The Cowlitz, Chehalis & Cascade Railway was incorporated in 1916 as the successor to the Washington Electric Railway. The first 18 miles of this railway was opened from Chehalis to Onalaska in 1918. The final 14 miles to Cowlitz was finished in 1928. The total projected line was 170 miles, but it never got beyond the 32 miles. It was abandoned without ever owning a diesel.

The first locomotive on the CC&C was a 2-8-2 used "Mikado". This locomotive was built by Baldwin in 1916 for the Clear Lake Lumber Co. at Clear Lake, in Skagit County, WA. It was lettered for the Puget Sound and Cascade Railway with the road number 200. As the 200, it was put to work hauling logs on Clear Lake's mainline until Clear Lake Lumber went bankrupt.

Number 200 was repossessed, by Baldwin in 1926 and resold to Cowlitz, Chehalis & Cascade Railway where it was renumbered to 15. It was donated to the city of Chehalis about 1955 and was restored to operating condition in the Mt. Rainier's Mineral Shops for use on the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Association line in Chehalis, WA.