Black Diamond NOW

Labor Contractors - Circa 1904

A shortage of labor willing and able to work the long hours and do the backbreaking work required to build a railroad motivated the Northern Pacific Railway to import labor from China.  The success of the NP's strategy motivated other industries in the PNW to also import and employ labor from China - including canneries, sawmills, logging operations, picking hops and other agricultural endeavors.  The following photo was taken along NP's route across the Green River near us here in Black Diamond.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries and Museum of History & Industry, shs5907, circa 1885

Chinese men were often assigned to such dangerous tasks as blasting through rock and laying tracks in tunnels or on river bluffs.  Of the 20,000 men that built the Northern Pacific branch line between Pasco and Tacoma, 15,000 were Chinese.

Labor contractors played a big role in bringing Chinese laborers to the PNW, including Chin Gee Hee, who even had a building in Seattle named after him.  Here's a photo of Mr. Hee and his office in Seattle.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, shs1152, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1904

After his success here, Mr. Lee eventualy left Seattle and returned to China to build his country's first railroad.

Hiking to High Hut - Spectacular

This time of year, making your way to High Hut (elevation 4,760) typically requires snowshoes, but with temperatures in the high 50's and sun, sun, sun, a hike it was.  What beauty - great views of Mt Rainier, Mt Adams and Mt St. Helens - and 360 degree panoramas east, west, north and south.  Here's the view when we first arrived.

As you can see, we were not roughing it as we spent the night here with friends.  This is one of several  back country Huts and Trails maintained by the Mount Tahoma Trails Association.  Incredible.  Upon arrival, I was sooooo excited.  From here we could get sunset, stars/night shots and sunrise photos while still being able to sleep in padded comfort in our sleeping bags warmed by a fireplace.  I almost felt guilty with such back country comfort - but my guilt didn't last long.

The above panorama shows sunset as we saw it looking to the west.  Pretty amazing this time of year.

The moon later shown through some clouds drifting through as shown above.  Seeing stars over Mt. Rainier are pretty fun with moonlight illuminating the mountain.

A bit of light pollution from nearby Elby, Tacoma and Olympia also appeared in the night.

Mt St. Helens as we saw in the night.

And then came morning and sunrise.

We were able to take this hike after just Snowshoeing to Artist Point.  I am in awe of the nature we have right in our back yard.  We have only to get out and enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Race Riots in Seattle - Circa 1886

The mid 1880's were a time of economic depression in the U.S.  The PNW was not spared and many newly arrived white anglo saxon immigrants found themselves unemployed.  Who to blame - Chinese immigrants.  Race riots led by the Knights of Labor erupted in Seattle in 1886 and Chinese immigrants were forced to seek shelter on the docks and in ships moored in the harbor.

Images courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum Collection, circa 1886

"Chinese laborers in the hopfields and in local factories, mills and camps, worked harder and longer for less money than white laborers, driving down wages.  As violence escalated, the Home Guards were called out and martial law declared.  The above engraving was published in Harper's Weekly magazine on March 6, 1886."

Hmmm, and we in the PNW pride ourselves on not being Selma?

 

 

Tractor Logging - Circa 1920's

High Lead logging during the early 1900's revolutionized the timber industry (see earlier posts Lake Sawyer Mill High Lead Logging Spar and More High Lead Logging Pictures.  Eventually, Tractor logging became more common as mechanization and technology advanced.  But I must say, some of the earliest tractor logging photos make me chuckle.  Here we have huge trees, expansive forests and these tiny tractors that you might be able to buy today at Home Depot.  All photos courtesy of Library of Congress and taken in the 1920's at a logging operation in Stabler WA.

Big logs, tiny equipment.

Clearcuts are never pretty!  I guess this beats oxen and horses.

