Twelfth Subdivision: Bellingham to Glacier. Aug 19^tht 2001

The March 99 "CTC Board" magazine had an excellent article covering this line by Al Currier.

Click here for Rick Newell's photographs.

Click here for a picture of a wood caboose in Bellingham July 1^st 1959.

Click here for photos in the Bellingham area supplied by Al Currier including the last train to leave Bellingham Feb. 29, 1980.

Bellingham - BNSF tracks 7,8,9 are formerly Milwaukee Road yard tracks. A lot of former grade is buried by new subdivisions. The foundation for the roundhouse is very hard to find in the high weeds. There is a 2 Mile stretch of former Milwaukee Road track running along Squalicum Creek from the west end of Roeder Ave to the Bellingham Cold Storage facilities on Orchard Ave.. BNSF sold this to "Bellingham International" which maintains the RofW and contracts with BNSF to switch the plant. Remains of the carfloat slip are also visible at the end of Cornwall Ave. A lot of the old trackage has been converted to a trail by the city of Bellingham. From Bellingham to Hampton the grade is badly overgrown in most places, on private property or otherwise inaccessible.

Hampton as it looks today.

This view looks North towards Sumas. Off to the left (West) is the track towards Lynden. We are standing on what was once the main track, but it now ends in weeds in a couple hundred feet behind us (South). Photo: Mark Minckler.

 A rail at Hampton. Photo: Mark Minckler.

At Evarson it is also quite obvious where the tracks went through town. The new highway bridge over the river is in exactly the same location as the Milwaukee Road bridge was located.

Between Hampton and Lynden, which was a spur for the Milwaukee Road, BN(SF) has left this in place to service the numerous industries in Lynden. Also still in place is all the trackage from Hampton Jct. to Sumas. At Sumas the station and tracks leading up to it are gone. The large feed plant south of town is still serviced by what were Milwaukee tracks out to Glacier, but rather than having a diamond what were once the NP tracks, they now connect with a switch to BN(SF).

It is again difficult to discern the grade from here east, but it can be picked out in a few places. Many of the trestles can still be walked in Saar Canyon,

  but they are on private property, so basically inaccessible. At Limestone Jct. the Wye can be picked out with the spur that went to the rock plant.

The line had been abandoned even earlier east of here and so is overgrown even more. At Maple Falls the depot is located right next to the Chevron station, this is not its original but location. It is now a vet's office.

At Glacier, the end of the line, depot is also privately owned, but other than having been turned 90 degrees it still sits in its original location. It is right behind the general store, and belong to the same person. It still has the station name sign and the CMStP&P herald affixed to it. There is also another building in Glacier that suspiciously looks like a railroad building.

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