Two Miles of Steel a Day: Hill's Great Northern Starts Laying Track Toward the Sound
Tracklaying on the Great Northern's main line east from Lowell began yesterday, and a steam tracklayer is expected to throw down two to three miles of rail a day on the road to Snohomish.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Tracklaying on the main line of the Great Northern railroad eastward began yesterday at Lowell. The first track laid was in the material yard, but this morning a fair start will be made on the main track toward Snohomish.
The tracklaying machine which was used on the Seattle & Montana road is being prepared for use, and will be ready on Monday or Tuesday. It will be operated under the management of Phil Conly, one of the expert tracklayers of the road, and is expected to lay two to three miles a day.
“It will be operated under the management of Phil Conly, one of the expert tracklayers of the road, and is expected to lay two to three miles a day.”
The grade being laid through Lowell in 1892 became the corridor that still carries freight and Amtrak through Snohomish County. Today the same right-of-way is the subject of another generation's argument over who gets to use it — freight, commuter rail or new passenger service — a reminder that the region's biggest infrastructure fights are usually a century old.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.