Join us for our annual Bridge Day event in Rosalia, WA on Saturday, September 23! Unlike the past few years, this year we will be hosting an in-person event, with a railroad history presentation followed by a history hike on the Rosalia Bridges.
Railroad History Presentation: Bridges of Significance: Renslow, Beverly, Rosalia and Tekoa
Join us for a railroad history presentation by Mark Borleske about the major bridges still standing on the former Milwaukee Road mainline in Eastern Washington. He will discuss the bridges at Renslow, Beverly, Rosalia and Tekoa, providing a synopsis of the history and the adaptation of these bridges to trail use.
The presentation will be at the Rosalia Community Center (located at 106 W. 7th Street, just off Whitman next to the grocery) on Saturday, September 23 at 1 p.m.
UPDATE: Mark repeated this presentation for the biweekly Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive Zoom meeting on January 17, 2024. You can find it on our YouTube channel.
History Hike on the Rosalia Bridges
After the presentation in town (about 2:30 p.m.), there will be a caravan of vehicles from Rosalia to nearby Thunderhawk Ranch, at the crossing of Pine City-Malden Road and the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. Parking off the road is available on the driveway just west of the trail. The hike will follow the former Milwaukee Road, now the Palouse to Cascades Trail, over the concrete arch bridges to the site of a “daylighted” railroad tunnel, now a deep cut. The hike includes guided narrative with a display of historic views of the sites over the years. For the history hike, sturdy shoes are recommended for walking the gravel trail surface. The history hike is up to two miles round-trip. Permits for trail use are included in the guided tour. Light hospitality will be served.
The event is presented by the Cascade Rail Foundation and the Whitman County Library System (Rosalia Branch).
For more information, contact Mark Borleske.
A freight train led by boxcab electric locomotives crosses the Beverly Bridge over the Columbia River. Photo from the Cascade Rail Foundation Ainsworth Collection.
