Pufferbelly Smokestack

Pufferbelly Smokestack, a photo by DeForestRanger on Flickr.

"Down by the station, early in the morning,
See the little pufferbellies, all in a row.
See the stationmaster pull the little handle.
Chug-chug, toot-toot, off they go!"

This one isn't going anywhere, unfortunately, but it sits outside the tiny Elbe depot owned by Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad to encourage people to take a ride. Passengers travel between Elbe and Mineral, crossing the Nisqually River on a new bridge which replaced the one washed out in the floods of 1996. The tour was suspended for a number of years as Tacoma Rail considered the economic feasibility of repairs. The line had only one other client, a lumber mill in Morton, and they'd discovered that trucking their product was no more expensive than shipping it by train. Evenutally, the potential for tourist trade prevailed and the area received a minor economic boost when the line reopened. Ironically, residents take the train for granted, and few of us have ever ridden it ourselves.