Immigrants Building the West

As the U.S. Government aggressively pursued settling of the West beginning with Congressional action to pass the landmark Homestead and Railroad Acts of 1862, recruiting of immigrants from Europe and elsewhere to come to the U.S. became a significant business.  Brochures were distributed and agents dispatched.  To speed building of the trancontinental railways, the railroads recruited Chinese laborers to come to the U.S. - hard workers willing to do work that others would not.  Xenophobia and bigotry eventually halted this source of immigrant labor in the 1930s but the contribution made by Chinese immigrants during the late 1800's and early 1900's should not be understated.

The timber industry also relied heavily on immigrant labor in the woods and mills - typically doing the least desirable and most dangerous of jobs.  The following photo taken in 1929 tells the story.  This shows a No Smoking sign posted at the Long Bell Lumber Company mill in Longview (later owned by Weyerhaeuser Co.)

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, AEP-WAS24, Charles Chamberlane photographer, circa 1929

Immigrants from all over the world built the Pacific Northwest and continue to provide the back-breaking labor required by our state's ag industry even today.  Same need as history - different languages.

Snowshoeing to Artist Point

While photographing eagles along the Nooksack River, I became more aware of the beautiful Nooksack River Valley and Mt. Baker.  Ever eager to explore new areas for hiking and snowshoeing, we headed north.  First stop along the way was Hwy 9 between Sedro Woolley and Deming and great views of farmland and nearby peaks.  Very picturesque.

Then east on Hwy 542 on the way to Glacier.  After the long drive, our goal was to get out and hit the trail.  We chose the Horseshoe Bend trail that parallels the Nooksack River east of Glacier.  A rainforest, river that was roaring and sunshine made for a splendid hike.  Here's what we saw - rays of sun filtered through the moss and trees and a hint of fog.

We found a very nice B&B to spend the night in Glacier so we could get an early start the next morning on our trek to Artist Point. It's called Winter Creek Bed and Breakfast.  Get's a 5 star rating from Judy and I.  Nice people and the fireplace and warmth coming in from the cold was to die for.

The trail to Artist Point begins at the Mt. Baker Ski resort (park in the top lot).  Not nearly as much snow up here as usual but still great.  This was our first view when we made it to the top with Mount Baker directly ahead.

Heading southeast along the ridge, we saw Mt. Shuksan prominently ahead.

Putting it all together, here's a panorama that includes Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Pilchuck and Mt. Baker.

The valley between is beautiful too!

Even without clear skies, the views from Artist Point would be hard to beat.  Time to get out your snowshoes.  The trail to the top is about 2 miles with 1,000 feet of elevation gain.  A few steep areas and you'll get the heart pumping.  Once you reach the top, there is a ridge that you can follow to extend your hike and get more spectacular 360 degree views.  I'll surely be heading up there this summer for some night photography with much less urban light pollution than we face even at Mt. Rainier.

Clearly among our top snowshoe adventures to date.

 

The Homestead Act of 1862 - Dreams & Realities

The Homestead Act of 1862 represents, at least in my opinion, one of the signature acts of Congress impacting our history here in the PNW. 

Here's the perception according to History Scene:  Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 during the Civil War, the Homestead Act was the most comprehensive land distribution bill passed in the nineteenth century. Prior to the act, the U.S. government auctioned or sold public land in large lots that ordinary citizens could not afford to buy or manage. The Homestead Act ambitiously shifted land ownership and development towards average American citizens.

Did reality live up to these lofty expectations?  Unfortunately not.  The Homestead Act, the Morrill Land Grant Act and the Pacific Railway Act, all intitially enacted in 1862, though sweeping in their scope, left some real casualties.

Let's start with the tribes.  Following are two graphics that show Native American tribal lands as they were prior to these Acts of Congress and as they were in 1854.

By 1900, things had changed dramatically.  Here is how things stand currently.

Families seeking to reap the riches of homesteading faced huge obstacles, many losing everything and forced to go back to the cities of the midwest.  African american settlers were particularly impacted - perhaps a mismatch of government hype and on the ground reality.  Homesteading was not all that it was cracked up to be.  The following photo of black homesteaders tells an important story.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries

Living in sod huts like this were not long lived.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries

Casualties generally exceeded successes during this period.  Pretty amazing.  The winners - those with money, just as today.

