Web site offers peek at Walla Walla Valley’s railroading past

WALLA WALLA - One man's mission to create a model railroad has created a window into Walla Walla railroading past.

"The Virtual Walla Walla Valley Railroad" Web site traces its origin to 2001 when Blair Kooistra was thinking about building a model railroad "based on a fictional Eastern Washington (state) area."

"But the more research I did, I discovered there was an actual short-line railroad between Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater," he said in a recent phone interview from his home in Fort Worth, Texas.

Further research turned up a wealth of old photos and data on the 14-mile short line railroad which ran between the cities of Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater from 1905 until the mid-1980s when the line was abandoned.

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COURTESY OF BLAIR KOOISTRA

A Harold A. Hill photograph from June 6, 1946, shows the 600 again at the carbarn, its overalled crew switching after bringing in a train from Milton-Freewater. Although passenger service ended 15 years previously, the baggage cart still gets a workout with the WWV's healthy less-than-carload freight business, hauled in the 600's baggage compartment. John Henderson collection.