighthouse Square building is the old Milwaukee Road Tacoma Freighthouse. The building contains a bunch of gift shops, but inside there are also several Milwaukee pictures of steam, electric and diesel locomotives on the Coast Division, along with some other NP pictures.
Just past the freighthouse, the line veers south under I-705 and I-5. The line wanders up through the Tacoma Eastern Gulch, in the middle of SR-7 (it is a freeway for the first mile) and begins the 3.75% climb up the grade. You can get on SR-7 and follow the line for the first mile, but you have to take the first exit, which moves away from the line. This part of the line is almost impossible to follow, and the best way to see it is to ride the steam train at Tacoma Railfan Days, held once a year in June. We took this trip last month and it was a lot of fun. Visit http://www.mrsr.com for more info. Hillsdale is accessible, but it is out of the way and there is absolutely nothing railroad-related there other than siding. Technically speaking, it is still part of Tacoma. There are still several industries served by Tacoma Rail along this line.
You can follow SR-7 south through Tacoma until you get to the SR-512 Freeway. This will not follow the Milwaukee line, but it is the only way I know. Get on 512 heading east. You will pass under the line, then take the next exit (Canyon Road). Follow this road down a ways and you will be in Fredrickson. There is no sign, I think the place is unincorporated. Go straight at the light and you will see the Wye just down the road. There are usually a lot of cars stored here as two of the legs have sidings on them. Looking south, the left (East) leg of the wye becomes the Morton branch, while the right (west) leg of the wye is the Chehalis line. You can also see some of Tacoma Rail’s major customers here. If you are lucky, you may catch a Tacoma Rail train here as they seem to sit overnight in Fredrickson.
If you head back up to the light, going north, turn left onto the numbered road (I don’t know the name!) and follow it back to Highway 7 in Spanaway. This doesn’t follow the line either, but it is the only way to continue on that I know of (if you know different, please tell me!). Turn left (south) onto Highway 7 and follow it down to the "Roy Y" where SR-507 cuts off. Take the 507 turnoff to the right, and in less than a mile you will once again be rejoined by the line. The road parallels the line through Fort Lewis. This road is open (not part of the base) so you don’t have to have a sticker or anything. There is a siding that begins just north of the East Gate of Ft. Lewis. Not far south of the gate, in the weeds on the right side of the road, you can see the foundation of a water tower. Not much, but interesting. The road continues to follow the line until you get to Roy, where it crosses over and goes behind the town.
Follow the Highway through town. In the middle of town the ex-NP Burlington Northern line to Tenino passes through. The line only serves the grain storage facility and is not used past this point. As the highway leaves town, the BN line heads to the southwest and on the left side of the road, you can again see the Milwaukee line. It isn’t next to the road, but not hard to find if you are looking. It follows like that, and you lose it from time to time because of trees or hills, but it is still close. In McKenna, the line crosses back over the highway and you will see it on the right side again. The line curves off again, behind the school and you lose it again. As you cross over the Nisqually River, you can see the Milwaukee’s bridge over down the river on the right of the bridge. Go up the hill and around the curve, then about ¾ mile down the road you will pass over the line. This is a nice photo spot if you can actually catch a train, which I have to say isn’t very often. On the right you can see the crossing on Bald Hill Road.
After coming into Yelm, turn left at the first light. This will put you on Bald Hill Road. Then, immediately take the first right onto Morris Road. This road doesn’t follow the line for a ways, but after driving for about a mile, you will see the line off to the far left. At the intersection, the line crosses over both roads. Turn right onto 123rd Ave. and follow the road down. The line can be seen in some places but sometimes is hidden again by trees or small hills. It is still on the far left. Past Zeller Road the tracks curve away. At the end of the road, turn left onto Koeppen Road and soon you will see the line on the left again. Follow this road until it takes you back to the highway. Turn left onto the highway and follow it into Rainier. To the left, you can see the ex-Milwaukee line, and to the right, you can see the abandoned right-of-way of the BN ex-NP line to Tenino (ironic, the Milwaukee line survived here when the BN line didn’t!)
Just after entering Rainier, the line passes over the highway and the BN Right-of-Way and runs through the back side of Rainier. Turn right on Rainier Road (it has another name but it is just past the Chevron Station and has a sign for East Olympia). Follow the road out and you will pass under the line on a wood trestle. Go up the hill and follow around the curve. You will lose the track as you go around the curve. At the top of the hill, go straight (left) onto the other road. Follow this road until it hits Military Road and turn left. Just a little way down the hill the line crosses over the road. Follow the road down until you get to Waldrick Road. The abandoned Weyerhaeuser Right-of-Way parallels the road. You can see the Weyerhaeuser ROW and farther away the Milwaukee line. Then the road crosses the ROW and on the left is the ROW and the right the Milwaukee line. The lines get closer together until reaching the yard at Skookumchuck. On the Weyerhaeuser ROW rail begins just before the yard.
The Skookumchuck yard was once used for interchange with Weyerhaeuser and the Milwaukee. It is a 3 track yard and also has a wye track the goes to the south. About 100 feet west of the yard the Milwaukee and Weyerhaeuser lines merge and look like a 2-track mainline. Waldrick Road crosses the line just before the lines come together. This is known as Western Junction. About a mile down the track, the former Weyerhaeuser shop facilities, now owned by Tacoma Rail, are still in use. Rumor has it that they have an Alco C-415 stored there. The Milwaukee line heads south and is impossible to follow. The Weyerhaeuser line has rail up to the Waldrick Road crossing where it ends, but the ROW continues on.
