In 1885, Judge Thomas Burke, D.H. Gilman, and other investors raised funds to build the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railway. They hoped to connect Seattle by train to the eastern part of the U.S., but the initial route only reached the north end of Lake Washington. Later absorbed by the Northern Pacific the line was used primarily for a diminishing amount of freight and passenger service.
Burlington Northern acquired the route by merger in 1970 and announced the abandonment of 11 wooded miles of track in 1971. A committee of interested citizens formed to persuade the railroad to donate the land for a hike and bike trail. While many supported the idea, others who lived near the right-of-way opposed it. Here, homeowners in the Sheridan Beach area protest the building of the trail.
Signs in image: Do the Hungry and Needy Really Want [...] Million Trail. [...] Woods [...] in My Yard. Not More Taxes. Who's Paying for This $10 Million Dream? We Don't Want It. Burke Gilman Trail. Enjoy But Who Pays? Who Pays for Upkeep. Handwritten on sleeve: Burke-Gilman Trail hike and rally. Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): September 12, 1971.
Caption information source: “From Railway to Parkway?”, by Mamie H. Rockefeller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Northwest Today, September 5, 1971, pages 4,5. Caption information source: “Hundreds Hike Along Lake Rails”, by Ed Stover, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 13, 1971, pages A1, A5.
