Great Northern Crews Link Spokane and Push Toward the Columbia
Tracklaying reaches a fever pitch as James J. Hill's Great Northern connects to Spokane, with plans to bridge the Cascades and link Seattle to the East by the new year.
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The connection between the Great Northern and Union Pacific tracks was made today, and the tracklaying crew of the Great Northern will now be put to work ballasting track east of Spokane. About 600 men are now engaged in this work. Work has been slightly delayed by the desertion of about forty men, who no sooner received their pay last Thursday than they took advantage of their proximity to the city to enjoy themselves. Their places were soon filled, however, and work then progressed at full speed. H. G. Coykendall, superintendent of construction, stated that the grade will be completed to the Columbia river by the 30th of June, and the track will be laid to that point by August 15. We will have the grade finished to the summit of the Cascades on this side by November 1, and as the work on the west slope is well in hand I think it is safe to assert that the track will be connected through to the coast this year.
“Unless the winter comes on very early or the snowfall is very deep there will be no hitch in these plans.”
This reporting marks a pivotal moment for Washington's economy, as the arrival of transcontinental railroads fundamentally reshaped the state's potential. The sheer scale of construction—and the struggles with a shifting, transient labor force—remain a hallmark of regional growth cycles.
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