Drive down Waldrick Road until you get to the Fire Station and turn left onto Offut Lake Road. I have never driven this road, but it comes out on Old Hwy 99 with the Milwaukee line paralleling it. Again, you can’t follow the track from here on. The only thing you can do is to turn left onto Old 99 and follow it into Tenino. In Tenino, turn right onto 507 again and follow it through town to the sharp turn. The highway goes left, but turn right onto Wichman Street and follow it around the curve, where it becomes McDuff Road. This road follows the Burlington Northern (BNSF) North-South 2-track main for some distance. Follow the road around the curve where it crosses the tracks and becomes 143rd Ave.
Drive down this road until it hits Tilley Road. Turn right on Tilley Road and follow it up to Maytown Road (SR 121). The Milwaukee line crosses Tilley Rd on the other side of the T and Maytown Rd. follows it.
In Maytown, the line is easy to pick out. There is what looks like one of the little Milwaukee station buildings (it looks like a little house) similar to the one in Chehalis. There is also a speeder shack there. Past that, there is a small yard. Currently, Tacoma Rail does not operate south of Maytown, but the railroad is working hard to upgrade the track. The easiest way to get follow from here south is to hop onto I-5 south. The line runs parallel to the freeway just south of Maytown.
The line follows the track south from Maytown until you get into Centralia. Just before exit 82, you can see Blakeslee Junction, site of the triple crossing with BN and UP. The line goes through Centralia, but I honestly do not know how to follow it through here. The BN line is now Puget Sound and Pacific, a neat railroad in itself. You can stay on the freeway if you like, and the line rejoins the freeway until it gets into Chehalis. The line again disappears in Chehalis, but on the South Side you can see it again. There is a passing track at the end, but Chehalis Junction and the track leading up to it have been removed. You can also see where the track went and connected to the BN industrial branch in South Chehalis. Just before Chehalis Junction, on the right you can see the Chehalis-Centralia railroad’s station and engine shop, and the equipment storage tracks. Tacoma Rail ownership ends at the railroad crossing near exit 77. The Chehalis-Centralia Railroad operates over the former Curtis, Milburn and Eastern Railway, once owned by Weyerhaeuser. I don’t know much about it the CM&E itself. This is a nice steam train ride, even though it isn’t Milwaukee-related, and the last 3 miles to Ruth (on the Saturday Evening only run) is the best part in my opinion. Visit their website at http://www.ccrra.com for more information.
This part of the line is much harder to follow. Also, I have not driven along very much of it.
As far as I know, there is no possible way to follow the line south from Fredrickson to Eatonville. The line runs through Kapowsin, which I believe is accessible, but I have never been there. Someone else needs to fill in here.
I can tell you what is there south of Eatonville. To get to Eatonville, from Fredrickson, head back to Highway 7 like I said above. Then, drive south on Highway 7, past the Roy Y, and through Loveland. Near Graham, you will cross the line to Chehalis. You drive down to the Tanwax Highway interchange (with Hwy. 702) and instead of following either highway, turn left onto the Eatonville Cutoff. Follow this road until it hits Hwy 161, and turn right. Follow 161 into Eatonville. At the main intersection, turn left and follow the road out of town. It is signed for Elbe I believe.
About a mile out of town, on the left side of the road the line drops down on a steep grade and goes underneath the road. It disappears and reappears constantly. The road again hits Highway 7 just past Alder. Turn left here. Just down the road, you will see the line again on the hill on the left side. The line slowly descends down here until it finally crosses the highway as you enter Elbe.
Elbe is a very small town, and is also the site of the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad. MRSR operates steam excursion trains (non-Milwaukee-related) on ex-Milwaukee track between Elbe and Mineral, and there are also 2 Milwaukee Rib-Side, Bay Window Cabooses used as motel rooms. This is the best way to see this part of the line as it is very hard to follow, especially through the Weyerhaeuser land. Visit their website at http://www.mrsr.com for more information.
You can sort of follow the line out of Elbe by driving on Highway 706 toward the mountain. You can sometimes see it off to the left of the road, but it is often hidden by trees and houses. The line crosses the highway and heads into Weyerhaeuser land, where you can’t follow it. Park Junction is accessible, but nothing to see there. This is where the branch to Ashford cuts off. This branch is so weed covered you can’t even see it in most places! If you do insist on seeing it, take Park Junction road – it’s gravel – back to the gate and the railroad tracks. Everything between Park Jct. and Mineral is on Weyerhaeuser land and inaccessible.
I don’t know how to get back in to Mineral by road, but there is a small yard there, along with MRSR’s Mineral Turnaround Track. This is currently the end of operable track. However, Tacoma Rail is working to get the track repaired and up to standard – there had been a washout a few years back. They supposedly have customers already lined up in Morton.
I don’t know how to follow the line south of Mineral either, but when driving down Highway 7, the line does parallel the highway in two places – one about halfway between the two towns, and the other just before entering Morton. In Morton itself, the station remains along with most of the trackage. The station is right on the highway coming into town, but other than that I don’t know what else is there as I have just seen the station when driving through Morton.
If anyone has any corrections on any part of this, please email me at folksales@aol.com
Submitted by James Folk July 24, 2001
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