 

Land Grant Institutions - A Brief History

1862 represents a time of perhaps the most Activist Government our country has seen as Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Congress passed landmark legislation that "shaped" the West.  This includes the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Pacific Railway Act of 1862.  The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 were further pieces to the puzzle, creating the establishment of Land Grant Colleges.

What is a Land Grant College?  Quoting from WSU:

"A land-grant college or university is an institution that has been designated by its state legislature or Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The original mission of these institutions, as set forth in the first Morrill Act, was to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts as well as classical studies so that members of the working classes could obtain a liberal, practical education. Over the years, land-grant status has implied several types of federal support. The first Morrill Act provided grants in the form of federal lands to each state for the establishment of a public institution to fulfill the act's provisions. At different times money was appropriated through legislation such as the second Morrill Act and the Bankhead-Jones Act, although the funding provisions of these acts are no longer in effect.

Today, the Nelson Amendment to the Morrill Act provides a permanent annual appropriation of $50,000 per state and territory. A key component of the land-grant system is the agricultural experiment station program created by the Hatch Act of 1887. The Hatch Act authorized direct payment of federal grant funds to each state to establish an agricultural experiment station in connection with the land-grant institution there. The amount of this appropriation varies from year to year and is determined for each state through a formula based on the number of small farmers there. A major portion of the federal funds must be matched by the state."

Since Washington State University represents our state's sole Land Grant institution, how could I resist posting this?  This birds eye view of the Washington State College campus circa 1940 brings back lots of memories.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, CUR1635, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1940

The campus had certainly grown by the time Judy and I made it to Pullman, but there is so much of this history and this campus that remains today.  Love it.  Still traces of my blood left on the turf at Martin Stadium and in Bohler Gym.  Go Cougs!

 

Franklin Ghost Town Tours 2015

Each year, the Black Diamond Historical Society sponsors tours of the old coal mining community of Franklin located just a few miles north of town.  It's always very informative and a great outing.  This year's tours will be held on Saturday February 7 and Saturday March 7.  Be sure to mark your calendars.

Photo courtesy of Roger Parry, circa 1898

P.S. - Speaking of calendars, I still have a couple left with photos taken last year of Mt. Rainier.  All proceeds go to benefit the Black Diamond Community Center.  $25 each.  Let me know and I'll get one to you.

International Pacific Halibut Commission - Model for Sustainable Resource Management?

Fisheries management has long posed among the more difficult of challenges for resource conservationists.  The track record of the International Pacific Halibut Commission serves perhaps as a model of what it takes to achieve success - success defined as sustainable resource levels over a long period.  Just as timber barons moved to the pacific northwest as timber stocks declined in the upper midwest and northeast, so too did fishermen.  Salmon harvests in northern California were in decline.  Halibut stocks along Atlantic Fish Banks were nearing depletion.  Couple that with increasing populations (demand) in the east and midwest, transcontinental transportaion now being provided by the railroads and better methods of refrigeration, the late 1800's and early 1900's saw an explosion of salmon and halibut fishing in the northwest.

Fishing technology also advanced, making it easier to harvest both salmon and halibut.  The following photos show salmon being "brailed" out of fish traps and unloaded for transport to canneries.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, Lummi Island, IND0481, Leslie Corbett photographer, circa 1911

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, Puget Sound, CUR660, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1909

I call this process trap um, net um, lift um and can um.  In other areas, fish wheels were used for both salmon and halibut, particularly along the Columbia River.

Photo courtesy of Unversity of Washington Libraries, Pacific Fisheries Annual 1905

With fish wheels, just block off a stream and use a wheel to automate the lifting process as salmon and halibut are herded through a narrow opening.  Innovative but deadly.  Fish wheels were finally banned in our state in 1935. 

