THE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE
OF ROBERT D. WEST
Nestled in the Cascade Mountains of northern Washington, Stevens Pass is the location of one of the most difficult railroad-building projects in American history, and of the world's worst avalanche disaster. Today, Stevens Pass is the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe's main connection to Seattle from the rest of the country, and U. S. Highway #2 makes its way across Washington via the pass as well, but the story of Stevens Pass begins over a century ago with two men, a visionary with a dream and the engineer who helped him make it happen.
Discovery and Naming of Stevens Pass
In the latter half of the 19th century, James Jerome Hill was looking toward the future. Hill foresaw transcontinental railroads replacing riverboats and wagons as the primary mode of moving goods and people across America. In 1889, Hill and his financiers acquired the bankrupt St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, and turned it into the Great Northern Railway, with the intent of connecting St. Paul to Seattle. The Northern Pacific Railroad had already reached Tacoma, Washington by way of Stampede Pass in the Cascades, so time was of the essence.
While the railroad was being built across the plains of North Dakota and eastern Montana, engineers and surveyors were sent ahead to lay out the route through the mountains. As the winter of 1889 approached, no route through the Rocky Mountains had been found. The Northern Pacific had followed a more southerly route through the mountains, however Hill was determined to have his own route through the Rockies rather than parallel his competition. With time running out to find a pass, Hill sent a young engineer named John F. Stevens to find the pass through the Rockies before construction of the railroad would be delayed. If Stevens could find the pass in time, Hill promised to name a pass after him.
Stevens and a Flathead Indian guide explored several known passes in the fall of 1889, including a pass noted by the Lewis & Clark Expedition called Marias Pass, but had yet to find a suitable route. With winter moving in and time running short, Stevens decided to make a last attempt at Marias Pass, which he considered the most promising. The temperature was 40 degrees below zero in December 1889 when Stevens, unable to stop to rest without risking freezing to death, discovered the summit of Marias Pass at 5,214 feet. Stevens returned to send word to Hill, and construction of the railroad continued.
Stevens was praised by Hill for finding the route through Marias Pass, and in Spring 1890, Hill sent Stevens to find a route through the Cascade Mountains of Washington. After searching 4,500 square miles of the Cascade Range, Stevens followed a creek flowing into Lake Wenatchee from the west. The creek led him to the summit of of the pass. Stevens sent another Great Northern engineer, F. B. Haskell, to survey the route through this pass. After confirming the route was indeed feasible, Haskell carved "Stevens Pass" on a tree, naming the pass as Hill had promised.
Stevens Pass Today
Stevens Pass is easily accessed today, thanks to the presence of U. S. Highway #2. The map above shows the relation of the major locations associated with Stevens Pass. Leavenworth is the largest city in close proximity to the pass, about 36 highway miles east of the summit. This webpage will start on the west side of the pass.
Railroad bridge over Highway 2
This
bridge is a fair distance away from the pass, about 33 miles west of the
summit, but it does carry the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline that
crosses the pass, and it is an unusual bridge. The railroad
crosses the highway at a shallow angle, requiring a long bridge, with no
supports in the way of the highway. Thus, this bridge uses
outriggers on columns outside the highway right-of-way for support. This is a unique bridge that I thought was worth noting.
Skykomish
Skykomish, Washington is the closest actual town to Stevens Pass, about 13 highway miles west of the summit. The name Skykomish comes from Indian words meaning "Inland People." Skykomish once hosted extensive railroad facilities which are no longer present, though the town is still a base of operation for railroad maintenance crews.
Historical Photos
Skykomish depot in snow, unknown date
Steam Locomotive #1951 in Skykomish, circa 1924
Electric Locomotives in Skykomish, circa 1927
Skykomish Powerhouse under construction, circa 1927
Skykomish Powerhouse interior, circa 1927
Skykomish Powerhouse, March 3, 1928
Passenger Train at Skykomish, circa 1930
The
Skykomish Hotel opened in 1904, and is one of the oldest buildings in
Skykomish. It seems to appear much as it did at that time, when it
was mostly frequented by railroad employees and their families.
