A Little History
After scouring the Pacific Northwest, the Northern Pacific Rail line made the decision to house the terminus in Tacoma in 1873, as opposed to Olympia. The residents were upset; being the terminus implies a commercial future. Because of this they chose to build their own line from Tenino, where the Northern Pacific Rail Line connected, to Olympia. It was opened in August 1877. Ironically, the line was eventually bought by the Northern Pacific.
map found here: great northern railroad routes in Washington State – 1920s-ish
map found here – 1879 – map of Downtown Olympia and Tumwater
I tried to find some information on the train tracks beneath the 4th ave. bridge, but I have not been too successful. It is obvious the tracks are abandoned from the mid point of Deschutes Parkway until the tracks seemingly end. I have attempted on google earth to follow the train tracks to see if they go further than the Rotary Park, I have not found evidence that they do. I had not realized until recently, that there may be a possible correlation between the end of the train tracks and the obviously torn down building behind them. Perhaps it does mark the end of the line. It is the Bellmore line. Just recently, the company Genesee and Wyoming began leasing the line from its owner, BNSF, before it was leased by the Tacoma Rail. Bellmore line, travels along Percival Creek, across Capital Lake and into Downtown Olympia.
