A Five-Million Dollar Railway Gamble
Northern Pacific interests reveal massive plans to connect North Yakima to Shoalwater Bay, signaling a new era of dominance in Washington transit.
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The boom in railway development continues, with the Northern Pacific planning to invest $5,000,000 in a brand new railway from North Yakima to Shoalwater Bay. Though the articles of incorporation list private parties—C.H. Prescott, H.S. Huson, W.O. Chapman, and James M. Ashton—the enterprise is clearly fostered by the Northern Pacific. The proposed line runs from North Yakima westerly through the Cowlitz pass to the Chehalis river, terminating at the head of Shoalwater Bay, with branches extending to Gray’s Harbor and the Columbia River. This project is expected to open vast mineral and agricultural wealth and place Tacoma in direct rail communication with crucial western harbors.
“The boom in railway development continues, schemes having for their object the placing of a veritable gridiron of iron avenues over the surface of Washington being plentiful as flies in hay time.”
The late 19th-century 'railway gridiron' frenzy transformed regional geography, effectively deciding which towns would thrive as hubs and which would fade. Today, the focus has shifted to the maintenance and expansion of rail and freight corridors that continue to define the economic vitality of the Yakima Valley.
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