Historical Photos
This
old caboose in now used as a private home in Skykomish. It was
originally owned by the Great Northern Railway, the railroad that built
the line through Skykomish. The Great Northern was merged into the
Burlington Northern Railroad on March 2, 1970 with the Northern Pacific,
the Chicago Burlington and Quincy and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle. The Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe in
1995, forming the
Burlington Northern-Santa
Fe, which operates the line
today. This 30-foot caboose was built by the Great Northern
Railway in their own St. Cloud, Minnesota shops in August 1942 as their
number X228. It became Burlington Northern #11225 with the 1970
merger. After its retirement and a subsequent move here to 103 South
3rd Street in Skykomish, it was restored to its original appearance as
shown here.
Here are some pictures of trains at Skykomish.
Scenic
At Scenic, the current railroad main line diverges from the Great Northern's original right of way. The original route through Wellington and Cascade Station opened in January 1893. This route was plagued by heavy snowfall and avalanches. In 1929, a new tunnel was opened between Scenic and Berne, and the original route was abandoned. For many years, this route was all but forgotten. Today, however, it has been transformed into a hiking trail called the Iron Goat Trail leading from Scenic to Wellington.
Historical Photos
Driving the last spike at Scenic to complete the original line on January 6, 1893
Passenger Train at the Scenic depot, circa 1930
This
picture shows a view of Scenic from a point on Highway 2 east of Scenic.
The highway begins to climb steeply just east of Scenic, and sort-of
doubles back on itself as it climbs, thus the highway overpass in the
picture is also Highway 2. The train in the picture is about to
enter the west end of the Cascade Tunnel, which is in the trees at the
bottom of the picture.
The concept for this tunnel originated as early as 1917. World War I caused a delay in any work being done toward building such a tunnel, but after the war the idea resurfaced. In 1925, John F. Stevens was consulted, and recommended a tunnel be built between Scenic and Berne, on the east side of the pass, bypassing Wellington and Cascade Station entirely. On November 26, 1925, Great Northern President Ralph Budd accepted the proposal and immediately awarded construction contracts for the new tunnel.
Construction began at both ends of the new tunnel on December 28, 1925. The tunnel would be 18 feet wide, 26 feet high and 7.79 miles long. It would be the longest railroad tunnel in the Western Hemisphere. In 1928, in order to speed the construction of the tunnel, the vertical Mill Creek Shaft was dug 622 feet down to tunnel depth, 2.41 miles from the east end of the tunnel.
Between
the shaft and the west end of the tunnel, an 8 foot wide by 9 foot high
Pioneer Tunnel was dug, with cross shafts every 1,500 feet to the main
tunnel. This allowed additional crews to work on the tunnel, and
provided a way for equipment and debris to be moved in and out of the
tunnel. The Pioneer Tunnel remains in place today; it is used as a
way for water to drain from the main tunnel. The picture is of the
west end of the Pioneer Tunnel.
Historical Photos
Man & Horse pulling tram car out of the Pioneer Tunnel, circa 1926
Interior of the Pioneer Tunnel, circa 1926
The Cascade Tunnel, with its concrete lining, was completed December 24, 1928. Track was placed and the tunnel opened for service January 12, 1929. The tunnel was dedicated to James J. Hill, who died May 29, 1916.
