After the merger and construction of the large concrete grain elevators at the location of the original Tacoma Wharf, Half Moon Yard acted as a major location for grain cars. I don't know how much it was used for grain in NP days. It probably was used to stage grain cars to the Sperry Mill and its predecessors, and maybe also cars for the Tacoma Smelter and sawmills along Ruston Way. I know in the late 60s it had a lot of white-lined cars waiting to make their last trip up the hill to the South Tacoma Shops. I also seem to recall from my very brief tenure as a clerk in the Tacoma Yard that most of the traffic in 1969 was being switched and staged out of the Head of Bay yard, and Half Moon Yard was mostly used for storage of empties.
Regarding Portland, the Portland Board of Trades acted as an exchange for wheat trading in the general pre-Depression era. I don't know about its subsequent history, nor do I know any specifics about grain car staging in the general Portland area.
Chuck Soule
