The Trolley Overtakes the Steam Train
Faced with competition from local electric lines, the Northern Pacific Railway begins electrifying its Everett-to-Snohomish branch.
The story, cleaned up
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Everett, Wash.—The branch of the Northern Pacific Railway running between Everett and Snohomish, a distance of seven miles, is to be operated by electricity for all passenger business. This is the first attempt of any of the transcontinental systems to employ electricity in operating a portion of their lines. The Everett Improvement Company, which owns the local street railway, has leased the branch and will install an overhead trolley system. The move is of great importance in railway circles, indicating that President Mellen is alive to the trend of diverting passenger traffic from steam lines to faster, more efficient electric lines. After seeing their passenger traffic between Tacoma and Seattle drop off due to the new third-rail electric system, the Northern Pacific decided to partner with local electric interests rather than lose the traffic entirely.
“President Mellen is alive to the trend of affairs tending to divert all passenger traffic between populous centers that are separated by only a few miles from the steam railroads to electric lines.”
This early 20th-century transition highlights the constant cycle of transportation disruption. It serves as a reminder that Washington's rail infrastructure has always been a battlefield between legacy industrial giants and newer, locally-focused transit technologies.
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