Suspicious Night Blaze Destroys Local Roundhouse
Fire consumes the Central Washington Railway roundhouse and a locomotive in Coulee City; officials suspect arson.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Fire destroyed the roundhouse of the Central Washington railway at Coulee City yesterday morning between 2 and 3 o'clock, together with engine No. 607. When discovered, it had gained such headway that all efforts to extinguish the flames were unavailing. There having been no fire around the building, the opinion is that it was of incendiary origin.
“There having been no fire around the building, the opinion is that it was of incendiary origin.”
Rail infrastructure was the lifeblood of rural Washington commerce at the turn of the century, making a roundhouse fire a devastating economic blow to a small town. Arson as a means of labor or civil protest remains a dark but recurring chapter in the history of Washington’s rail industry.
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