End of the line, 130 miles north - By Todd Matthews, Tacoma Daily News, WA
When Historic Railway Restoration is awarded a contract, it contacts a local union to hire two or three carpenters to help complete the project. Carpenters often call asking if there's any streetcar work.
'Union carpenters will leave jobs they're at to come work for us, even if it's for six months,' says Vince. 'They work on square boxes all day long. They get around these [streetcars] and put one back together, and they love it.'
The Mendenhalls started their company in Ballard, but moved to Arlington in search of cheaper rent. They also learned that most of their vendors are based in Snohomish and Skagit Counties.
They want to purchase land -- ideally near railroad tracks -- that will serve as a permanent home. The company operates out of a rented trailer in a lumber company's gravel parking lot. A massive shop across the way is where they work on streetcars.