The Port Townsend Southern Railroad

The Port Townsend Southern Railroad. . , One of the earliest railroad lines in Thurston County began in 1878 and eventually became known as the Port Townsend Southern Railroad (PTSRR) in 1890. The original rail line construction was spearheaded by Thurston County residents hoping to connect to the Northern Pacific Line, which had bypassed Olympia and Tumwater to terminate its transcontinental line at Tacoma. The original line of the PTSRR began in Olympia and ran on pilings along the west side of today's Capitol Lake. It then ran close to the west bank of the Deschutes River, inside today's Tumwater Falls Park, and headed south to Tenino. Most traces of the PTSRR through Tumwater were erased by the construction of Interstate 5 in the late 1950s although some railroad grades can still be seen in the area., [Captions:] , Mr. and Mrs. James Cannon stand on the PTSRR tracks in front of their house in Tumwater. The Brewhouse tower of the Olympia Brewing Company can be seen across the Deschutes River in the background. This photo was taken from present-day Deschutes Way., The spur track to the Olympia brewery crossed the Deschutes River over a wooden bridge and trestle, shown on the right side of this photo. This image is a detail from an Olympia Brewing Company advertising poster, circa 1906. Also seen at the upper left is the Schmidt House, home of Olympia Brewing Company founder Leopold F. Schmidt., In the early 1900s, the PTSRR accessed the Olympia brewery via a spur line from the main track. Here, an engine puts a freight car emblazoned with the Olympia Beer logo., The Railroad Commission of Washington issued this map in 1910. The Port Townsend Southern Railroad (shown as a thin red line) extends south from Olympia and Tumwater to Tenino. The white dots denote train stations along the way.