Lester, WA, USA
Posted by: 
scooternerd
N 47° 12.496 W 121° 29.489
10T E 614238 N 5229412
Lester was once a logging town, then a railroad town, now a ghost town.
Waymark Code: WMMXQD
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 11/21/2014
Views: 5
Burlington Northern Railroad (now BNSF) place a RR yard in the vicinity of Deans Lumber Co in the early 1890's. By 1908, population was 250. As coal locomotives were replaced by diesel engines by the mid 1950's, the Lester roundhouse was closed. The Dean's Lumber Co was replaced by Soundview Pulp Co, which merged with Scott Paper Company. The Scott logging camp here was finally closed in 1978.
The railroad was closed from 1984 - 1996. The City of Tacoma bought out the last few residents in to form the current Tacoma Watershed, with limited access.
This one of 4 remaining buildings in Lester, WA. The train track is still an active Burlington Northern track, running from Spokane to Tacoma, with several trains daily. To get to Lester, you must cross Stampede Pass. Take the Stampede Pass exit from I-90, near Easton, WA. Follow National Forest Development Road #54 over Stampede Pass and down into the Green River Valley, to the gate. You must walk the final two miles into 'town'.
Reason for Abandonment: Economic
Date Abandoned: 12/31/1984
Related Web Page: [Web Link]
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