Does anyone have any information on the Milwaukee Road’s South Cle Elum Yard. The yard is located in Cle Elum, Washington.
There might be something here-
http://webhome.idirect.com/~helmutw/milwrd/xwash/washmain/washmain.html
The Cle Elum bunch are really an amazing group of people for the enthusiasm and what they are accomplishing with the Milwaukee’s Depot and Substation. They even have plans to restore one of the substation bungalows next door. At our annual retired Milwaukee Employee’s Picnic last weekend, several people had been at the Depot dedication in Cle Elum. Mary Crippen Marshall gave me a complete run down on the progress they have made. That Depot was about to fall down even when the Railroad was still operating – rested on the earth, no foundation. Putting a foundation under it and trying to restore it 20 years later was a daunting task. They did it.
I.ve seen this name(Cle Elun) but I don.t know how to pronounce it. Is it pronounced “clue elm” or some othe way?
I’ve always thought it was “klee el-um”
I pronounce it clay-E-Loom
That’s how I pronounce it,too.[:)]
I call it down the road from Ellensburg.
This is the correct way. — kleee el-umm — long e’s in kleee and a short e in el. Clay el-um also is correct but is an alternate but not preferred.
There are some photographs here-
http://www.mrcd.org/main_line_cle_elum.html
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=10&X=1637&Y=13068&W=1&qs=|cle+elum||
The Cle Elum Depot preservation effort is interesting for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the resources available locally were negligble. If you have ever been there, you will know that there is not a lot of money floating around Cle Elum.
Secondly, the “spark plugs” for the effort were by and large people who were not affiliated with the Milwaukee Road, but rather interested in its history for reasons independent of employment memories.
Thirdly, the task was daunting. I had visited the depot sometime in 1972 or 1973 and my recollection at the time was that it was in worse shape than any Milwaukee depot I had ever seen. When I heard in the early 2000’s that there was an effort underway to “restore” it, I was quite surprised that there was anything left to restore. No foundation, the roof was just about gone. It would have been far cheaper and easier to build a replica from scratch, but these folks have a genuine appreciation for history.
Fourthly, under the auspices of the State parks department, the adjacent Cle Elum Substation has been secured and fenced off, pending restoration efforts after the Depot is done. Cle Elum had one of only two 3,000 kw Motor Generator sets that Milwaukee Road had purchased from the Cleveland Union Terminal in the mid-1950s as part of a general upgrade of the Electrification. Had the Electrification been continued after 1974, it is likely that that big MG set would have joined its sister [installed at Janney] at Eustis Substation in Montana, and Cle Elum converted into a state-of-the-art Silicon Diode fully automated 3,900 volt DC, 4,400 kw Rectifier Substation.
The original three operator’s “Bungalows” are among the few remaining such houses surviving on the entire Electrification system, and are adjacent to the substation, intact, although in private ownership. The Cle Elum Depot preservation group even has plans to somehow work with the owner to restore one of those to its original appearance. The original
What does Cle Elum mean? Is it from a different language?
Cle Elum (clë elúm): the Indian name Tie-el-lum means “swift water” due to the nearby presence of the Yakima River.
Other than photos in books, I can’t say I know much about Cle Elum. I would have to believe it was a railroad town, that lived, and quite possibly died, with the railroad. Can anybody provide some info about the town, before and after The Milwaukee went away? Thanks
Actually, Cle Elum is alive and well, functioning these days as a bedroom community to Ellensburg and even to some who work over in the Seattle area and don’t mind the commute. Also, the NP preceded the Milwaukee through the area, and my understanding is that Cle Elum was actually established by the NP, with the later Milwaukee establishing the part of town once known as South Cle Elum.
The preservation group potluck has been moved to the 16th of September.
Dave is correct, the NP established Cle Elum, north of the River. The Milwaukee came through on the south side of the river, and “South Cle Elum” was born. Milwaukee had a yard, roundhouse, and depot, but when the Electrification was built, the roundhouse and service facilities were torn down. The Substation and bungalows are the only remaining intact combination of such facilities from the Electrification era.
The Iron Horse Inn is a B&B that has railroad memorabilia for decorations and was, I seem to recall, a crew bunkhouse from earlier times.
Seattle Times feature article on the South Cle Elum historical preservation effort in this morning’s Northwest Weekend section:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?s\
lug=nwwdepot24&date=20060824&query=South+Cle+Elum