Customer Reviews

Logging Railroads of Weyerhaeuser's Vail and Mcdonald Operation

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One of the last and biggest log roads in Washington State was Weyerhaueser's Chehalis Western. Having taken over the Milwaukee Road's branches south of Tacoma in 1980, this line ran large log trains from Chehalis to the port of Tacoma -- behind the last GP38-2's built by EMD -- until 1992. With the publication of this lengthily titled book, there is finally a work that tells the story of this line, and its adjacent feeders, the Vail branch, and the Curtis Milburn & Eastern, starting in 1924 and running through to 1995. One could wish for a more up-to-date final chapter from a book so freshly published, but as well researched and lavishly illustrated as the book is, this hardly is a critical flaw. Today, what remains of the line is primarily operated by Tacoma Rail, and plays host to tourist railroads Mount Rainier Scenic, and Chehalis-Centralia, and this book has become a must have for many of their employees. Fans of the Chehalis Western, the Milwaukee Road, or today's shortlines south of Puget Sound would also enjoy this book.