New Rail Line to Olympia Planned
The Northern Pacific considers a new shore-line route to Olympia to bypass difficult mountain grades and expand its reach into Tacoma's waterfront.
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A move that will have considerable bearing on the local railroad situation is reported to be under consideration by the Northern Pacific. This includes the construction of a shore line from Tacoma to Olympia and the purchase of additional waterfront frontage in Tacoma. The survey of the new route was completed about a year ago. It leaves the present line of the Northern Pacific at a point near the smelter, runs southwest to the Narrows and strikes the waterfront a short distance north of Higgins' beach. From there the new route follows the shore across the southern boundary of Pierce County, and then takes almost a straight line southwest to Olympia. The new line touches several points along the shore which would make ideal sawmill locations. One of the greatest advantages of this proposed short route is that it would have a grade of less than one-half of one per cent. The greatest difficulty encountered by the Northern Pacific on the present Tacoma-Olympia line is the grade, which makes it impossible to haul heavy freight trains with one engine. Perhaps the matter of greatest local interest in this connection centers in the reported purchase by the Northern Pacific of the Tacoma Mill Company's property on the waterfront at Old Town. Manager Hill emphatically denied the transfer, stating, 'There is nothing to it, absolutely nothing.' When asked if the mill would operate again, he replied: 'Yes, sir, just as soon as the price of lumber will equal the cost of production.'
“The new route would increase the tonnage which the road could handle to such an extent that railroad men have wondered why the line was not put over that route in the first place.”
The infrastructure struggle for efficiency—specifically finding flat-grade routes around Tacoma’s challenging geography—remains a central theme in Puget Sound transit planning. The 'Old Town' waterfront mentioned is a site of constant transformation, where industrial remnants have long since given way to residential and commercial redevelopment.
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