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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 18 |
24 stories matching rail
- Thirteen Carloads of Rail and Four Miles of Track: Olympia Gets Its Electric Streetcar
Delayed by a blizzard back East, the rails are finally in Tacoma and due tonight — and a crew will start laying them down the middle of Fourth Street tomorrow morning.
- The Westside Streetcar Line Starts Grading Toward Harrison Avenue
Olympia's new Westside Railway begins cutting a street approach and prepares to lay rails across the Port Townsend Southern tracks.
- Edison's Noiseless Motor and the Race to Put Olympia on Rails
Two Edison men pitch a single-reduction streetcar motor to Olympia's electric company, promising rails by the Fourth of July—if property holders cooperate on subsidies.
- A Streetcar Franchise on the Line Over Naphtha Power
A citizen charges the Olympia street railway is violating its charter with an unsafe naphtha motor and neglected trackwork at Fifth and Main.
- A Rail-and-Timber Empire Offers Its Workers a Cut
A new corporation tied to former governor Elisha P. Ferry acquires the Mason County Central railroad and Shelton sawmill, plans a Grays Harbor line, and sets aside $50,000 in stock for employees.
- Olympia’s Main Street to be Ripped Up for Electric Rails
A long-standing conflict between local transit companies is resolved, clearing the way for new track construction and pole installation.
- The Railroad Baron Who Refused to Compete With Shadows
Northern Pacific president Tom Oakes tells Seattle that Jim Hill’s Great Northern is more phantom than threat—and explains why cutting timber rates could backfire on Puget Sound’s lumbermen.
- One Coal-Oil Dealer Is Holding Olympia's New Electric Railway Hostage for $10,000
The streetcar line is contracted, the rails are shipped and the crews are ready — but George Marvin Savage's outfit sits squarely in the middle of Main Street, and he will not budge for less than ten thousand dollars.
- The Bachelor Doctor Who Died Walking Home Along the Rails
Dr. G. S. Smith, a familiar but solitary figure in Olympia, was found dying near the long trestle after visiting a family in Tumwater.
- The Temperance Revival Sweeps Olympia
Francis Murphy, the famed temperance orator, packs the Methodist Church as residents line up to sign the pledge.
- Olympia’s Streetcar Truce
After a period of corporate maneuvering, the Olympia Street Railway and the Light and Power Company reach a seven-year agreement to consolidate transit services.
- The White-and-Gold Trolleys That Would Link Olympia and Tumwater
In February 1892, Olympia Light & Power awarded a $70,000 contract for a four-mile electric street railway from Ayer's Hill to Tumwater—built with local labor and Pullman-style cars.
- Six Hours Stranded in Gate City: When the Railroad Made Portland Closer Than Tacoma
A new Northern Pacific timetable leaves Grays Harbor travelers — and Olympians — fuming, forcing a six-hour wait at Gate City and making far-off Portland a faster trip than nearby Tacoma.
- The Electric Gate: An Olympia Father Declares War on Front-Gate Courting
A gadget-minded Eastside householder wires his front gate to deliver a jolt to lally-gagging sweethearts — and proves it first on an unwitting dog and a cabbage-loving cow.
- A Century After Captain Gray: Grays Harbor Plans a Grand Celebration
Towns across Grays Harbor prepare a two-day centennial with a clam bake, steamer excursions, and railroad trips to mark the 1792 discovery of the harbor.
- The Streetcar That Would Wake Olympia: A $250,000 Bet on Electric Rails to Tumwater Falls
Olympia's gas and electric companies merge, buy up the Deschutes waterfalls, and float gold bonds to run the first electric cars between town and Tumwater.
- The Town That Grew in Ninety Days—and Then Waited for the Railroad
In 1890, promoters carved Anacortes out of the Fidalgo Island forest, sold lots at galloping prices, and promised a transcontinental rail terminal. Two years later, the trains still stopped short and the company wharf was closed to the public.
- Bypassed by the Railroad, Olympia Grabbed a Shovel
When the Northern Pacific chose Tacoma, Olympia’s citizens turned Thursdays into railroad-building days—then remade their town as a bustling capital of 8,500.
- The Railroad Beats the Steamboat on Puget Sound
Olympia’s favorite steamer Bailey Gatzert makes its last run as Northern Pacific trains drain the passenger trade.
- The Governor’s Daughter Weds Beneath Ivy and Calla Lilies
Olympia’s St. John’s Episcopal Church filled with hundreds as Lizzie Ferry married Hon. John Leary, then a steamer carried the wedding party to the governor’s mansion and on toward Japan.
- The Night the Wind Shook Olympia
A gale worse than any since 1882 tore through Olympia, sinking the steamer Colby at Horr's dock, blocking the Northern Pacific, and bringing trees down across the city.
- The Train That Didn't Whistle
A Seattle teamster loses a leg at a blind railroad crossing, and the Washington Supreme Court weighs whether his failure to stop and listen bars his claim against the Northern Pacific.
- Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise
As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.
- The Town Where Horses Wore Wooden Shoes
La Conner grew slowly on a rocky knoll in the Skagit delta, diked its tidal flats, and shipped out hay by the ton—while its horses clumped through spring mud in wooden moccasins.