Legacy of the Chief: 2009/05

19 May 2009

Roslyn Trip II, Pt 3

Here is a shot I took of a part of "downtown" Roslyn from the top of the slag pile:

You are actually looking at the back end of the Brick as well as the barber shop behind it, which appeared in at least one episode. See if you can find those below:
Click either image for a larger one:

Roslyn Trip II, Pt 2

The Northwestern Improvement Company once had all those coal mines around Roslyn similar to this one:

I did find a part of the concrete base for the above structure. There was even very little of the concrete remaining. The company had been very thorough in removing the old structures.

Now there are only these enormous "slag piles" that can be seen mostly along the eastern ridge. I walked up one of them. These are actually waste ore dumps. They are still loose, tend to be very steep and quite high and are thus somewhat dangerous.

Looking down a slag pile in the direction of the coal trail that was once the NP rail bed:

Looking UP that same slag pile to the top:

Looking down another pile toward what I think was a concrete hoist house. No sign of the actual adit, however. This is in the woods just to the east of Roslyn.

Behind this slag pile was yet another high one. In this section of the woods along the ridge they were everywhere:

Any of these pictures can be clicked onto to view the larger one.

To be continued

On the Scene of NX, Pt 1

The cast of main characters from NX

For those of you who were fortunate enough to watch the original Northern Exposure (NX), you were actually seeing scenes shot in Roslyn, Washington. You would have had no way of knowing that Roslyn was actually a coal-mining town with those mines owned and operated by the Northern Pacific Railway under the company name of Northwestern Improvement Company.

Old NP Ry logo and map

The only clue you would have had would have been this building with the Northwestern Mining Company name on its face. There never was an explanation for it in any of the episodes. That is because the story line for NX ignored the coal mining and railroad history of Roslyn. In fact the film producers went out of their way to ensure that we saw very little of that heritage in those episodes.

Here is a 1928 railroad map of Washington State showing the NPRy going through Roslyn. There is also another railroad to its south--the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul and Pacific, aka the Milwaukee Road, which ran through South Cle Elum:

Click onto the above map for a much-larger image so you can see the details.
Below is a location map for the various underground coal mines located around Roslyn, Ronald and Cle Elum. You may also click this one to a larger size.

The NP was a short line out of Cle Elum built to access those coal mines in 1886. The last of those coal mines shut down in 1963. The last use of the NP RR line was in 1986 when the lumber yard in Ronald closed, ending any further use or need for that line forever. Shortly thereafter the tracks were pulled up and the right-of-way became a dedicated historic trail. When I returned to Roslyn after my two year absence I came armed with maps showing the locations of these mines. I wanted to see at least one of them. As it turned out there was very little left to see.
(to be continued).

03 May 2009

Completing the Roof Job

Floyd puts on the finishing touches on the roof in the late afternoon. His work completed, Floyd heads back to Anchorage.

The building is now ready for summer tourist business.

With Floyd's job done and Floyd departed, I now come in to clean up the work area and close down the site for the night.

All the material and tools are secured and the site is locked up for the night.

It will now be possible to safely park one of the train consists outside the enclosed area on the parallel track in front of the window. Click any image for a larger one.

Installing the New Roof over the Cicely Model

The carpenter is now ready for the next step: First he installs the OSB underlay.

Then the tarpaper is laid over the OSB.

Then the metal roof is installed over the tarpaper. Now the model should be well protected from any potential roof leaks or even condensation. This was a problem with the old roof.

With the new metal roof in place, the new canopy is installed using much of the corrugated fiberglass which has been removed from the roof. The canopy will protect the south-facing windows from destructive UV rays which are adversely affecting the models inside the structure.

This was the last step except for the addition of some metal corner pieces.
All of these pictures can be seen in a larger size by clicking on any of them.

Hauling Up the Underlayment

Click any image for a larger one:

Removing the last of the old corrugated fiberglass roof:

Hauling up the OSB:

No help required here !

Pulling Off the Old Roof over Cicely:

Pulling off the old corrugated fiberglass roof on the Cicely model structure and installing the underlying board in preparation for installation of a steel roof:
The fiberglass had nothing underneath it but pearling. The new roof will be much more solid and capable of handling heavy snow loads.
This should also eliminate a developing leaking and condensation problem. Water cannot be allowed to drip on the models.

Click any image for a much-larger one

02 May 2009

Work Begins on the Cicely Model Structure

Saturday morning, May 2, Floyd Demoski began work on the front canopy and replacement of the corrugated fiberglass roof with a steel one. The corrugated fiberglass will be re-used on the canopy. This is being installed to protect the model from the destructive UV effects of the sun coming in from the south.
Click any image for a larger one