airborne1092
Hero Member
Anyone ever go check this out? My Grandpa (God rest his soul) worked for many years for Burlington Northern RR out of Seattle and Spokane and used to tell me this story EVERYTIME we'd go over Stevens Pass (gotta love the repetitive 'ole tymer stories!)
Apparently an avalanche took out a train or two while it was waiting for the tracks to be cleared. Most of the folks who perished were USPS workers and linemen for the railroad, but legend always told that the folks who walked out just before the avalanche only took the clothes on their back because of the severe weather conditions. Apparently the avalanche derailed the trains and carried them several hundred feet down the mountainside, presumably littering the hillside with personal effects and debris.
"About 1/2 mile southwest of the west portal of the old Cascade tunnel lies the remains of a 1/2 mile long snowshed. Most snow sheds were built out of wood and were much smaller. This snowshed was made out of concrete and is over 1/2 mile long. It's size and materials can be attributed to the grim reason it was built here in the first place. In 1910, one of the worst accidents is U.S. railroad history occurred on this very spot.
It was deep in the winter and snow was piling up on the line just west of the tunnel. Two passenger trains were
released from Leavenworth to head over the pass and through the tunnel, just as a major blizzard hit Steven's pass.
The trains were held at Cascade tunnel on February 25, waiting for the line ahead to be plowed. The next day, the
trains continued through the tunnel, but were again held at Wellington. As crews worked to clear the area at Windy
Point (three miles west of Wellington), they, and their rotary snowplows were buried.
A larger plow was available west of the train, but was trapped on the line by another slide. Without additional fuel, the plow was unable to dig itself out. Efforts to get a plow in from the east also failed. Passengers began demanding to be taken back up the hill into the tunnel to avoid any further danger of slides, but GN management would not allow it due to the dangers of asphyxiation within the tunnel. Food was growing scarce, both on the trains and in the town of Wellington. By February 26, telegraph communication had been lost. The next day some GN employees, as well as passengers on the train, set out by foot down the mountain. February 28th saw still more passengers deserting their train in an attempt to save themselves. The terrain was steep and treacherous, and the men marveled at the amount of snow that remained poised above the train. Merely climbing through the snow was impossible, and many could only slide down the mountain until something stopped them. Many were injured, but all who attempted to get out made it to Scenic. At 4AM on March 1st, a monstrous slide came down the mountain and buried the trains. Both trains were carried down the mountain hundreds of feet, and arrived twisted and some parts unrecognizable. Over the next few days, tremendous efforts were made by GN to try to get the survivor's out, but in the end, 96 had perished. Many were GN station men, postal workers, and construction workers that had been in the area at the time the trains slid down the canyon. GN was ultimately absolved of any blame in the disaster, though one of the causes was the elimination of trees along the GN right of way near the tunnel. Construction crews unfamiliar with northwest conditions, did not think removing the trees would have any impact, but they had actually created the precursor to the disastrous slide."
Here's a link to a website about it:
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5127
I've always wanted to get up there and see what I can find!
Apparently an avalanche took out a train or two while it was waiting for the tracks to be cleared. Most of the folks who perished were USPS workers and linemen for the railroad, but legend always told that the folks who walked out just before the avalanche only took the clothes on their back because of the severe weather conditions. Apparently the avalanche derailed the trains and carried them several hundred feet down the mountainside, presumably littering the hillside with personal effects and debris.
"About 1/2 mile southwest of the west portal of the old Cascade tunnel lies the remains of a 1/2 mile long snowshed. Most snow sheds were built out of wood and were much smaller. This snowshed was made out of concrete and is over 1/2 mile long. It's size and materials can be attributed to the grim reason it was built here in the first place. In 1910, one of the worst accidents is U.S. railroad history occurred on this very spot.
It was deep in the winter and snow was piling up on the line just west of the tunnel. Two passenger trains were
released from Leavenworth to head over the pass and through the tunnel, just as a major blizzard hit Steven's pass.
The trains were held at Cascade tunnel on February 25, waiting for the line ahead to be plowed. The next day, the
trains continued through the tunnel, but were again held at Wellington. As crews worked to clear the area at Windy
Point (three miles west of Wellington), they, and their rotary snowplows were buried.
A larger plow was available west of the train, but was trapped on the line by another slide. Without additional fuel, the plow was unable to dig itself out. Efforts to get a plow in from the east also failed. Passengers began demanding to be taken back up the hill into the tunnel to avoid any further danger of slides, but GN management would not allow it due to the dangers of asphyxiation within the tunnel. Food was growing scarce, both on the trains and in the town of Wellington. By February 26, telegraph communication had been lost. The next day some GN employees, as well as passengers on the train, set out by foot down the mountain. February 28th saw still more passengers deserting their train in an attempt to save themselves. The terrain was steep and treacherous, and the men marveled at the amount of snow that remained poised above the train. Merely climbing through the snow was impossible, and many could only slide down the mountain until something stopped them. Many were injured, but all who attempted to get out made it to Scenic. At 4AM on March 1st, a monstrous slide came down the mountain and buried the trains. Both trains were carried down the mountain hundreds of feet, and arrived twisted and some parts unrecognizable. Over the next few days, tremendous efforts were made by GN to try to get the survivor's out, but in the end, 96 had perished. Many were GN station men, postal workers, and construction workers that had been in the area at the time the trains slid down the canyon. GN was ultimately absolved of any blame in the disaster, though one of the causes was the elimination of trees along the GN right of way near the tunnel. Construction crews unfamiliar with northwest conditions, did not think removing the trees would have any impact, but they had actually created the precursor to the disastrous slide."
Here's a link to a website about it:
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5127
I've always wanted to get up there and see what I can find!
