Micro-Trains - 114 50 010 - Log Car, Skeleton - Chehalis Western

Specific Item Information: Chehalis Western Log Train Set (SW-9, Three Log Cars, Caboose)

Prototype History: The skeleton car has been a staple in the logging industry since the early part of the century and has appeared on nearly every logging road in the country. Such cars came in standard and narrow gauge versions and probably everything in between. Shay, Climax, and Heisler geared locomotives often pulled long strings of skeleton cars through the mountains and forests of California and the Pacific Northwest.

Road Name History: The Chehalis Western Railroad (reporting mark CWWR) was the name of two different shortline railroads that were owned and operated by Weyerhaeuser between 1936 and 1993. The first Chehalis Western, which existed from 1936 until 1975, was a shortline Class III railroad operating in Washington state, while the second one, which existed from 1981 until 1993, was a private railroad that operated on a different set of lines that Weyerhaeuser had later acquired.

The first Chehalis Western (pronounced sha-HAY-less) was launched by Weyerhaeuser in 1936 when they purchased the 10 mile line from Chehalis to Ruth, Washington from Milwaukee Road. In addition they had adjoining trackage rights on Milwaukee Road and Northern Pacific. In a 1975 reorganization, this line became the Curtis Milburn & Eastern and the CWWR disappeared until 1980. Weyerhaueuser brought the CWWR name back when they took over the lines from Tacoma to Chehalis and Frederickson to Morton, Washington that had just been abandoned by Milwaukee Road. Weyerhaeuser closed the Chehalis Western in 1992 and sold the track to the City of Tacoma in 1995. In addition to the CWWR reporting marks, they also used CHWE. I suspect CHWE was for the pre-1975 railroad and CWWR was for the post-1980 railroad.

Brand/Importer Information: Micro-Trains is the brand name used by both Kadee Quality Products and Micro-Trains Line. For a history of the relationship between the brand and the two companies, please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide.

Manufacturer Information: Micro-Trains Line split off from Kadee Quality Products in 1990. Kadee Quality Products originally got involved in N-Scale by producing a scaled-down version of their successful HO Magne-Matic knuckle coupler system. This coupler was superior to the ubiquitous 'Rapido' style coupler due to two primary factors: superior realistic appearance and the ability to automatically uncouple when stopped over a magnet embedded in a section of track. The success of these couplers in N-Scale quickly translated to the production of trucks, wheels and in 1972 a release of ready-to-run box cars.

Micro-Trains Line Co. split off from Kadee in 1990 to form a completely independent company. For this reason, products from this company can appear with labels from both enterprises. Due to the nature of production idiosyncrasies and various random factors, the rolling stock from Micro-Trains can have all sorts of interesting variations in both their packaging as well as the products themselves. When acquiring an MTL product it is very important to understand these important production variations that can greatly enhance (or decrease) the value of your purchase.

Please consult our Micro-Trains Collector's Guide