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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 14 |
| 1894 | 18 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 14 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 7 |
| 1909 | 17 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
136 stories matching switch
- Thirty Thousand Volts Killed Him. The Wall Brought Him Back.
A Seattle power-plant hand was dead for fifteen seconds in 1909 — until the shock hurled him into a cement wall and the impact restarted his heart.
- The Boy Who Tried to Derail a Train
A Snohomish County jury acquits two young boys who tampered with railroad switches to watch a crash, sparking a furious editorial on the failings of the justice system.
- A Runaway's Return
A Parkland father reunites with his son after spotting his face in a newspaper report about a train sabotage arrest in Ballard.
- A Trail of Fire Through Port Townsend
When four hundred torch-bearers paraded the bluff at night, they turned the seaside town into a spectacular display of political theater.
- Fatal Rail Yard Accident Claims Newcomer
A sailor known only as 'Nels' is killed while walking the Northern Pacific tracks at night.
- Mystery Crash on the Interurban
A passenger train plows into a loaded freight car near O'Brien, leaving commuters shaken and investigators baffled.
- A Near-Fatal Industrial Accident Near Everett
A laborer survives after being crushed by railroad cars during a logging operation.
- The High Cost of Commuting on the Rails
After seeking work at a local mill, a man attempts to board a moving freight train in Centralia, leading to a life-altering accident.
- A Deadly Chase Along the Seattle Waterfront
A desperate flight from police ends in tragedy beneath the wheels of a switch engine in the Seattle rail yards.
- Newport’s Railroad Future Takes Shape in a $150,000 Yard
The Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad unveils plans for terminal yards, depots, switches and a loop through old and new Newport—and west-side farmers lobby for the line down the Calispel valley.
- The Engineer Who Stayed at the Brakes
A Burlington passenger train hit an open switch outside Selah at 30 miles an hour. Engineer William Gordon and fireman Meyers died; the passengers lived because Gordon never let go.
- Fatal Logging Railroad Accident at Kamilche
A young worker was killed when a logging train derailed at Simpson’s switch, marking the first fatal accident on local logging roads in a year.
- The Streetcar Brawl at Ninth Street
A fare dispute turned violent when a Tacoma streetcar conductor armed himself with a heavy switch hook against a passenger, only to be beaten with his own weapon.
- Newport's Rail Boom Pushes Down the Pend Oreille
Crews prepare to lay steel in the Newport yards and let contracts for a high bridge at Box Canyon as the Idaho & Washington Northern drives toward Metaline.
- A Handcar on the Trestle, a Train Around the Curve
Calhoun's crew was sent east of Spokane Falls to stand by a switch for the excursion trains. A belated passenger train rounded a curve onto their handcar; the men jumped, but a Chinese laborer was severely injured.
- The Price of a Five-Day Job
A railroad brakeman with only five days on the job dies in a horrific workplace accident in Gilman.
- Inspectors Went Looking for Faults and Found a Model Railroad
State railway commissioners ride the new Idaho & Washington Northern out of Newport expecting to file complaints, and come home praising everything down to the telephone box at every switch.
- The Juvenile Crime Spree in Colfax
A gang of boys, sons of prominent citizens, ran wild in a night of vandalism and theft.
- Railroad Standoff at the Coal Bunkers
A high-stakes blockade at the Puget Sound waterfront reveals the tense territorial battles between the Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines.
- A Slip of the Tongue Costs Votes
A disparaging remark by Nelson Bennett regarding voters leads to a backlash of support for the opposing candidate.
- The Great Northern Snow Plow: President Hill’s Battle with the Cascades
While Seattle slept, railroad magnate James J. Hill fought a war against the elements, his train delayed by drifts and snowplows in a dramatic struggle that highlights the fragility of early 20th-century transit.
- The $2 Fee That Sunk a Warehouse: Railroads Tighten Grip on Seattle's Waterfront
A group of local businessmen planned a major grain warehouse at the foot of Battery Street, but Northern Pacific's refusal to budge on switching fees scuttled the deal—and highlighted the railroads' stranglehold on Seattle's shipping future.
- The Runaway Gravel Car That Nearly Killed a Switchman
A gravel car cut loose on Tacoma's steep Pacific Avenue grade, tearing down the street at sixty miles an hour until a switchman leapt onto the engine's pilot to stop it — and was gravely hurt.
- The Industrial Army Prepares to March on Washington
As unemployment spikes during the panic, Seattle's 'Industrial Army' plots to seize trains to reach the capital and force federal action.
- Narrow Escape on the Roslyn Incline
A coal train loses control on a steep mountain track, forcing a daring rescue by the crew.