Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Columbia & Cowlitz Caboose #5

Continued from WTCX Caboose #1.

Columbia & Cowlitz (CLC) Caboose #5 at Longview, Washington on May 17, 2005

Caboose #5 actually belonged to Weyerhaeuser's other Longview railroad, Columbia & Cowlitz. It was in the middle of the group of cabooses. I believe it was originally built new for Weyerhaeuser as Chehalis Western #599 in 1982 and was transferred to the Columbia & Cowlitz after the Chehalis Western shut down in 1992.

The Columbia & Cowlitz was incorporated on April 9, 1925, and was built from 1926-1928. While the Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad serves only Weyerhaeuser facilities, and generally does not interchange equipment with other railroads, the Columbia & Cowlitz interchanges with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad at Rocky Point, and serves customers such as NORPAC, Solvay Interox & Northwest Freight Car, in addition to Weyerhaeuser's Longview Mill. In addition to this caboose, Columbia & Cowlitz owns 3 locomotives and about 1500 freight cars. The Columbia & Cowlitz only operates 6.5 miles of track from Longview, far enough to access Rocky Point Yard.  Technically, the boundary between the two is Ostrander. From there on, the line is solely operated by the Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad (now Patriot Woods Railroad). In addition to having separate equipment, the two railroad operations also have separate groups of employees, even though they share much of the same track.

Continue to WTCX Caboose #4

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