Kelso Intermodal Facility Dedication

Rail service first came to Kelso, Washington, in 1872, when the Northern Pacific Railway built north from a river connection at Kalama, Washington toward Seattle. This brick depot opened on February 12, 1912, replacing an earlier wood-frame depot built in the 1800s. On March 2, 1970, the Northern Pacific Railway was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad, and Amtrak took over passenger service on May 1, 1971. By the early 1990s, the depot was locked up. Amtrak trains still stopped at the station, but there were no personnel at the station and passengers had to wait outside. Tickets had to be purchased in advance, either from a travel agent, or from another station with Amtrak personnel.

In September 1994, after years of neglect, a major renovation and restoration of the depot was started to turn the depot into a multimodal transportation hub for Cowlitz County. The renovation included the addition of a clock tower and putting a full basement under the depot, which had never had one before, to be used for retail space. The renovation was completed and the depot was dedicated at 2:30 PM on September 23, 1995 at the Grand Opening of the Kelso Intermodal Facility and the "Keeping Kids on Track" festival. 

A few classic cars had been gathered for the event.

1950 Ford Fordor Sedan Police Car

1949 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe 2-Door Sedan

1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten 2-Door Sedan

The grand opening also featured an appearance by Burlington Northern’s executive train, though a couple of other trains passed by first.

Burlington Northern GP39E #2914 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1964 as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy GP35 #986. It was originally powered by a 2,500-horsepower turbocharged 16-cylinder 567 engine. After the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy was merged into Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it became Burlington Northern #2532. In March 1990, it was rebuilt by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors as 2,300-horsepower GP39E Burlington Northern #2914.

Burlington Northern #2914 led a local southbound freight train with Burlington Northern extended-vision caboose #12510 bringing up the rear. This caboose was originally Burlington Northern #12088. It was built by Pacific Car & Foundry in September 1975. It was rebuilt by Burlington Northern subsidiary Western Fruit Express at Yardley Yard in Spokane, Washington, on July 3, 1990. 

Amtrak F40PHR #319 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August 1979. It was built using parts from retired Amtrak SDP40F #583. I think the train it is pulling is the northbound Pioneer, which ran between Chicago and Seattle via Denver and Portland. The Pioneer was inaugurated on June 7, 1977, and would continue until May 10, 1997, when it was discontinued.

The Burlington Northern executive train arrived from the south with the following consist:

• F9-2 Locomotive BN-1
• F9-2 Locomotive BN-2
• Power Car #30 Snoqualmie Pass
• Sleeping Car #22 Stevens Pass
• Bi-Level Car #33 Skagit River
• Bi-Level Car #31 Fox River
• Bi-Level Car #32 Flathead River
• Lounge Car #10 Como
• Full Dome Observation Car #24 Glacier View

Each of these will be covered in more detail in its own post.