Let me tell you a story about a train car...

Yesterday we took a drive up to eastern Skagit county via the old South Skagit Highway. On the south side of the Skagit River, it's a beautiful alternate route to Highway 20 (the North Cascades Highway) on the north side of the river.

We ended up in the town of Concrete, once know for its cement production and the legend of the reaction its inhabitants had to the radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" in 1938.

Still no Martians to be found in Concrete, but we did come upon something unexpected: a vintage passenger train car, parked just 50 feet from the Concrete Town Hall and Sheriff's office.

The car sits in perpetual slumber on the eastern edge of the Cascade Trail, a 22.5 mile former BNSF right-of-way between Concrete and Sedro Woolley. Alas, the only photo that turned out of the exterior is this one, but you get the idea.

I was surprised that when I turned the door lever on the platform entrance of the old car that it was open.  Inside, I discovered a surprisingly intact example of a mid-century passenger car.

A short hallway led me to the Ladies Lounge door, which had some graffiti on it, but was mostly intact.

To the left of the Ladies Lounge door was this original intact lithograph. Train travel was so elegant once...

Further inside, the interior wall of the Ladies Lounge door also had these original lithographs.

To the right of the lithographed wall, two sinks for hand washing, and one for "dental use"...

...and towels and cups for your convenience.

The hallway from the Ladies Lounge leads to the main cabin which appears to have become a hangout for local teenagers... they keep it pretty clean, there's even a garbage can. I think the blue and red seats may be original to the car.

This little "roomette" at the far end of the train was probably a "first class" private room, or maybe used by the conductor?

A slightly better view of the "roomette," with its lithograph and once fine wood paneling.

Beyond the "roomette" was another small room, but at this point the only light I had was from the camera flash, so I didn't go in any further.

A second view of the room at the far forward of the train car, admiring the wavy glass on the door.

On the way back out, I saw these foot rests, attached to what must be heat vents.

Last but not least: Mystery solved? This Hiawatha logo on the wall of the main passenger compartment suggests the car came from the Milwaukee Road railroad route that serviced Chicago-Minneapolis-Seattle between roughly 1946 and 1971. Which explains the hints of orange and red under the decades of grime on the exterior. How it got to Concrete, however, is another mystery....