Now - on to the International Pacific Halibut Commission and it's special challenges.  To successfully conserve northwest halibut stocks (and salmon too) requires coordinating fisheries management across California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska.  It's a huge area with multiple state and provincial governing bodies, two countries, many tribes and lots of local communities that depend significantly on fisheries as an economic base.  Yet, at least judging from the results, northwest halibut stocks remain among the healthiest and most sustainable in the world.

According to the Washington State Agricultural Bibliography, halibut harvests in the northwest reached the unsustainable level of 66 million pounds in 1915.  Short term money in somebody's pocket but ruination long term at this pace, just as in New England and elsewhere. 

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), originally called the International Fisheries Commission, was established in 1923 by a Convention between the governments of Canada and the United States of America. Its mandate is research on and management of the stocks of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) within the Convention waters of both nations. The IPHC consists of three government-appointed commissioners for each country who serve their terms at the pleasure of the President of the United States and the Canadian government respectively.

The results have been stunning.  Halibut harvest levels have now been stabilized for quite a few years for both recreational and commercial fishermen up and down the coast, providing both a viable long term halibut fishery and market.

But to achieve these results has required both common long term goals and the willingness to work together for the common good.  Don't see much of this anymore whether it be here in Black Diamond, Washington State or in D.C.  Oh well, let's all keep trying.  We must!

For more information about PNW halibut stocks and trends, follow this link to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

First Report of the Washington State Fish Commissioner - Circa 1890

Yep - the Washington State Legislature authorized creation of a State Fish Commission as far back as 1890.  Reading the Commissioner's first report is interesting.  Why create such a commission at this time?  Exploitation and Abuse.  The photo that follows shows a scow in Puget Sound just loaded with salmon in the late 1800's.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, IND0097, n.d.

Not a lot of resource conservation or longer term thinking going on at the time.  But the level of exploitation, waste and abuse of this resource was apparently significant enough to get the attention of Legislators in Olympia.  According to the first report by Commissioner James Crawford issued in 1890, we learn that among the many abuses, "certain persons" were in the habit of killing fish in the Green River through the use of dynamite.  Waste was rampant.  Complaints finally escalated to a level requiring legislative action.  Things must have gotten pretty bad for Olympia to act during this period.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, Image no. 1988.33.215, Anders Wilse photographer, circa 1898

Puget Sound was literally full of fish at the time, but as we know, not for long.  Puget Sound was also home to a number of fish canneries - for a short window of time.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, BAR156, Albert Barnes photographer, circa 1906

It's one thing to enact legislation.  It's a whole nother task to fund it - same today as then.  The first State Fish Commissioner had all of 5 people on staff spread across the state to police their districts.  Concern then for Native Americans who had been balancing use of this resource for decades - not!  Unfortunately, we are now dependent on hatcheries to maintain fish populations at levels that support recreational fishing, often at the expense of native run salmon and steelhead.  But more on this in future posts.

 

 

Carbonado Circa 1909

There are two area communities that get my "most aptly named" award for telling their story in their name - Black Diamond and Carbonado.  It was all about coal.  I recently ran across a few more photos of Carbonado in the early days - quite an economic engine for the region.  Here's an aerial view of Carbonado as it was in 1909.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, SOC8176, circa 1909

This was a big town employing many miners.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, SOC8172, circa 1909

I also found a photo of miners at Mine #11 in Carbonado.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, SOC8173, circa 1910

As many photos as I have seen, I still can't imagine getting into one of these rail "vehicles" and descending into the depths of the mines. 

For more about Carbonado, follow these links to A Birds Eye View of Carbonado Circa 1890, Carbonado - Company Town Dating Back to 1880 and More Early Carbonado.

Restoring the Elwha

While on the Olympic Peninsula last week in search of sunshine above the fog, I made my first trek up the Elwha River valley - site of the largest dam removal project in history.  There were once two dams here - the Elwha and Glines Canyon.  Beginning in 2011, the process of restoring natural river flows and salmon spawning habitat began.  Today, both dams have been removed and the river runs free.  Salmon are returning.

