Fortifying the Mountain Pass
Great Northern Railroad crews race against time to shield the Cascade division from winter avalanches.
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.
J. A. Myers, roadmaster of the Cascade division of the Great Northern railroad, is in the city. He says that about 300 men are now at work erecting snowsheds along the line on both sides of the summit, and the forces would be increased as soon as feasible so as to have them all completed before the 1st of November. The longest shed on the line will be about a half-mile west of Wellington. He also has a large force of men engaged in riprapping the roadbed between Snohomish and Skykomish, enlarging culverts and putting in about 3,000 feet of additional bridging. By the time winter arrives he expects to have his division in first-class shape and well-protected against snowslides and washouts.
“By the time winter arrives he expects to have his division in first-class shape and well protected against snowslides and washouts.”
The Great Northern's battle with the Cascades led to the construction of these sheds and eventually the long tunnels that define rail travel through the mountains today. The town of Wellington, mentioned here, would tragically become the site of the 1910 avalanche disaster, which remains the deadliest in American history.
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