In 1943 when this photo was taken, steam locomotives still hauled coal from Black Diamond to customers in Seattle and other King County sites. The large wooden water tower was a necessary facility for the coal-burning, steam locomotive engines which needed to periodically take on water. The rail tracks in the foreground went to Maple Valley and Black Diamond. And that’s Pacific Coast Railroad’s Engine #16 at a rail wye in Renton. Wyes were sets of rails in a triangular figuration – the junction that allowed engines and the train of cars they were pulling to turn around and head the other direction.
The original rail line from Renton through Maple Valley on its way to Black Diamond and Franklin was completed in 1885 by the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad. Twelve years later the Pacific Coast Company, which owned coal mines in Newcastle and Franklin purchased the railroad and converted the rail beds to the standard gauge of 4 feet, 8½”. In 1904, Pacific Coast Company acquired Black Diamond’s mines. The rail line’s name was changed to Pacific Coast Railroad (PCRR) in 1916. By 1948, PCRR had been reduced to one line running from Black Diamond through Maple Valley and Renton to Seattle.
PCRR continued operating until 1951 when it was acquired by Great Northern Railway. The Renton-Maple Valley-Black Diamond line became part of the Burlington Northern Railway in 1970 when four rail companies, including Great Northern, merged. On September 22, 1970, the last train left Black Diamond. The spur between Henry’s Switch, near S.E. 288th Street to Black Diamond was not officially abandoned until 1982. Maple Valley saw its final train pass through town on March 15, 1980, when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad abandoned its Pacific Extension.
After 95 years, rail service in this area of south King County came to an end. Today that former rail line is a popular hiking and biking pathway called the Cedar River Trail. Its eventual destination is Flaming Geyser State Park on the Green River, which will complete the Cedar to Green trail. This photo #P89.18.06 comes courtesy of the Maple Valley Historical Society with background information provided by its president, Dick Peacock.