I was only marginally successful in avoiding the fog but I was able see signs of progress.  The amount of silt that had accumulated behind the dams was huge and you can see signs of it washing downstream today.

Here's a photo of the lower Elwha dam where it was breached.

Construction crews are now building an observation walkway across the top of the old dam.  Note the white fencing on top of the old dam.  Very steep canyon and drop-off from here.

What was once a submerged reservoir is coming back to life.

It's nice to see a restoration project like this actually working.  And the beauty up here is stunning, even in the fog.  For more about the Elwha, follow this link to Elwha River Restoration.

 

Eagles of the Nooksack

Earlier this week, Judy and I had the opportunity to make the trek north in search of bald eagles along the Nooksack River.  Winter run Coho are now making their way upstream to spawn.  Wow - did we hit it right.  There were birds everywhere. 

As they say, timing is everything and when we arrived, two eagles had just landed fish and were occupied protecting their dinner from the 40 or so eagles concentrated here.  How many photographers - just Judy, myself and one more wayward soul.  He had the BIG lenses.  Just to observe and be in awe.  And if we capture something - really cool.

Photographing eagles along rivers can be challenging.  Based on my past experience at the Skagit River, eagles were pretty spread out and perched atop tall trees.  Not a lot of opportunity for "action" shots like we see at Wolf Lodge Bay at lake Coeur d' Alene.  But here on the Nooksack, we experienced the best birding I have yet to see, and then some.  The only thing lacking was sunshine, but no worries.

It was interesting to observe how mated pairs worked together to keep competitors away (they mate for life).  One would eat while the other stood guard and then they traded off.  After awhile, we were able to track birds getting ready to make their attack - including a juvenile who thought that he was pretty hot stuff.  He got taught a lesson.  You can view a slide show of this on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/craig.goodwin.391?pnref=story.  Here's a photo of the finale.

Experience some times pays off.  And the taste of salmon - ahhhh!

More aerodynamics.  Look at the talons - so long and so deadly.

I only took 250+ photos this day, most of them action shots and keepers despite the dark skies.  Amazing birds.

Go Seahawks!

 

 

 

 

Sluicing

Our forebears were no dummies.  They achieved a whole lot with very little - not always in the most environmentally friendly of ways, but impressive accomplishments none the less.  Sluicing is one of the simple technologies that we see little used today, in part because of significant potential adverse environmental consequences.  Gold miners used sluicing to recover gold in the 1800's.  Giant mining companies use sluicing even today - though their environmental record is often less than stellar if not horrible.

What is sluicing?  Here's one definition - moving soil by use of rapidly flowing water for excavation or particle grading.  One of Seattle's early challenges was a topography of hills and steep slopes that made commerce and development difficult.  A solution to this construction challenge - sluicing.  All photos courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, Photo Collection 21.1, circa 1906.

If you have a hill and lots of water supply, build a big pump and blast the heck out of it.  We have all heard of the Denny Regrade.  Reginald Heber Thomson, city engineer of Seattle from 1892 to 1911, was responsible for reshaping the city's physical landscape. During his tenure the city entered into major regrading efforts involving the extensive removal of land to flatten hills. These projects included the Denny Hill, Jackson Street, and Dearborn Street regrades. Under Thomson's direction, 25 miles of city streets were regraded and 16 million cubic yards of dirt were sluiced out and redirected to fill the tideflats south of downtown.  Made great engineering sense at the time.

In the above photo, you can see in pen just how much of the hill was removed using high pressure water to create the Denny Regrade.  Lots and lots of water.

It's one thing to "excavate" a hillside using water pressure.  It's a whole nother thing to collect this soil and transport it to where it can be used/disposed - in this case to the tideflats south of the city.  What to use?  Hopkirk wooden pipe, of course.

Simpler times. 

