June 27th, 2012
Tommy’s train to return
A gracious gift, indeed! Anne Thompson, widow of narrow gauge train builder Tommy Thompson, recently announced she will donate the train to the City of Anacortes. Thompson, who died in 1999, operated the train for many years, to the delight of children and adults alike (Tommy pictured in first photo). The drawing pictured here appeared on the front page of the Anacortes American 40 years ago, illustrating Thompson’s dream of a small scale railroad line in Anacortes. The train became a reality, much to the delight of thousands who took a ride on the steam-powered train over the years. Thompson did not realize his dream of running track to the state ferry terminal, but it ran on a stretch of track from 4th Street past the Depot and on to Commercial Avenue, where it turned around for a return trip. After Thompson’s death, the train was moved south to display. A painting of Tommy and Anne with the train is visible on the north wall of the Calico Cupboard restaurant. Bill Mitchell did the mural working from a photograph I took of Tommy and his wife Anne in 1986 for an article in a Shell publication. Tommy worked at the Shell Refinery for many years (now Tesoro), accomplishing much of the train design and construction work during those years.