August 23rd, 2004
A railroad is born
This is a drawing that was reproduced on the front page of the Anacortes American 40 years ago, illustrating Tommy 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. But Tommy did not realize his dream of running track to the state ferry terminal. Instead, 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 Tommy’s death, the train was moved south to display. A painting of Tommy and his wife 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.