Historical Photos
Officials outside the West Portal, 1927
Scenic & West Portal, circa 1929
Gravel Train entering the Tunnel, December 31, 1928
First Train at the West Portal, 1929
First Train at the West Portal, 1929
First Work Train through the Tunnel, January 6, 1929
First Work Train through the Tunnel, January 6, 1929
Official First Train, January 12, 1929
Electric Locomotive #5011 exiting the tunnel with a train at Scenic, circa 1929
Electric Locomotive #5012 exiting the tunnel with a train at Scenic, circa 1929
Electric Locomotive #5011 exiting the tunnel with a train at Scenic, circa 1930
Electric Locomotive #5012 exiting the tunnel with a train at Scenic, circa 1930
Train entering the West Portal at Scenic, February 12, 1931
Train leaving the West Portal, February 12, 1931
Diesel-powered freight train exiting the west portal at Scenic, late 1950s
The Iron Goat Trail
The Iron Goat Trail is a hiking trail built on the original Great Northern Railway grade between Scenic and Wellington. The trail exist due to the work of hundreds of volunteers with Volunteers for Outdoor Washington and the U. S. Forest Service. The initial trailhead at Martin Creek and first four miles of the trail were dedicated and opened October 2, 1993. There are now trailheads for the Iron Goat Trail at Scenic, Martin Creek and Wellington. The dedication plaques are located at the Martin Creek Trailhead. The official trail plaque reads as follows:
IRON GOAT TRAIL NO 1074
OCTOBER 2, 1993
DEDICATED TO:
THOSE WHO TOILED 100 YEARS APART BUILDING A TRANSPORTATION
ROUTE THROUGH THIS PORTION OF THE MIGHTY CASCADE MOUNTAIN RANGE
IRON GOAT TRAIL PLANNED,
CONSTRUCTED & MAINTAINED
IN PARTNERSHIP
MT. BAKER-SNOQUALAMIE NATIONAL FOREST (USFS)
VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR WASHINGTON (VOW)
SUPPORTERS
HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS WORKING THOUSANDS
OF HOURS MULTITUDES OF OTHER
INDIVIDUALS & ORGANIZATIONS
Also at the Martin Creek Trailhead is a plaque from the American Society of Civil Engineers, dedicating the area a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. It reads:
NATIONAL HISTORIC
CIVIL ENGINEERING LANDMARK
AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF
CIVIL
ENGINEERS
FOUNDED
1852
STEVENS PASS
GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY
RAILROAD AND SWITCHBACKS 1893
TUNNELS 1900 AND 1929
DEDICATED 1993
The Iron Goat Trail is measured in original Great Northern mileage from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Scenic is just west of milepost 1720. The map below shows the points of interest along the Iron Goat Trail.
Inset #1
(Note: The last time I visited the Iron Goat Trail, in 2000, the Scenic Trailhead, and the trail from Scenic to the Twin Tunnels had not yet been built. The next time I visit I hope to add this last part of the trail, which has since been completed. In the mean time, this page will skip to the Twin Tunnels.)
Twin Tunnels
These two tunnels were not originally part of the railroad built in the 1890s. Originally, there was a bridge here. The bridge was destroyed in the severe winter of 1915-1916, and these tunnels were built in its place.
At
the west (east with respect to the railroad) end of the twin tunnels is
this 96 foot long concrete arch. This arch was built as a
permanent snowshed to keep snow from building up and blocking the tunnel
entrance. A short wooden snowshed connected the arch and the
tunnel. The arch was built wide enough for two tracks in case the
railroad decided to add an additional track to this portion of the
railroad, which was never done. Though hikers cannot walk through
the tunnels, the arch is stable enough to walk through.
Corea
Corea was once a small town for housing railroad workers. Near Corea, archaeologists found ceramic bowls and domed ovens once used by the railroad workers living here. Along the trail in this area, the ground has a corrugated surface made by railroad ties being left to rot in place when this line was abandoned in 1929.
Near Corea, the trail-builders installed a crossover to the upper grade, however this crossover is a recent addition and has no historical significance.
This
is a picture taken near Corea of a train on the active main line across
the valley. The train is on part of the original route, so a
similar view may have been a regular occurrence before 1929.
Martin Creek
There is another trailhead at Martin Creek. Just past this trailhead, the railroad started onto a trestle over Martin Creek and then entered the horseshoe-shaped Martin Creek Tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel, the train would be traveling in the opposite direction (by the compass) and on another trestle nearly parallel to the first, but about one-hundred feet higher. At this point, an engineer could look down at the other trestle and see the rear end of his own train entering the other end of the tunnel. After this line was abandoned in 1929, the trestles were dismantled to salvage the steel from them. The tunnel is rumored to have been used for explosive testing by the U.S. Government, and is at any rate largely collapsed today.
