Forgotten Cascade Mountain Railroad Tunnels
()
About this ebook
The creation of the train routes through the Western Washington Cascade Mountains proved a monumental challenge. The conflict arose between the engineering capabilities of man and the treacherous topography and inclement weather of the region. The nine miles of track connecting the towns of Stevens Pass, Wellington and Scenic, Washington ultimately proved a failure for the Great Northern Railway. The Iron Goat Trail that retraces the former routing is a popular hiking destination. The trailhead is easily accessible by car. The well-maintained path leads you through traces of two ghost towns that were obliterated by avalanche.
In the last decade of the 19th century, railroads were the primary mode of transportation for transcontinental passenger travel and freight. Previously isolated and inaccessible portions of the country became connected. Geographical impediments were merely obstacles to overcome. As profits swelled, ambitious and bold routings were designed and realized. During the 1890s, construction innovations enabled greater travel and more direct routes. These projects, employing tunneling and snow sheds, began lining the mountainous stretches immediately past Stevens Pass on the route to the Everett and Seattle stations.
Immigrant laborers cleared the hillsides of mammoth trees. They drilled and blasted rock to create a flat grade. Camps were required for the hundreds of workers to maintain the tracks and keep them operational during the winter snows. Snowdrifts on the mountains often piled as high as 25 feet on either side of the tracks, creating artificial canyons and muffling warning noises. Snow slides often trapped and delayed trains for long periods of time until snowplows and large crews could manually shovel the paths.
Crossing the Western Cascades in winter was a daunting trek. Along the Stevens Pass corridor between Wellington and Scenic, eight snowsheds and tunnels protected trains from the perilous conditions. Under these shelters, trains and passengers were considered safe. Exposed areas made trains susceptible to danger.
Construction on the snowsheds began in 1893. Each were framed with untreated Douglas fir, hemlock and Pacific Silver Fir beams and reinforced with concrete. The interior of the structures however, created residual problems, often trapping smoke and hindering visibility. The summer heat caused the timbers to become dry and less resistant to sparks from passing trains.
Maintenance costs skyrocketed during the winter months. The massive snows and periodic avalanches sometimes caused lengthy closures and worse fatalities. Derailments, destroyed bridges and the human risk factor made the decision to abandon the menacing stretch an economic necessity by 1921. Construction began in December 1925 of an alternate lower elevation extended tunnel route that remains today. Upon its completion, the doomed stretch between Stevens Pass, Wellington and Scenic was abandoned to the elements.
The snowsheds and tunnels remain as relics. They have continued a slow but steady deterioration, crumbling and becoming defaced with graffiti. Their existence is a threat to the curious who enter due to unpredictable falling debris and flash flooding.
Danger aside, imagination is stirred when entering these relics. On envisions a bygone era where the speed of transport was relative. A voyage by cross-country train does not match the speed required by contemporary travelers. In their silence and emptiness, the vacant tunnels and snow sheds resemble tombs depicting casualties of time.
An irony persists that the most accessible remnants of this era were constructed within the decade following the most devastating catastrophe in American railroad history.
Marques Vickers
Visual Artist, Writer and Photographer Marques Vickers is a California native presently living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington regions. He was born in 1957 and raised in Vallejo, California. He is a 1979 Business Administration graduate from Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Following graduation, he became the Public Relations and ultimately Executive Director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce between 1979-84. He subsequently became the Vice President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel in Westwood between 1984-86. Following a one-year residence in Dijon, France where he studied at the University of Bourgogne, he began Marquis Enterprises in 1987. His company operations have included sports apparel exporting, travel and tour operations, wine brokering, publishing, rare book and collectibles reselling. He has established numerous e-commerce, barter exchange and art websites including MarquesV.com, ArtsInAmerica.com, InsiderSeriesBooks.com, DiscountVintages.com and WineScalper.com. Between 2005-2009, he relocated to the Languedoc region of southern France. He concentrated on his painting and sculptural work while restoring two 19th century stone village residences. His figurative painting, photography and sculptural works have been sold and exhibited internationally since 1986. He re-established his Pacific Coast residence in 2009 and has focused his creative productivity on writing and photography. His published works span a diverse variety of subjects including true crime, international travel, California wines, architecture, history, Southern France, Pacific Coast attractions, fiction, auctions, fine art marketing, poetry, fiction and photojournalism. He has two daughters, Charline and Caroline who presently reside in Europe.
