It's been confirmed that Pacific Northwest Traction 60, an interurban coach/obs car built by Brill in 1907, has been demolished. It has been removed from the PNAERC database. The car had been used as a roadside diner from retirement in 1932 until 1970, when it was acquired by a collector and moved to a siding in the rain forest in Snoqualmie. There it sat for nearly 50 years, gradually moldering into a state of virtual collapse, to the point where the final coup de grâce was practically a formality.
Still, the car was historic, and it's unfortunate that it did not make it into sustainable preservation. It was the last surviving car from the Spokane & Inland Empire interurban line, for which it was built as the observation trailer 360 "Kootenai" (click here for a picture of it in service). In 1919 it and a sister car were sold to Pacific Northwest Traction, where they were rebuilt as coaches and motorized (a photo of sister car PNWT 61 in service is here). The car was one of two surviving cars from the Seattle-Everett line; the body of PNWT 55 is on display in Lynnwood, Washington. Thanks to Richard Anderson for the update on car 60.
No comments:
Post a Comment