Interesting question though - what would Seattle be like now without all of these major changes to the landscape?  Given where we are today and the businesses that fuel current economic activity in our region, a case can certainly be made that these early huge projects now extract a high price.  Or Not?

 

"It's For the Birds"

Ever wonder where the expression it's for the birds comes from?  What does it mean?  According to one source, this phrase is of American military orgin in the 1940's and means "trivial, worthless, only of interest to gullable people".  In less refined environs, "it's not worth bird s___".

But not for me.  I love the challenge of catching images of birds in flight - so majestic and graceful.  One can only imagine what it would be like to be a raptor soaring above.  Following are a few of my more recent pics of bald eagles and owls.

Short eared owls like the one shown above remind me of a stout linebacker - so strong, fast and built like a brick s___ h____.  Stubby might be a less than complimentary description.  And then we see the grace with long wings extended.

Watch out mice, ducks and other critters in the field.  Such piercing eyes.

Amazing birds and we look forward to another nesting pair at Lake Sawyer again this year.

Our son Craiger at https://www.facebook.com/craiggoodwinphoto?pnref=story has some great pics of long-eared owls taken at Eide Road near Stanwood.  This is the best that I could get a day later as the male and female were hiding deep into the bushes.  Always an eye on me.  One last pic for this post - having so much fun.

It's for the birds!

 

Utopian Communities

Socialist and anarchist sentiments were wide spread during the late 1800's and early 1900's, particularly in Washington State.  This was a period of intense union organizing activity and labor strife - see my earlier posts Timber Beasts, Shingle Weavers and Capitalist Pigs and Labor Day & The General Strike of 1919.  Washington State was also home to three "Utopian Communities" formed by avowed socialists and anarchists seeking to demonstrate a better way and spread their model of colonization.  Not to be confused with the more idealistic and often "stoned" communes of the 1960's, they espoused hard core political and anarchist values.  These colonies included:

• Home Colony - "Colony founders, Oliver Verity, George H. Allen, and B.F. Odell, incorporated the colony as the Mutual Home Association in 1898 for “members in obtaining and building homes for themselves and to aid in establishing better moral and social conditions.” The Home Colony site was on Von Geldern Cove, ten miles northwest of Steilacoom in Pierce County. In 1901, 23 men, 22 women and 36 children resided in the community. Each family received a two acre holding to build and maintain a home. The school house was a wood structure located near the water.  The community attracted negative attention as a result of multiple scandals including rumors of “free love”. In 1902, a violation of the Comstock Act prohibiting the movement of “lewd” and obscene material via the US mail resulted in the removal of the Home Post Office. In 1919 the Mutual Home Colony Association was dissolved and the anarchist community, as it was, ended."  Following are a couple of Home Colony photos courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, photo collection 853, circa 1900.

The Home Colony schoolhouse and schoolchildren can be seen in the photo above.

The Verity family and their home is shown above.  Love the clothes.

• Equality Colony - This was a socialist colony founded in Skagit County in 1897 by the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth.  It was meant to serve as a model which would convert the rest of Washington State and the country to socialism.  The constitution's preamble committed the organization to three broad goals: "1. To educate the people in the principles of Socialism; 2. To unite all socialists in one fraternal association; 3. To establish co-operative colonies and industries in one state until that state is socialized." Simple issues of governance however proved problematic and the organization was eventually dissolved in 1907.  Early facilities built by the colony were impressive including the apartment house shown below.  All photos courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, photo collection 728.12, circa 1898.

They even had a sawmill.

And pretty impressive two story log cabins.

• Freeland Association - Founded in 1900 by dissident members of the nearby Equality Colony, the Freeland Association did not survive long, ceasing to be in 1906. It's lasting legacy - the census designated community of Freeland on Whidbey Island continues to exist to this day.

Hmmmm - not exactly sustainable models.

Concrete Sleepers - What Happened to Wooden Railroad Ties?