Historical Photos
Freight Train on the Martin Creek Trestle, circa 1928
Freight Train on the Martin Creek Trestle, circa 1928
Passenger Train on the Martin Creek Trestle, circa 1928
Electric Locomotives on the Martin Creek Trestle, circa 1928
Electric Locomotives with a freight train on the Martin Creek Trestle, circa 1928
A crossover trail at Martin Creek connects the lower grade and the upper grade. This crossover trail was used by railroad workers during the railroad's construction to haul materials to the upper grade, and then again during the salvage operations of 1929 to haul materials back down. Following this crossover leads you to the upper grade near where the other trestle once ended, and the upper grade can be followed east from here.
Tunnel #14
This tunnel is the only tunnel that was built with
the original rail line in 1893. All other tunnels along the Iron
Goat Trail were built later. It was the fourteenth tunnel on the
Great Northern between St. Paul and Seattle, and that is where it gets
its name. The tunnel is 312 feet long. At one time, the ends
of this tunnel
were
protected by timber snowsheds, which have long since collapsed, as has
part of the tunnel itself. The trail goes around the tunnel, on a
temporary construction route used while the tunnel was under
construction. Just east of Tunnel #14 is where the Corea crossover
connects to the upper grade.
Embro
This location was originally named Alvin, but was renamed Embro in 1914. Embro was a water stop for the steam locomotives used on this line, and also had a telegraph station and housing for railroad workers, all covered by snowsheds.
Just
east of the site of Embro is the Embro Tunnel. This 462-foot
tunnel was built in 1916. Some of the rock extracted from this
tunnel can be seen piled along the downhill side of the trail. At
the east end of the tunnel is a 39-foot concrete arch, similar to the
one at the Twin Tunnels. This arch was installed at the same time
as the tunnel.
At
the end of the arch is a 475 foot long concrete wall running along the
uphill side of the trail. This wall was the back wall of a
combination concrete and timber snowshed. There are several more
similar walls at various places along the trail, indicating places where
additional snowsheds once stood. Additionally, all-timber snowsheds were in place between the combination snowsheds. When
this line was abandoned, the entire distance from Embro east to Windy
Point was under some kind of snowshed.
Windy Point
The
Windy Point Tunnel was built in 1913. Originally, the tunnel was
only large enough for a single track. In 1914, the tunnel was
enlarged to be large enough for two tracks, though a second track was
never added. The Windy Point Tunnel is not safe for hikers to walk
through, and in addition, the tunnel's length
and
curvature would make some kind of lighting a necessity. The Iron
Goat Trail follows the route the railroad followed before 1913, along a
ridge on the edge of Windy Point.
From
the viewpoint at Windy Point, Scenic and the west portal of the Cascade
Tunnel are clearly visible. When a train is in the tunnel, the
exhaust from the trains diesel locomotives is forced out this end of the
tunnel by powerful fans at the other end. The smoke from this
exhaust can be seen in this picture. If you were to stand in front
of the west portal of the tunnel while the exhaust fans are running, it
would feel like a 40 mile per hour wind, produced by fans nearly 8 miles
away! At this point, there is no way to tell which way the train
is going in the tunnel.
In
this picture, the train that was in the tunnel is emerging. The
tunnel's exhaust fans continue to run until the entire train is out of
the tunnel. The tunnel is straight, but not level, and this train
has been going downhill through the tunnel, so the locomotives have not
been working very hard. As we will soon see, this is a fairly
short train with an unusual load.
This train is carrying bodies for Boeing commercial airliners. In this picture you can clearly see a complete body, minus the wings and tail, on a specially equipped flat car. The tall enclosed railcars in the train are carrying the wing and tail components. Boeing airliner bodies are manufactured at a factory in the Midwest, and then shipped to Boeing's main factory near Seattle for final assembly, outfitting and test flights. This cargo is too large to move by truck on a regular basis, as Boeing does. As it is, these shipments require specially-designed railcars, and the airliner bodies exceed standard railroad clearances, so special procedures must be followed as well, and they are usually moved in a dedicated train, with no other cargo.
