The Milwaukee Road Connects Tacoma to the East
Construction crews drive the final spike on the new rail line, cementing a direct path from Tacoma to Chicago.
The Milwaukee line in Washington is laid. Up near Boyleston this afternoon before the whistle blows, a swarthy construction hand will bring down his big hammer and send home the last spike of the last rail of the main line in this state which will couple up Tacoma and Chicago. It will be possible then to run a train tomorrow from Tacoma to Missoula, Montana. All the track laying will be in before April 1. In two months it is believed regular traffic will be on between Chicago and Tacoma.
“A swarthy construction hand will bring down his big hammer and send home the last spike.”
The arrival of the Milwaukee Road was a defining moment for Tacoma’s development as a shipping and industrial hub. This era of infrastructure expansion mirrors ongoing debates about the city's role in global logistics and regional transit connections.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.