The Wellington Disaster
A massive snowslide buries two Great Northern trains in the Cascades, marking one of the deadliest rail disasters in Washington history.
Wellington, Washington, the first station west of the Cascade Tunnel, was the scene Monday night of the worst railroad disaster that has occurred in the state of Washington. Two Great Northern trains, which had been tied up at the station by snow blockades, were swept from the tracks by a snowslide, carrying the trains 200 feet or more into a canyon and burying the occupants. The trains were No. 25, the Spokane-Seattle express, which had been tied up at Wellington for several days, and No. 27, the fast mail train. In addition to the two passenger trains, four of the huge electric motors used in the tunnel, three locomotives and a rotary snowplow were swept away and piled up in a tangled mass of wreckage under 40 feet of snow. Authentic reports are hard to get from the scene of the disaster, as the road is blocked in both directions. Some survivors have managed to make their escape, and as near as can be determined from their reports, the roll of missing trainmen and passengers foots up in the neighborhood of 100.
“Two Great Northern trains... were swept from the tracks by a snowslide, carrying the trains 200 feet or more into a canyon and burying the occupants.”
The 1910 Wellington disaster remains the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history, claiming 96 lives. Today, the site is part of the Iron Goat Trail, a hiking path that serves as a somber memorial to the victims of the Great Northern Railway's failure to prioritize safety over schedule.
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