Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
38 stories matching sidetrack
- Mystery Crash on the Interurban
A passenger train plows into a loaded freight car near O'Brien, leaving commuters shaken and investigators baffled.
- Tacoma Business Leaders Oppose Legislative Land Grab
The Chamber of Commerce refuses to support a controversial bill that would have funneled money into B. S. Grosscup's hands.
- An Open Switch, a Tipped Engine, and a Depot in the Dark
A Lake Shore passenger train hit a tampered switch at Dubuque station near Snohomish; the engineer was badly hurt, but every passenger walked away.
- The Flying Coupling: Engineer Shanno Chases Down a Runaway Locomotive
When a detached engine tears toward Ellensburg, a quick-thinking engineer uncouples his own locomotive and catches the runaway on the fly.
- A Fatal Nap on the Tracks
A tired freight brakeman, exhausted by days of overwork, pays the ultimate price after falling asleep on the job.
- The Perilous Bridge at Union Gap
Superintendent Prowell lobbies for the relocation of the decaying Union Gap bridge, citing safety hazards and potential Northern Pacific assistance.
- Sixth Addition Residents Cool to Transit Report
Tacoma’s streetcar committee reports back to the improvement club, but residents remain dissatisfied with the service.
- Tacoma’s Engineers Crossed the Picket Line
As the Pullman boycott convulsed the nation, nearly all Northern Pacific engineers in Tacoma returned to work under guard—prompting American Railway Union men to vow a fight to the finish.
- The Railroad Lobby's Search for a Walla Walla Mayor
Political factions are courting Mayor Gilbert Hunt as a gubernatorial candidate, hoping to leverage his business ties to secure corporate dominance over the state.
- The County Treasury Lockdown
Whatcom County officials are at an impasse over a resolution to freeze outstanding warrants, sparking a legal and political battle.
- The Thespians' Farmhouse Feast
When a special train breaks down, a famous traveling theater troupe abandons the stage to cook an impromptu dinner at a nearby farmhouse.
- The Champagne Express
A train full of high-ranking U.S. officials is forced to a screeching halt in Washington Territory because they ran out of wine.
- The Midnight Track-Layers
A hardware store owner battles a railroad company that allegedly used stealth to install tracks in front of his home and business.
- Conflicting Advice from the O-W, R. N. Company
The town is perplexed by contradictory expert demonstrations from the railroad—one telling them to raise hogs, the other telling them to stop using lard in baking.
- Tragedy on the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad
A young fireman loses his life in a switching accident during Seattle's cold snap.
- The Mob That Stopped a Cannery
Business owners in Everett face threats and intimidation for attempting to hire Chinese labor.
- The Star Chamber Water Loan Scandal
Tacoma city officials met behind locked doors to authorize the use of water extension funds for speculative warrant purchases, sparking threats of injunctions.
- The Birth of Ellensburg
A railroad company, a local politician, and a handful of property owners cut a deal to secure the future of a new town in the Kittitas Valley.
- The Teredo Worm’s Silent Siege
A massive wheat warehouse on the Tacoma waterfront collapses after wood-boring pests hollowed out the foundation, echoing the vulnerability of the region's rapidly expanding infrastructure.
- The Iron Road Reaches the Snoqualmie River
As construction on the Snoqualmie branch of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad nears its completion, a new frontier town emerges on the South Fork of the river.
- The Tramp-Jail Breakout on the Waterfront
A routine arrest for vagrancy at the Seattle railyards escalated into a chaotic chase, drawing a crowd of hundreds to witness the struggle.
- 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.
- Streetcar Plunges into Seattle Waterfront
An electric car derails on the North Seattle waterfront, sliding into the tide flats and impaling a passenger on pier pilings.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad Monopoly
Critics argue that the railroad company's selection of Stampede Pass is a calculated power grab over Washington's coal wealth.
- Railroad War Erupts on the Seattle Waterfront
The Great Northern and Lake Shore railroads face off in a midnight standoff over coal bunker right-of-way.