Milw. Everett Branch Centennial Milestone

[Allen Miller]

Coming up a week from Sunday is the 100 year anniversary of the Milwaukee Road depot building in Duvall, Washington on the old Everett Line. The Duvall agency was opened October 8th, 1911 in a temporary boxcar depot by J. Roy Lucas. The nearby agency of Tolt (present-day Carnation) was also opened the same day in a Class "C" telegraph shack by agent A. E. Royal. The new Tolt depot was completed and opened by the November 12th, 1911 official opening of the Everett Line to daily freight service. The same crew then moved to Duvall, where an, almost identical, depot was completed and opened to service on January 8th, 1912.
The Duvall depot was closed in June, 1936 and the building fixed up as a section foreman's dwelling. It was sold to Duvall resident Ray Buhren in 1955 and moved 100 feet, or so, off of the right of way. It was given to the city in 2004 and moved again to it's present site in McCormick Park, below town, where it serves as a community hall.
The Carnation depot was closed in 1949 and the building sold in 1954 and moved a block or so west of the old railroad grade (presently the Snoqualmie Valley Trail) on Entwistle Street and is a private residence.
There is no celebration planned, the present owners of the building are probably unaware of it's actual opening date.

 

[Carnation Depot]

Allen,
I grew up in the Carnation Depot. My parents bought the Depot in 1969 and have lived there since.

When they bought the Depot it had been remodeled into a home by the previous owner that moved it to its present location. The house is in fairly good shape. The waiting room has never been touched, it still has all of the original wanes coating. The rest of the house has seen modifications such as a kitchen and an addition on the back.

I knew the house was built in 1911 and I have always been fascinated with its history.

-Ray

 

[Allen Miller]

How cool Ray! I took my kids trick or treating there once, thirty-some years ago, just so I could stand by the door and get a peek in and I remember the beautiful wood on the former waiting room walls. I have a set of blue prints for the building (and Duvall's depot too) that I got from the Milwaukee Road engineering offices in Tacoma. They were the only two depots built to that exact design. The main characteristic is the three section windows with transoms above. They caused the windows to sit lower than standard height and this caused some problems when placing the telegraph table in the bay window. The blue prints have hand-written instructions that any future building utilizing that window design would have to have the windows in the bay raised to a specified height.

 

[Carnation Depot]

Too cool, I would love to see a copy!

 

[RentonRailFan]

Wow 100 years. I enjoyed spotting the remnants of that line like the trestles and telephone poles. Its sad to see them in their current condition. I sould go out there again and see the depot.