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Image of Great Northern railroad depot at the Cascade Tunnel, circa 1915
1981.7182.26
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Postcard

Great Northern railroad depot at the Cascade Tunnel, circa 1915

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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 of the tunnel to the other.

This photographic postcard, made in the 1910s, shows the Great Northern Railway's depot near the Cascade Tunnel. The electrical lines above the tracks powered the trains that ran through the tunnel. At the depots at each end of the tunnel, railroad crews uncoupled the cars from the electric engines and recoupled them to steam engines.

Original title: G.N.R.R. Depot Cascade Tunnel.
ID Number: 1981.7182.26
Date: Circa 1915
Creator(s): Wheeler, J.D., Photographer
Physical Description: 1 photographic print (postcard) : gelatin, b&w ; 9 x 14 cm.
Credit: MOHAI, 1981.7182.26
Copyright: No Known Copyright
Subjects: Railroads, Transportation

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