Historical Photos
View from Windy Point of the Cascade Tunnel under construction on May 15, 1928
Milepost 1712
There
is nothing particularly noteworthy about Milepost 1712; however, I do
have a couple of pictures from this area that I would like to share. The first is this picture of my sister Andrea looking up at a concrete
wall. This wall, like others along the route, was the back wall of
a snowshed. This picture illustrates just how tall these walls
are.
This
picture shows the difference in elevation between the old Highway 2 and
the new Highway 2. The old highway, now a forest service road, can
be seen in the valley in the bottom third of the picture. The new
highway is on the ridge visible through the trees in the top third of
the picture.
Concrete Snowshed
This
2,462-foot reinforced concrete snowshed was built during the summers of
1910 and 1911, at a cost of $680,000. This snowshed was designed
to cover two tracks to protect trains waiting at Wellington. This
first picture shows the snowshed from Highway 2. This picture was
taken in 1994, so today, the trees
are
most likely obscuring it even more. The west end of this massive
structure has collapsed, most likely the result of an avalanche that
after decades without maintenance the structure could not withstand. The collapsed section does provide a look at the extensive web of
reinforcing
steel
rebar that would otherwise be buried in the concrete. Even though
it has partially collapsed, much of it is still stable, and it seems it
still would have largely protected a train had one been beneath it at
the time: a testament to Great Northern's engineers and construction
crews. East of the collapsed section, the Iron Goat Trail
moves
into the snowshed, and hikers walk for over a quarter mile under the
cover of the massive structure.
The
concrete snowshed ends at another trailhead. This trailhead is
located on the site of the town of Wellington, which was immediately at
the east end of the concrete snowshed.
Wellington
Wellington, originally named Stevens City, was a small mountain railroad town, built by the railroad to serve as a base for maintenance operations, a terminal for helper locomotives and snow-fighting equipment and to provide coal and water for the locomotives of trains crossing the pass. Despite its relative isolation, the people of Wellington lived their lives like those of any other small town, until the winter of 1910.
The winter of 1910 had brought record snowfall to the Cascades, and by February 23, the summit of Stevens Pass was topped with 30 feet of snow. Two westbound trains, the #27 Fast Mail and the #25 Spokane Express, started up Stevens Pass from Leavenworth, with a rotary snow plow escort sent ahead to clear the tracks. A snow slide at Windy Point trapped the rotary plow, and the trains were stopped at Cascade Station. There were only limited facilities and provisions at Cascade Station, and the next day the trains moved to Wellington, where more services were available for the trains and their passengers. Shortly after the trains departed Cascade Station, an avalanche hit Cascade Station, blocking the tracks, destroying the cook shack and killing two people. The two trains were now stranded at Wellington.
In the next few days, additional massive slides came down in the area, but the people of Wellington were unaware of many of them. At any rate, there was little anyone could do, although some attempted to hike down the mountain to Scenic for help. The weather began to warm and brought rain, saturating the snow already accumulated. At 1:45 AM on the morning of March 1, an avalanche 2,000 feet wide, a half-mile long and 14 feet deep swept down the mountain above Wellington and over the two trains and sweeping them and seven locomotives into the ravine 150 feet below, killing 118 people. Other avalanches stranded six additional trains across 30 miles of the railroad. It took until March 7 for all the wreckage at Wellington to be found, and for bodies to begin to be transported by sled to Scenic, where a relief train from Everett was waiting. It was not until March 9 that a train was able to reach Wellington from the east, and not until March 12 that the line west to Scenic was cleared. Wellington is still the worst avalanche disaster in history, and while it was ruled an act of God, the event prompted the Great Northern to build the concrete snowshed, and to begin considering building the 7.79 mile Cascade Tunnel between Scenic and Berne. In the meantime, however, Wellington was rebuilt. The disaster had been well publicized, and Great Northern renamed the station Tye to disassociate the railroad from the disaster. Tye remained in operation to 1929, when the new Cascade Tunnel opened and the town was abandoned.
