USBR construction RR was key to building dam

The first train to Grand Coulee was a momentous occasion, as it marked the beginning of serious construction on the dam. The 30 mile line was to be built by the mighty Northern Pacific Railway, which had a branch that ended in Coulee City. They wanted exclusive rights to haul all construction supplies to the dam by rail, at which the U.S. government balked. A private contractor built the line instead, connecting to the NP at Coulee City. Over two million pounds of cement were hauled in, provided by six different plants around the state. All the steel traveled this way too.

A cement unloading location was built where the current dam shop complex is. All cement was hauled in boxcars that had to be unloaded by a vacuum. The steel was either dropped at the yard in Electric City or hauled down to the dam site by geared steam locomotives.

No matter what, the railroad was the key to the dam being built, and it was celebrated as such. The first official train had a christening ceremony at Odair. Washington state Gov. Clarence Martin was the engineer. The train had the only passenger cars that ever came to town. - Dan Bolyard, Them Dam Writers

Image courtesy Coulee Pioneer Museum