The Secret Railway Building Under Seattle’s Streets

It may not be generally known, but it is none the less a fact, that railroad construction is actively going on inside the city limits of Seattle. A reporter, in search of news, strayed down toward the water front when his attention was attracted by a third rail which had recently been laid. He followed the track to the area between Pike and Pine streets, and there, to his surprise, found a large gang of men under the direction of Messrs. Allen and Nelson, as busy as bees building and extending the track. Some were cribbing, some excavating, some timbering and others tracklaying. James H. Walton is the engineer in charge. The road is being constructed through a tier of lots in the sliding district between Pike and Pine streets, and is a very difficult job, especially at this season of the year. Just how far this road is to be built northward it is impossible to ascertain. The Oregon Improvement Company owns several blocks of land a short distance beyond the present end of the track, and it may be that the road will only be extended that far, although it may be extended clear along the city front to Smith's Cove. The matter has been kept very quiet for some reason, but the work is being pushed with vigor, rain or shine.