"Cascade Crossing and History" |
|
| James J. Hill, President of the Great Northern Railroad Company, decided in 1890 to extend the railroad to the Pacific coast, and hired John F. Stevens with the task of locating the rail line through the Rocky and Cascade mountains to Puget Sound. Stevens built the line up the Wenatchee River and Nason Creek towards the 4,059 foot summit of Stevens Pass, Washington. Near the summit, a series of switchbacks on a four percent grade were built, with plans to eventually build a tunnel through the mountain. |
|
| The first 2.63 mile long Cascade Tunnel was completed in 1900 at a cost of 4 million dollars. The 1.7 percent grade through the tunnel didn't crest until it reached the east tunnel portal, and with wet, slippery rails common in the tunnel, steam locomotives had a tendency to stall in the tunnel. Six months after the tunnel was opened, an eastbound freight train stalled and two of the crewmembers were asphyxiated from the smoke build-up in the tunnel. Another problem with the old route over the summit was massive snow slides, one of which killed 101 people in 1910. |
|
| The Great Northern Railroad decided to electrify part of the rail line over Stevens Pass, and began construction in 1925 to build a second Cascade Tunnel, this one being 7.79 miles long at a price of 26 million dollars. On January 12, 1929, the westbound Oriental Limited became the first train to operate through the tunnel, which at the time was the longest tunnel in the western hemisphere. With the advent of diesel electric locomotives, steam engines were sent to operate on the eastern divisions of the railroad, and the last electric power train to run over Stevens Pass occurred on July 31, 1956. |
|
| The Great Northern was merged with other railroads in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, which later was merged with the Santa Fe Railroad to form the present day Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. With slower moving freight trains now traveling over the Columbia Gorge and Stampede Pass routes, Stevens Pass now handles the high-speed intermodal and double stack trains. Amtrak's Empire Builder also operates over Stevens Pass, affording passengers the opportunity to view the spectacular scenery. |
|
| back to: "Cascade Crossing" |
