Northern Pacific Pushes Rail Construction Across the Cascades
The Northern Pacific Railway moves to bridge the gap between Yakima and Puget Sound, signaling a major boom for regional commerce.
Since the Port-Intelligencer first published the fact that Capt. T. F. King has been appointed engineer superintendent of the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific railroad, the company has pushed forward as rapidly as possible across the mountains. The company has formally entered into a contract with Mr. T. H. Bennett, of New York, the lowest bidder, to perform the work on a 125-mile section from Ainsworth west to Yakima. This section will cost a little over two million dollars. From the western end of this section, the old surveys will be re-run; F. G. Scarry and party have been ordered to do the work and are now on the ground. There is no longer any doubt that the Northern Pacific Railway Company is determined to build its road across the mountains to Puget Sound as soon as possible.
“There is no longer any doubt that the Northern Pacific Railway Company, under its present management, is determined to build its road across the mountains to Puget Sound.”
The Northern Pacific's push across the Cascades in 1883 transformed Seattle from a remote outpost into a continental rail hub. Today, while passenger rail struggles for federal funding, the ghost of this massive infrastructure effort remains etched into the landscape of the Cascade mountain passes.
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