Elbe may seem like the land that time forgot: steam trains rather than freeways, a tiny historic church rather than strip malls, nights spent in old cabooses rather than a modern hotel. This town of just 29 people has more history and things to do than places 10 times its size!
Visitors to Elbe can ride a steam train from a station in town to the little town of Mineral, where they can see the world's largest collection of geared locomotives. These specialized locomotives are more suitable to the steep grades and hastily laid tracks of logging operations than the more common side-rod locomotives. The ones collected here were made between 1889 and 1930 and feature engines made by Heisler, Shay, Climax, and Willamette.
The tracks from Tacoma were placed by the Tacoma Eastern Railroad in the late 1800s to access the Nisqually coal fields and the timber south and west of Mt Rainier. As with most small railroads of the time, it was absorbed into larger railroads becoming part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific line, often simply known as the Milwaukee Road.
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Another unique Elbe experience is the chance to spend the night in one of several converted cabooses.
Nearby, the tiny Elbe Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cache is placed with the permission of Wayne C. Rankin, president, Mt Rainier Railroad & Logging Museum, and is over 150 feet from the nearest train tracks per Geocaching Guidelines.
2016 was the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and to celebrate, Visit Rainier and WSGA hosted the Visit Rainier Centennial GeoTour - 100 caches placed in and around Mount Rainier National Park. The geocaches highlighted the rich history, scenic wonders, quaint communities, and hidden gems of the Rainier region. Participants received geocoin and pathtag prizes for finding all the caches.
