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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1904 | 13 |
| 1909 | 9 |
22 stories matching switch
- The Switch Engine Heist
A local manufacturer goes to court to find the thief who commandeered a switch engine and crashed it into a logging train.
- Expanding the Arteries of Tacoma's Waterfront
The Northern Pacific is laying new tracks and trestles along the bay to bridge the gap between rail and ship.
- Runaway Interurban Car Terrifies Passengers
A defective switch at Puyallup Avenue triggers a near-disaster as a transit car breaks away from its train.
- A Heroic Rescue on the Tracks
A longshoreman narrowly saves an Indigenous child from an oncoming switch engine near the Northern Pacific dock.
- A Ghastly Industrial Hazard
A horse is destroyed after a horrific accident at a railroad switch.
- Streetcar Smash-up on the Spur
A motorman is seriously injured in a collision at a local woodyard after a switch fails to be reset properly.
- 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.
- Mystery Crash on the Interurban
A passenger train plows into a loaded freight car near O'Brien, leaving commuters shaken and investigators baffled.
- 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.
- A Pierce County Senator Switches Sides in the Temperance War
Political alliances shift in Olympia as Senator Paulhamus reportedly abandons the 'dry' faction, causing ripples in the local option fight.
- Smelter Worker Crushed in Workplace Accident
A man working at the Tacoma smelter was killed while moving freight cars; a tragic reminder of the dangers of industrial labor at the turn of the century.
- Team of Horses Nearly Plunge Into The Bay
A local expressman is injured after his runaway team bolts through railroad yards and narrowly misses a deadly drop from a coal bunker.
- Foggy Morning Collision in South Tacoma
A head-on crash between two streetcars occurs after a crew misses a signal in heavy fog.
- Point Defiance Commuters Stranded by Transit Switch
The Tacoma Railway & Power Company cancels late-night park cars without warning, leaving riders to hoof it home from the smelter.
- The Monroe Wreck: Two Railway Men Perish in Midnight Crash
A westbound Great Northern overland train slams into a siding near Monroe, claiming the lives of a head brakeman and a fireman.
- Battle for the Soul of Tacoma’s City Hall
Republican and Democratic mayoral candidates trade sharp accusations of corruption, ring rule, and financial mismanagement in final campaign rallies.
- The Adjustable Ferry That Never Needed a Dock
A bold new invention proposed for the Tacoma waterfront promised to eliminate expensive landings by using adjustable decks to handle any tide.
- The Battle to Protect Civil Service Reform
Tacoma’s City Council faces a showdown as political machines push to dismantle merit-based municipal hiring.
- A Deadlocked Senate, and a Pierce County Man Holding the Switch
Thirteen roll calls, thirteen 21-21 ties. As Olympia's galleries packed the senate chamber for a fight over local option, the whole thing came down to two senators quietly promising to change sides.
- The Legislative Hangover of the Anti-Saloon League
How the obsession with prohibition paralyzed the Tacoma legislature and derailed actual governance.
- City Council Prepares to Give Away Valuable Tideflat Land
Tacoma officials are poised to hand over prime waterfront property to the Great Northern Railway without demanding fair concessions or adequate infrastructure in return.
- A Meat Delivery Ends Beneath a Freight Train in Old Town
John Flynn, a 51-year-old sailor working odd jobs, was carrying beef to a barkentine when a Northern Pacific train backed over him at the foot of McCarver Street.