BONUS EPISODE: History of Columbia & Cowlitz Railway Structure Destroyed Mon, Aug 25 in Longview, WA

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel speaks with Northwest railroad historian and author Martin Hansen about the fire on Monday, August 25, 2025 that appears to have completely destroyed a large and historic wooden structure belonging to the Columbia & Cowlitz Railway in Longview, Washington. There were no injuries reported. The nearly century-old structure housed a machine shop and other maintenance facilities for the railway, which was founded by Weyerhaeuser in 1925. Columbia & Cowlitz Railway is currently owned by Patriot Rail. CASCADE OF HISTORY reached out to Patriot Rail for comment, and received this written statement: "On Monday, August 25, 2025, at approximately 4:00 p.m., a fire broke out at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company building in Longview, WA. The building housed Patriot Rail’s Columbia & Cowlitz Railway warehouse and locomotive shop. The Longview Fire Department and Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue responded promptly to the scene. No injuries were reported. The incident remains under investigation at this time." CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.