Historical Photos
Electric Locomotives at Wellington, circa 1909
Bailets Hotel in Wellington after the avalanche, 1910
Emergency Hospital in Wellington, 1910
Remains of cabin in Wellington where four laborers were killed by the avalanche, 1910
Locomotives wrecked by Wellington avalanche, 1910
Locomotives wrecked by Wellington avalanche, 1910
Locomotives wrecked by Wellington avalanche, 1910
Railroad Car #8201 wrecked by Wellington avalanche, 1910
Rotary Snow Plow wrecked by Wellington avalanche, 1910
Wellington avalanche wreckage 700 feet from track, 1910
Snow Slide at end of snowshed near Wellington after avalanche, 1910
Wellington after the avalanche, March 10, 1910
Wellington after the avalanche, March 10, 1910
Wellington after the avalanche, March 10, 1910
Wellington after the avalanche, March 10, 1910
Great Northern superintendent James H. O'Neil inspects the avalanche wreckage, 1910
Steam Locomotive #1917 at Tye in 1913
Steam Locomotive #2510 at Tye, 1928
Electric Locomotives pull a train from the concrete snowshed at Tye on August 2, 1928
View from above of Tye after abandonment, 1929
For more information about the Wellington disaster: visit the following websites.
Unsettling Events: Wellington Avalanche - by the Tacoma Public Library
The Wellington Avalanche - by USFS Wellington Site Steward Bob Kelly
The Wellington Scrapbook - by The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
At the Wellington trailhead, a short trail leads east through the remains of the town.
This picture is of the foundation of the coaling
tower at Tye. The original Wellington coaling tower was destroyed
in the avalanche. This foundation is from the new coaling tower
that replaced it. The top of this foundation was originally at
ground level. It has since been exposed by recent excavation in the
area.
This is the foundation of the 300-foot rotary shed. This shed was used for the storage of rotary snow plows and locomotives.
The original shed was destroyed in the avalanche, and this foundation is
from the shed that was rebuilt in the same place.
These footings are from the 100,000 gallon water
tower at Wellington. This tower not only provided water for the
steam locomotives, but also supplied a gravity-fed fire protection
system for the timber snowsheds which were in danger of catching fire in
summer.
Switchbacks and the First Cascade Tunnel
The
tunnel between Scenic and Berne was not the first Cascade Tunnel.
At the end of the Iron Goat Trail is the west portal of the first
2.63-mile Cascade Tunnel, built in 1900 between Wellington & Cascade
Station. Before building this tunnel, the Great
Northern used a series of switchbacks to get over the pass. The
map below shows the switchbacks and the first Cascade Tunnel.
Inset #2
These switchbacks were part of the original route over Stevens Pass from 1893. The Great Northern always planned to tunnel between Cascade Station and Wellington, but James J. Hill was most concerned about completing the route to Seattle, so to speed the completion of the line, the 12-mile series of switchback was built as a temporary measure. The switchback route was slow and treacherous; trains has to reverse direction several times, ultimately running in reverse over the summit, as they climbed up steep 3% to 4% grades through sharp 12-degree curves to an altitude of over 4,000 feet, over 650 feet above Cascade Station, where the highest point would be with the tunnel in use. Trains were limited to 1000-feet in length, including three locomotives needed to pull trains over the switchbacks. There was never an accident over the switchbacks in the five years they were used, but they were a bottleneck; it took a train 75 minutes to travel the 12.5 miles of switchbacks.
Construction of the 2.63-mile Cascade Tunnel began August 10, 1897. The tunnel with built as quickly as possible, using three shift of workers so construction could proceed 24 hours a day. The tunnel opened in December 1900, eliminating the switchbacks and eliminating the need to add and remove locomotives at Wellington and Cascade Station. It also reduced the maximum grade over Stevens Pass to 2.2%, reduced the time it took for trains to cross the pass by two hours, and ended the need to remove accumulations of up to 140 feet of snow at the summit every winter. Today, much of the switchbacks are forest service roads, including the road leading from Highway 2 to the Wellington Trailhead.
