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716 stories matching freight
- When the Commuter Train Was Just a Freight Car
Riders on the Snoqualmie branch had to share the rails with coal cars and logging trucks — and one furious passenger had had enough.
- The First Train Into Newport Changed Everything
On November 25, 1907, the Idaho Washington Northern inaugurated passenger and daily freight service, bringing railroad executives, Spokane promoters and a promise of growth to Newport.
- The Great Freight War: Tacoma vs. Seattle
Seattle merchants accuse the Pacific Coast Steamship Company of deliberately starving the city of goods to favor rival Tacoma, sparking a public dispute over civic equity and economic survival.
- The Ship That Smuggled Opium: How a Legal Loophole Freed a Vessel and $13,000 in Penalties
Judge Hanford rules that the steamer *Walla Walla* is not liable for contraband found in its cargo because the master lacked knowledge of the smuggling, setting a precedent for common carriers.
- Two Freight Trains Meet Head-On at Van Asselt
A Northern Pacific freight slammed into a Columbia & Puget Sound train near the Denny Clay works, injuring a passenger and forcing crewmen to jump.
- Tacoma's Railroad Stranglehold
How the Northern Pacific's control over regional freight trade stifles the city's economic future.
- Cheaper to Ship Wheat to Liverpool Than to Seattle: An Inland Empire Farmer's Case Against the Railroads
A Whitman County grower tells the Post-Intelligencer that Palouse wheat can be raised for about 30 cents a bushel — and sent 16,000 miles to England for less than the railroad charges to haul it 400 miles to the Sound.
- Spokane Merchants Take the Railroad Monopoly Back to Court
Thirty-five Spokane merchants ask a federal judge to force the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific to obey an 1891 Interstate Commerce Commission order that found the roads were gouging the inland city.
- The Railroad That Would Make Seattle
A Northern Pacific agent promises the through line from the East will reach Seattle by September 1, bringing freight, passengers, and a flood of settlers to Puget Sound.
- The Iron Road and the Sea
As the federal government prepares to implement the Interstate Commerce Act, Seattle business leaders argue the city is immune to the looming rise in rail freight rates.
- Eastern Washington Lawmakers Want Cheaper Freight and a Break on Taxes
Fresh from wheat country, representative-elect Moses Bull and Senator J. L. Roberts laid out their Olympia agenda: grain inspection, lower railroad rates, softer tax penalties, and leaner county government.
- The Great Northern's Bad-Luck Stop: Freight Wreck at Elk
A through eastbound freight slammed into the caboose of a local train at Elk, smashing six cars and tying up traffic for hours—just the latest wreck at a town with a reputation.
- Forty-Five Days From Hongkong: Seattle's New Orient Steamer Docks With Sugar, Rice and Bananas
The steel freighter Palmas, first ship on the Union Pacific's new Puget Sound–Orient run, fills Yesler's wharf with Chinese and Japanese goods and Hawaiian fruit — after her captain carries two mutinous sailors in irons halfway across the Pacific to face a court held on a Victoria wharf.
- The Orchardist's Revolt: Wawawai Grower Accuses Yakima Commission Firm of Withholding $1,100
J.W. Offield says Thompson Kain refused to pay for his peach and pear crop; the firm counters that he misrepresented varieties and freight rates.
- The Coal That Changed Seattle: How an Australian Strike Starved the Lumber Trade
A labor dispute halfway across the world brought Pacific Northwest shipping to a halt, sending freight rates soaring and leaving local merchants scrambling for tonnage.
- Half-Million Dollar Blaze Destroys Cincinnati Freight Depot
Seattle fire department rushed to the corner of Sixth and Main streets to battle a fire that decimated a major grain and freight warehouse.
- A Near-Fatal Train Wreck Averted by a Rooftop Signal
A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train on the outskirts of Kennewick results in mass wreckage but miraculous survival.
- Eastern Washington Farmers Question Canal Freight Claims
A local farmer challenges the Post-Intelligencer’s claim that a canal will lower freight rates, sparking a heated editorial defense on the economic future of the region.
- The River That Swallowed a Steamboat: A Brave Attempt to Reach Snohomish Falls
Twenty-five passengers and tons of freight battled the treacherous Snoqualmie River on the steamer *Columbia*, only to be stopped by a massive landslide just miles from their destination.
- Merchants Win Trade Battle as 'Loo Sok' Docks in Seattle
A British steamer brings tea and silk to Schwabacher's wharf after Seattle merchants protest Tacoma-only landings.
- The Tragedy at Trent: A Deadly Railroad Collision
A passenger train and a freight train collide in a fatal error, killing a brakeman and prompting a rare condemnation of corporate negligence.
- Newport Gets a Railroad Office—and a Deadline for Freight
The Idaho & Washington Northern set freight dates, opened a local office, and promised mail and passenger service—while a right-of-way suit headed to court.
- The Rails Come to Newport: Yards, Depots, and a Town Betting Its Future on the I. & W. N.
Railroad brass walk the ground for new yards, surveyors push down-river, a depot rises, and the town council is asked for a franchise — as high water stalls the Great Northern bridge at Albeni Falls.
- Kennewick’s Infrastructure Bottleneck
A local commentary argues that without modern dock and freight facilities, the city will fail to leverage its position on the Columbia River.
- Council Trims the Streetcar Franchise
Olympia’s aldermen refused the franchise on Union Street and Maple Park Avenue, barred local freight hauling, and demanded free use of the company’s poles for the city’s fire alarm.
Also about this, in other words
- 377,509 Bushels: The Algoa Hauls a Record Wheat Cargo Out of Tacoma
A single tramp steamer carried the largest grain shipment ever loaded at Tacoma — 500 carloads' worth, a train three miles long — bound for Europe and a handsome profit.
- The Freight Line Proposal
A local entrepreneur hopes to bypass expensive rail rates with a new six-horse team freight route.
- The Freight Bottleneck on the Waterfront
Local merchants clash with the Pacific Coast Steamship Company over the delayed delivery of perishable goods.
- The Steamship Freight War
Seattle consignees are threatening to boycott the Northern Pacific line after their goods were offloaded in Tacoma instead of being delivered directly to the city.
- Shippers Face New Freight Tax
Northwestern fruit growers are bracing for a 15 percent hike in shipping rates that could devastate their margins.
- The Old 'Freight Bill' Con: A Waterfront Warning
A traveler bound for the Klondike Gold Rush finds himself relieved of his cash by a 'friendly' stranger and a well-timed shakedown.
- A Rock Slide Throws a Northern Pacific Freight Into the River
An eastbound freight wreck near Bristol leaves one brakeman missing and two crewmen injured, delaying the southbound overland train.
- The Dangerous Cargo on the Eliza Anderson
A wharfinger and a ship captain face a Grand Jury indictment after shipping fifty pounds of giant powder aboard a passenger steamer.