During one of our hikes to the Ghost Town of Lester last year, I was surprised to see concrete railroad ties being used along the BNSF mainline that passes through Stampede Pass here.  Concrete?  I thought that our region would be the last to embrace anything other than wood.  Granted, treating wood ties with creosote is not the most environmentally friendly of processes, but I had never before noted the use of concrete ties. 

The above photo taken in November 2014 shows concrete ties being used at Lester.  A very different "bowed" look and really different connections to the rail.

Metal clips that use plastic (see the white gasket) to connect with steel rail.  We saw lots of plastic strewn around indicating that they may not actually last that long, but then pretty easy to replace.  Here is the more typical wood/rail connection we also found here.

A lot more steel and parts from these wood ties were strewn around, though in lesser numbers.  If you have a big bag and strong back, you could salvage lots of steel and plastic along the rail line.

Concrete ties made of steel reinforced concrete, also known as "sleepers", do have advantages:

They do not rot like timber sleepers, extra weight makes track more stable (particularly with changes in temperature), they can withstand fire hazards better than wooden sleepers, they give more retentivity to the track, they have a longer life than wooden sleepers, and they need less maintenance, resulting in lower ongoing costs and fewer track closures.

But, concrete and steel also costs more.  In talking with a BNSF person we met who was inspecting the track, he offered that added strength of steel and concrete was an important factor long term.  Here's an older wood tie/rail connection we also saw.

Appears to be a pretty marginal rail/tie connection but it has been used and worked for decades.

 

Electric Power Generation - Water Usage Efficiencies by Fuel Source

In an earlier post Electrical Power Generation and the Need for Water, I reported on how much fresh water is required to generate electricity - more even than water used for irrigating our farms.  Keeping a 60-watt lightbulb lit for 12 hours uses as much as 60 liters of fresh water.  Why so much?  Water plays a number of roles including pumping crude oil and gas out of the ground, helping to remove pollutants from power plant exhaust, washing coal, generating steam that turns turbines, flushing away residue after fossil fuels are burned, and keeping power plants cool. 

How do water use requirements vary by fuel souce?  A 2008 study prepared by Virgina Tech University and updated in 2011, provides some insight.  The following graphic summarizes these findings.

For perspective, 1,000 kilowatt-hours typically powers one home for one month.  The winner among fossil fuels as most efficient - natural gas, in large part due to the high efficiency of current turbines and reduced pollutant load.  Wind and solar, of course, beat all of these fossil fuels and are not included in Virginia Tech's study.  The big loser - biofuels, in part due to the need for irrigation required to produce the soybeans, corn or other crops needed to produce biofuels.  Not so environmenally friendly after all? 

Coal - 10 to 50 times more water required per kwh than for natural gas.  With natural gas supplies in the U.S. currently glutted, prices falling and more supply on the horizon, it's hard to see how the economics of coal pencil, all factors considered.  When was the last time we saw new coal electrical generating capacity brought on line here in the U.S.?

If anything, it appears that retirements of U.S. coal plants will far exceed any new or efficiency upgrades for existing coal plants.

All factors considered, I view this as good news.  Now - to get rid of U.S. subsidies for biofuels.  Solar and wind power will continue to grow and merit our support, at least in my judgement and based on what we now know.

 

Local Harvest Pics Circa 1909

In yesterday's post, I focused on farm workers as the backbone of our regions early economy.  Today, I'm pleased to be able to share photos of local harvests taken in 1908 and1909.  Potatoes - we grew them big!

All photos courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, William Martin photographer, Photo Collection 1279.4

Good sized corn.

Transporting cabbage was a real challenge.

Poultry was "big" business too!

Just enough room for a potato on the back of the car carrying eggs for Modern Farmers.  Big eggs, big chicken.

And of course the apples.

You needed a lassoo to harvest the wheat.

Each of these images were taken from post cards used apparently as a marketing tool to entice people in the east and midwest to move to the northwest.  Pretty fun.  I don't think that they had Photoshop back then.  To see the complete collection, follow this link to Society & Culture Photos - Exaggerated.