Avalanche Devastates Great Northern Train in the Cascades
A passenger train stopped on the tracks in the Cascade mountains was struck by a massive snowslide, resulting in multiple deaths and a desperate rescue effort in the snow.
The story, cleaned up
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The death list in the wreck of the Great Northern’s westbound Cascade limited train No. 25, two cars of which were swept off the mountain line by an avalanche near Corea station early Saturday, stood at six Sunday. Four bodies were recovered and brought to Seattle, while two passengers remained missing. Survivors described the terrifying moment the chair car and dining car tumbled over, with the dining car bursting into flames after sliding down the slope. Mrs. Edward Batterman of Wenatchee, who was in the lavatory at the time of the impact, was pinned in the wreckage for forty minutes; her husband and eight-month-old baby were found dead, while her ten-year-old son is among the missing. A relief train with 100 laborers has been dispatched to continue the search in the deep snow.
“The car began to raise, and all the passengers rushed to the front to get out. He looked out of the window and saw the chair car and dining car tumble over.”
This disaster serves as a grim reminder of the extreme volatility of the Cascade mountain passes, a challenge that historically shaped the engineering and settlement patterns of Washington state. While modern rail safety and avalanche control have improved, the vulnerability of these mountain corridors remains a defining, often hazardous, feature of the region's geography.
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