A Tale of Two Heralds... Undoubtedly, those involved in the Railroading avocation who have ever visited Tacoma are well aware of the Milwaukee heralds (on the left) that adorn a plate girder span of the L Street Bridge. They have stood as well preserved relics since the Milwaukee retreated from it's Pacific terminus in March 1980. However, the focus of this study is the faint, larger herald on the right, that has slowly revealed itself from obscurity within the last ten years. The older CMSTP&P heralds once stoop proud, along with the slogan "Air Conditioned - Route of the Olympian-Hiawatha," where that great train's western terminus was but five blocks west of this location. It is likely that sometime shortly after passenger operations were moved to the Tideflats, in April 1954, that the older heralds and slogan were covered over and replaced with the newer version. Ironically, a near fifty years after the last scheduled passenger train crossed the L street bridge, the silver paint fades to reveal the original decor. An irony, since Sound Transit begins regional commuter service over the same stretch at this juncture in time. A strange coincidence? For a 1940's photo of the original heralds and slogan please check out A NORTHWEST RAIL PICTORIAL, VOLUME II (ISBN 0-915713-22-5) by NW rail historian Warren W. Wing. Scanned From Transparency: Kodak KM 25
