Railroad depots serve new roles as gateways to the past

Originally published in The Seattle Times, January 4, 1984

By Herb Belanger
Times suburban reporter

Issaquah’s train depot was built in 1889, and now holds a museum with exhibits that explore the industrial revolution, travel, communication, and the early economic development of the city.

Railroad depots, important to transportation and commerce in many communities throughout King County for many years, have been given a new role in recent times.

Relegated to obscurity as deteriorating warehouses or unused buildings beside seldom-used railroad tracks, some of them are now gateways into the past.

Depots at Snoqualmie and Black Diamond already have been turned into museums and monuments to community history. Those in Issaquah and Lester could be given the same roles if individuals concerned about preserving them have their way.

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Formation of coal: Address delivered by noted coal mining engineer at convention of salesmen

Originally published in the Pacific Coast Bulletin, January 4, 1923

By George Watkin Evans

George Watkin Evans, 1924

There are two principal theories of coal formation, one called the Drift Theory and the other In Situ.

There are advocates of both theories, and personally I believe that each is right within limits. I am of the opinion that some coal beds have been formed in the places where we now find them, whereas in other instances, the vegetable matter which constitutes the coal bed grew in another spot and has been transported by water to the place where we now find the coal.

In the Drift Theory it is assumed that the vegetable matter grew in one spot and a current of water carried the decaying vegetal material and deposited it some distance from the spot on which it grew.

One argument for this theory is that there are many partings of shale and other impurities in some of our coal beds and again some of the coal itself is very heavy in ash. It is reasoned that if the material was not carried by currents and deposited some distance from the place where it grew that the partings of shale and other impurities would not be associated with the coal.

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