The Great 'Ram's Horn' Railroad Conflict
A proposed plan to reroute Seattle’s waterfront rail tracks onto the 'Ram's Horn' right-of-way promises to end the city's long-standing struggle with grade crossings.
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General Manager Smith of the Oregon Improvement Company has proposed a new scheme for railroad terminals in Seattle. He suggests moving the main tracks from the current Railroad Avenue over to the 'Ram's Horn' right-of-way. By widening this path to ninety feet, the company could accommodate four tracks, removing the need for the dangerous grade crossings that currently plague the city's waterfront. Smith argues this would allow for overhead street crossings and prevent damage to wharf property. While the Oregon Improvement Company is willing to contribute its land, the plan depends on the cooperation of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways. The city council is expected to review the proposal, as the fight over rail franchises remains a central point of contention for Seattle's industrial growth.
“Of one fact I am positive: we have got the ram's horn, we are going to use it, and we cannot be beaten out of it.”
Railroad Avenue (modern Alaskan Way) remained a site of industrial conflict for decades, eventually evolving into the focus of the post-viaduct waterfront redesign. Infrastructure struggles over who controls the city's transit corridors are a direct continuation of these 19th-century battles.
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