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204 results for: Railroads

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Image of King Street Station waiting room, Seattle, circa 1911
Postcard

King Street Station waiting room, Seattle, circa 1911

This postcard highlights the interior of the Northern Pacific Depot at the King Street Station in Seattle. Postmarked April 27, 1911, from Southbend, Wash.; one-cent stamp.Handwritten on verso: Dear Aunt: Thanks for the card. We are all well and hope you are the same. Please ans. soon. Dora B.Addressed to Mrs. A.G. Busha in Crosby, Minn.
ID Number:1980.7080.2
Date:Circa 1911
Image of The New Steel Trail
Music, notated

The New Steel Trail

The Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railway, known as The Milwaukee Road, started service between the Midwest and Seattle in 1909. In 1911, the company added two new, all-steel, state of the art trains to the line, one of which was called The Olympian. When the United States entered World War I in 1918, the Milwaukee Road reduced all trains'…
ID Number:1980.7097A.15
Date:1918
Image of Rainier Beach trolley on 4th Avenue in deep snow, Seattle,  February 2, 1916
Photograph

Rainier Beach trolley on 4th Avenue in deep snow, Seattle, February 2, 1916

The Big Snow of 1916 came after an exceptionally cold January during which about 2 feet of snow had already accumulated. In early February a storm hit which added an additional 21.5 inches of snow in one 24-hour period. The new and heavy snow added ice, trapping trolleys and cars, freezing railroads, halting classroom education and businesses, and collapsing roofs…
ID Number:1980.7166.1.71.2
Date:1916
Image of Great Northern railroad depot at the Cascade Tunnel, circa 1915
Postcard

Great Northern railroad depot at the Cascade Tunnel, circa 1915

In 1903, a steam-powered Great Northern Railway train stalled in the 2.6 mile long Cascade Tunnel, near Stevens Pass, Washington. As the air filled with coal smoke, 100 passengers and crew members nearly suffocated. During the next few years, the company ran an electrical system through the tunnel. Starting in 1909, small electric engines pulled railroad cars from one end…
ID Number:1981.7182.26
Date:Circa 1915
Image of Map of the City of Seattle and Adjacent Territory, Bogue Map No. 3, 1911
Cartographic material

Map of the City of Seattle and Adjacent Territory, Bogue Map No. 3, 1911

Virgil Gay Bogue (1846-1916) was a civil engineer, originally from Norfolk, New York, who after working briefly as assistant engineer in Brooklyn, New York, and 10 years working with railroads in Peru, came to the Washington Territory in the 1880s as an employee of the Northern Pacific Railway. After a stint at the Union Pacific Railroad, Bogue started his own…
ID Number:1981.7231.17
Date:1911
Image of Electric locomotive at Skykomish, Washington, circa 1950
Photograph

Electric locomotive at Skykomish, Washington, circa 1950

In 1909, the Great Northern Railway Company began using electric engines to pull trains and their steam locomotives through the Cascade Tunnel in Washington's Cascade Mountains. Smoke from the coal-fired steam engines had nearly killed 100 people in the tunnel in 1903. On the steep downhill runs, the electric engines actually generated power which went back into the system.This 1950s…
ID Number:1981.7265.1
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Snowplow near Stevens Pass, circa 1925
Photograph

Snowplow near Stevens Pass, circa 1925

Stevens Pass, Washington, usually gets about 400 to 500 inches of snow each winter, although it snowed 800 inches during the winter of 1996-97. Road crews and railroad workers have had to work continually to keep the ways clear. This Lee Pickett photo, probably taken during the 1920s, shows a Great Northern Railway Snow King rotary snowplow at Scenic, near…
ID Number:1981.7265.5
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Tunnel construction camp at Stevens Pass, February 22, 1927
Photograph

Tunnel construction camp at Stevens Pass, February 22, 1927

In 1925, the Great Northern Railway Company began work on its new Cascade Tunnel near Stevens Pass, Washington. Workers dug from the east and the west portals of the tunnel. They also sank a vertical shaft at Mill Creek, just east of the summit, and dug their way towards the portals. Between Mill Creek and the West Portal at Scenic,…
ID Number:1981.7265.6
Date:1927
Image of New electric locomotive near Cascade Tunnel, May 7, 1927
Photograph

New electric locomotive near Cascade Tunnel, May 7, 1927

In 1909, the Great Northern Railway Company began using electric engines to pull trains and their steam locomotives through the Cascade Tunnel in Washington's Cascade Mountains. Smoke from the coal-fired steam engines had nearly killed 100 people in the tunnel in 1903. On the steep downhill runs, the electric engines actually generated power which went back into the system.This May…
ID Number:1981.7265.7
Date:1927
Image of Cars being unloaded from train at King Street Station, Seattle, circa 1915
Photograph

Cars being unloaded from train at King Street Station, Seattle, circa 1915

Seattle's King Street Station was built between 1904 and 1906 for the Great Northern Railroad. The St. Paul, Minnesota, architectural firm of Reed & Stem designed the station, patterning its tall clock tower after a famous bell tower in Venice, Italy. This mimicry of European architecture added a touch of tradition and heritage to Seattle's growing downtown area. Here, cars…
ID Number:1981.7265.11
Date:Circa 1915
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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