While the tunnel solved one problem, it ended up creating another. While the tunnel was oriented so that the prevailing west winds of the pass would clear it of smoke from steam locomotives in as little as 20 minutes, if wind was light or coming from another direction, the smoke and heat could be fatal to engine crews and passengers. The railroad tried to combat the problem, but as locomotives became larger and more powerful, the problems got worse. In 1909, the railroad decided to put overhead wires in the tunnel to allow electric locomotives to pull trains through the tunnel. This solved the problem, and electric locomotives would eventually be expanded to the 72 miles between Skykomish and Wenatchee.
Historical Photos
Cascade Tunnel, West Portal, 1910
Looking out the end of the Cascade Tunnel at Wellington, 1910
Electric Locomotives exiting Cascade Tunnel, 1913
This
Cascade Tunnel was abandoned in 1929 with the rest of this route when
the new Cascade Tunnel opened between Scenic and Berne. The land
was turned over to the U. S. Forest Service, which blocked the portals
of the tunnel for many years. Eventually, the U. S. Government
reopened the tunnel and used it as a storehouse for a time, but it had
been largely ignored. It was once possible to walk through the tunnel,
but a collapse & water buildup inside the tunnel made it unsafe.
The
west portal of the first Cascade Tunnel is visible from Forest Service
Road 050 leading to the Wellington Trailhead from the Old Cascade
Highway (old Highway 2). This road is part of the old switchback
route. Before the Iron Goat Trail was built, this was the closest
easy access to this end of the tunnel.
East Stevens Pass
Cascade Station
The
east portal of the old Cascade Tunnel, and the site of Cascade Station,
originally called Tunnel City, can be reached by following Forest
Service Road 6980. This road leads right up to the tunnel, and you
can drive right up to the portal, though obstructions inside prevent
actually driving through. Some searching will reveal foundations
from buildings at Cascade Station as well.
Historical Photos
Last train over the old line at Berne, January 12, 1929
East Portal, with doors when used as storage
East Portal, with doors when used as storage
Berne
Berne is the site of the east end of the current Cascade Tunnel. It is fairly easy to find, as Highway 2 passes almost directly over the tunnel entrance, and the current portal is visible from the highway.
When the tunnel first opened in 1929, the electric locomotives from the first tunnel were used here as well. At that time, the east portal looked identical to the west portal at Scenic. The electric locomotives continued in operation until 1956. By this time, the Great Northern Railroad had retired all steam locomotives and used diesel locomotives exclusively, except over Stevens Pass.
Historical Photos
East Portal during construction, 1927
Electric Locomotive #5011, 1928
Officials prepare to open the tunnel, January 12, 1929
Officials opening the new tunnel, January 12, 1929
Officials throw the switch for the first Oriental Limited through the tunnel, January 12, 1929
First Oriental Limited through new tunnel, January 12, 1929
Officials in front of the newly opened tunnel, January 12, 1929
In
order to be able to use diesels in the tunnel, the railroad rebuilt this
end of the tunnel with a door and two powerful 6-foot fans to force the
exhaust out of the tunnel. The resulting east portal looked
as in this picture. This allowed the electric locomotives
to be retired and the overhead wire to be removed. From then on,
diesel locomotives have been used exclusively over Stevens Pass.
In
1997, the tunnel's ventilation system was rebuilt, with this result. Where the original door opened vertically, like a garage door, the new
door opens to the side. In any event, operations have remained
essentially the same over the years. If a train enters the tunnel
from the west, the door closes and the fans
turn
on, forcing the exhaust out behind the train. The door remains
closed until the train is a quarter-mile from the east end, when the
door opens automatically to let the train out. If a train enters
from the east, the fans come on immediately and the door closes once the
train is fully inside. The exhaust is forced out ahead of the
train, and the door at the east end reopens when the train has cleared
the tunnel. In either case, the fans continue to run for 30
minutes after a train has left the tunnel to fully clear the tunnel of
diesel exhaust fumes.
Here are some pictures of trains at Berne.
Tumwater Dam
Located
25 highway miles east of Berne, in the Tumwater Canyon, this dam was
built by the Great Northern railroad to produce the electricity for the
electric locomotives that pulled trains through both Cascade Tunnels.
