Description of the original, by J. Craig Thorpe, written in May 1999.
"Evening at the Depot" is a 30"x40" oil-on-canvas
painting produced in 1993 at the request of the Issaquah Historical Society. I
was paid a commission for the prints which I signed and numbered. Denny
Croston, who is still a member of the society, was one of my prime contacts
for the work. Warren Wing, a noted NW rail historian, provided additional
information.
The work represents a summer evening in 1921 and shows a Seattle-bound
special train pausing at Issaquah after a run down the line from North Bend.
The P7 class locomotive is a 4-6-0 "ten wheeler" (the numbers refer
to the wheel arrangement: 4 pony wheels on the front truck; 6 drive wheels;
and no trailing truck wheels). It is typical of passenger engines used on the
line by the Northern Pacific in that era. Note also the large, boxy headlight
mounted above center on the locomotive's smoke box. This was not particularly
aesthetic, but was the typical NP look! The white flags on the locomotive's
pilot indicate a special move and not a regularly scheduled train. By 1921
there were no more scheduled passenger trains on that line, although specials
would occur from time to time. Of course, freights ran regularly until 1998
when the Burlington Northern Santa Fe abandoned the line to Issaquah. The
track was pulled out in spring 1999, except for the section from Gilman Blvd
to the depot. The coaches are typical open-platform cars which were used on
most branch lines at that time. Today, all of rails have been removed beyond
the crossing shown behind the station. The track shown curving off to the
right, now long-removed, was a spur which served a coal mine near the location
of the present fish hatchery.
The open Issaquah Valley Dairy truck was owned by the family of Bill
Bergsma, a longtime Issaquah resident. Bill was still living at the time
the painting was produced and told me that he and his sister wrecked the
vehicle in the fall of 1921 by driving it into a ditch...neither occupant was
hurt! Bill was present at the signing party held at the depot on Sunday 27th
June, 1993 when the litho prints were publicly released.
The red brick building to the right, with the pyramidal roof, was the old
substation for Puget Power. Transmission lines, not shown, brought power down
from the generating station at Snoqualmie Falls.
The humorous story associated with the painting concerns the little dog.
Trying to be responsible in preparation for the painting, I research as much
as possible....but it never occured to me that I needed to research the dog!
The first person who saw the completed prints asked the rep from the
historical society what year was represented. When the answer, 1921, was
given, the viewer responded by saying that couldn't possibly be true because
the painting shows a golden retriever, and they were not bred in Washington
until 1929!
