All aboard for historic train depot

A visit to the restored Potlatch Train Depot is a step back in time

By EMILY PEARCE FOR DAYTRIPPING

With a lot of love and dedication, almost two decades’ worth of restoration work has made the Potlatch Train Depot a true hidden gem in northern Idaho.

When the Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway History Preservation Group took over the depot in 2001, it didn’t know how much work it would be getting into. But the group stayed committed to the station, and its hard work paid off.

The depot, more than 100 years old, has been restored to its original condition. From its signature red paint to its antique iron-plated windows, the station will teleport visitors to the pioneer era of early Idaho.

The group finished restoration efforts on the depot in 2016, when it completed renovations on the second floor. In 2007, the group restored its exterior and replaced the roof, and in 2010, renovations were made to the first floor. Both floors include historically accurate fixtures, and the second floor contains 11 refurbished spaces.

tions of history, artifacts from the historic Washington, Idaho and Montana Railway and board rail cars dating back to the 1910s and ’20s. The depot offers a special event space on the first floor, and those who can’t get enough of the station can rent out spaces on the second floor. The gift shop is hard to pass by, as all proceeds go toward maintenance of the depot.

stretching almost 50 miles from Palouse to Bovill, the depot was consequential

LEFT: The freight room of the Potlatch Train Depot is photographed on a recent weekend.

BELOW: The exterior of the Potlatch Train Depot is seen in a recent photo. The depot was Potlatch’s first commercial building upon completion in 1906, and has been refurbished over the past decade or so.

By RACHEL SUN

LEFT: The Weippe Prairie is the spot where the Nez Perce Tribe and explorers from Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery first encountered each other in September 1805.

BELOW: Musselshell Meadows tends to be a good camas bloom location, but can be covered by snow well into the spring, as it was in late April when this photo was taken.

August Frank/for Daytripping