The Great Northern mainline went down Tumwater Canyon and past this
plant until 1928, when a new line was opened that bypassed the canyon
and was shorter and straighter with less grades. The city of
Leavenworth was also bypassed, leaving the town virtually isolated until
U. S. Highway 2 was built through Tumwater Canyon, directly on the
roadbed of the Great Northern's original route, where it remains today.
Historical Photos
Great Northern Tumwater Powerhouse, circa 1908
A sign at the dam explains its historical significance.
HISTORIC TUMWATER DAM
The Tumwater Hydroelectric Project was constructed from 1907 to 1909. At that time, the hydroelectric project was the largest west of Niagara Falls. The project was constructed by the Great Northern Railway Company to produce power for electric locomotives traveling through the old Cascade Tunnel on the Stevens Pass route.
Electrification of the three miles of the line brought an and to the serious smoke and gas conditions in the tunnel resulting from the coal burning locomotives. Four 100-ton electric locomotives were in service on the trolley line to pull passenger and freight trains through the tunnel, which was abandoned in 1929 upon construction of a new eight-mile-long Cascade Tunnel. The locomotives were the first in the United States to utilize the principle of regenerative braking, returning power to the lines on the downhill grade.
From the Tumwater Dam, water was delivered through a penstock to a powerhouse over two miles downstream. A bridge was constructed across the river to allow railroad access to the dam construction site. The bridge was then utilized to carry the penstock to the powerhouse. The bridge still stands, and serves as a link to the old penstock route. The powerhouse was a concrete and brick structure that housed three waterwheels and three 2,000 kilowatt generators.
The Tumwater Hydroelectric Project was closed in 1956. By that time, the railroad had converted to diesel engines. The project was purchased by the Chelan County public Utility District in 1957. The powerhouse and related generating facilities were subsequently removed.
The Tumwater Dam is now equipped with modern fish passage facilities to assist adult salmon and steelhead returning to their spawning grounds.
HISTORIC PROJECT STATISTICS
DAM
Groundbreaking.......July 6, 1907
Length..............400 Feet
Height..............23 Feet
Construction Cost......$100,000
Fishway.............Newly Constructed 1987
HEAD...............200 Feet
PENSTOCK
Material.............Wood & Steel
Length..............11,654 Feet
Diameter.............8.5 Feet
SURGE TANK
Height...............210 Feet
Capacity.............1 Million Gallons
POWER HOUSE
Generators ...........Three, 2,000 kilowatts each 25 Cycle, A.C.
Turbines.............Three, Francis type 4,000 horsepower each
Conclusion
East of Leavenworth, Highway 2 meets up with the railroad again, which returns to its original alignment through Wenatchee to Spokane and beyond. From this point on, there isn't much of historical interest to non-rail enthusiasts along the route for quite a distance beyond Stevens Pass, so that concludes this expedition.
For more information on Stevens Pass, I can recommend two books on the subject. A Railfan's Guide to Stevens Pass by Robert C. Del Grosso, published in 1993 by Great Northern Pacific Publications of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and The Iron Goat Trail: A Guidebook by Becky Wandell for Volunteers for Outdoor Washington, published in 1999 by The Mountaineers of Seattle, Washington. The latter should be available at the ranger station near Skykomish, among other places. I would also like to acknowledge the University of Washington Library, whose digital collection holds all of the historical photos I linked to.
Stevens Pass Links
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
Volunteers for Outdoor Washington
J. Johnson's page about switchbacks, using some of my graphics
Also see:
PLACES - Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois
PLACES - Antique Powerland, Brooks, Oregon
PLACES - Kelso-Longview, Washington
Steam on the Chelatchie Prairie
All website content, including graphics and pictures are © Robert D. West unless otherwise noted. Content is not to be used out of the context of this webpage without expressed permission. Any opinions expressed herein are mine and are not necessarily shared by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, or anyone else.
Questions? Comments? Critiques? Corrections? Concerns? Email me at westr@msoe.edu.