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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
16 stories matching switchback
- The Switchback Brawl
A violent confrontation breaks out between railroad workers and locals over a disputed switchback rail line.
- Tragic Death of a Popular Rail Conductor
James Tierney, a veteran switchback conductor on the Great Northern line, was fatally injured in an industrial accident near Leavenworth.
- Three Miles a Day: The Great Northern Races the Snow to the Columbia
With tracklayers advancing west from Spokane and a tunnel still to be bored, John F. Stevens tells Seattle he needs men—and expects to connect the line by mid-November.
- Labor Woes on the Great Northern Grade
Chief Engineer E. H. Beckler reports on the rapid push to bridge the mountains and finish the main line, but complains of a revolving door of disgruntled workers.
- Great Northern Construction Struggles in Skykomish
A traveler describes the brutal conditions and industrial progress on the railway line, where snowslides and labor efforts define the route.
- The Wild Frontier of the Great Northern Railroad
Construction along the Great Northern line brings a chaotic boom to mountain settlements, featuring lawless towns, massive snowslides, and precarious tobogganing.
- Skeptics Question the 'Boom' in Tacoma
A blistering critique of the 'Tacoma Ledger' and its persistent, unsubstantiated claims regarding the city's industrial future.
- The Railroad That Quietly Claimed the Sauk and Skykomish Country
In May 1895 the Great Northern filed land-grant selections for river and mountain tracts in Snohomish and Skagit counties—turning a federal subsidy into private ownership of some of the Puget Sound hinterland.
- 2,000 Workers Push Great Northern Railroad Across Washington
Thousands of laborers forge the path for James J. Hill's railway empire as bridge and grade construction intensifies across the Washington territory.
- Racing Against the Cascade Winter
Great Northern railroad contractors scramble to build massive timber snowsheds through the mountains before the deep snows of winter set in.
- Firestorms Ravage the Snoqualmie and Skykomish Valleys
A massive wildfire has destroyed timber, bridges, and the entire settlement of Wellington, forcing settlers to flee for their lives.
- The City's Clever Solution for a Tricky Seattle Hillside
Engineer R.H. Thomson avoids expensive cutting by designing a split-level street for View Street, satisfying residents and the city council.
- Hiking the Great Northern Rail Grade
A grueling five-day foot journey from Wenatchee to Snohomish reveals the raw, volatile life of the 'mushroom towns' springing up along the railroad's path.
- The Iron Horse Comes to Tacoma
Thousands gather at the waterfront in 1887 to witness the arrival of the first direct Northern Pacific train from the East, marking a new era of connectivity for the Pacific Northwest.
- A 21,000-Mile Bicycle Ride, Just to Show He Could
Buffalo newspaperman Tom M. Winder rolled into Seattle in 1895 midway through a bicycle circuit of the United States—and promptly let local wheelmen talk him out of the Great Northern route.
- Seven Hundred Miles on Horseback: Two Seattle Men Ride the Raw Edge of Eastern Washington
C. W. Loomis and E. D. Manning return from a month in the saddle — snow-choked passes, waterless deserts, blasting on the Great Northern grade, a mining camp on edge after a killing, and a Colville reservation not yet legally open to whites.