Read more from Marques Vickers
Twisted Tour Guide Los Angeles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwisted Tour Guide San Francisco Bay Area Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Famous West Coast Suicides and Shocking Celebrity Deaths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Murder in California: Rage and Revenge Murders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom One Artist To Another: Online Marketing Advice For Artists Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder in California: Serial Killers and Unsolved Murders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Murder in Oregon: Notorious Crime Sites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder in Washington: Notorious Crime Sites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParis: Famous Historical Residences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsToxic Silicon Valley Groundwater Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwisted Tour Guide: Baltimore Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnsolved Western American Murders and Extended Cold Case Resolutions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOregon Coast Guide: Beauty, Novelty and Curiosity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArchitect John D. Parkinson: Eternally Elevating the Los Angeles Skyline Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwisted Tour Guide: Vancouver British Columbia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom One Auction Buyer and Reseller To Another Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Reflective Powers of Water as Visual Alchemy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVertical Bellevue Washington: Architecture Above A Boomburg Skyline Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder in California: Abductions, Assassinations and Police Related Murders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Light District: Butte, Montana Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsZen By Default: The Poetry of Marques Vickers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIceland’s Golden Circle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWest Coast Creepy Buildings: Their Storied Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWashington Coast Guide: Beauty, Novelty and Curiosity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArchitectural Flourishes: Seattle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwisted Tour Guide: Seattle and Puget Sound Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVladimir Putin’s Time in Dresden, Germany Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFreebie Travel Guide to Western Oregon: Historical, Cultural and Sometimes Macabre on the Cheap Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArchitectural Flourishes: Paris, France Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Forgotten Cascade Mountain Railroad Tunnels
Related ebooks
This Was Railroading, Part 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Australian Flood Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStereoscopic Views of the White Mountains Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Along the E&N: A Journey Back to the Historic Hotels of Vancouver Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Franconia Gateway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn to the Yukon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsToronto Sketches 12: “The Way We Were” Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Erie Railroad's Newburgh Branch Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShort Line To Paradise: The Story Of The Yosemite Valley Railroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCountry Roads of Western BC: From the Fraser Valley to the Islands Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Canadian: William Lyon Mackenzie King 1874 - 1950 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventure Roads of BC's Northwest Heartland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNow You Know Disasters: The Little Book of Answers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maine's Covered Bridges Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpring City and Royersford Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Bark In The Park-Doggin' America's Waterfalls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack River Canal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRails to the Atlantic: Exploring the Railway Heritage of Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlens Falls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHard Border Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistoric Photos of Puget Sound Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYorkshire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Final Voyage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuilding the Caldecott Tunnel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStaten Island Rapid Transit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hawk's Nest; or, The Last of the Cahoonshees: A Tale of the Delaware Valley and Historical Romance of 1690 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrand Haven Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Canals Explained Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRailroads of Rensselaer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Technology & Engineering For You
The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills For Solving Problems, Managing Chaos, Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Night to Remember: The Sinking of the Titanic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Right Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 48 Laws of Power in Practice: The 3 Most Powerful Laws & The 4 Indispensable Power Principles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Disappear and Live Off the Grid: A CIA Insider's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of Maker Skills: Tools & Techniques for Building Great Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/580/20 Principle: The Secret to Working Less and Making More Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Electrical Engineering 101: Everything You Should Have Learned in School...but Probably Didn't Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fast Track to Your Technician Class Ham Radio License: For Exams July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Nicolas Cole's The Art and Business of Online Writing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Logic Pro X For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The CIA Lockpicking Manual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wuhan Cover-Up: And the Terrifying Bioweapons Arms Race Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRust: The Longest War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Forgotten Cascade Mountain Railroad Tunnels
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Forgotten Cascade Mountain Railroad Tunnels - Marques Vickers
FORGOTTEN CASCADE MOUNTAIN RAILROAD TUNNELS
Published by Marques Vickers at Smashwords
Copyright 2016-2019 Marques Vickers
Table of Contents
Abandoned Artifacts and Ghostly Reminders
Wellington
Windy Point Snow Shed
Inside Windy Point Tunnel
About the Author
Abandoned Artifacts and Ghostly Reminders
The creation of the train routes through the Western Washington Cascade Mountains proved a monumental challenge. The conflict arose between the engineering capabilities of man and the treacherous topography and inclement weather of the region.
The nine miles of track connecting the towns of Stevens Pass, Wellington and Scenic, Washington ultimately proved a failure for the Great Northern Railway. The Iron Goat Trail that retraces the former routing is a popular hiking destination. The trailhead is easily accessible by car. The well-maintained path leads you through traces of two ghost towns that were obliterated by avalanche.
In the last decade of the 19th century, railroads were the primary