As winter weather envelops much of the United States, I am reminded of the Wellington Train disaster, one of the worst train disasters in U.S. history. This natural disaster remains the worst in Washington history.
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| Wellington before the Avalanche Technical World Magazine, 1910 Wikimedia Commons |
In late February 1910, snowfall in the Cascade Mountains delayed two trains traveling from Spokane to Seattle. The Great Northern trains were the Spokane Local, a passenger train, and the Fast Mail train. Between the two they had five or six steam and electrical engines, 15 boxcars, passenger cars, and sleepers.
They were finally cleared to pass through the Cascade tunnel to the west side of the mountains, but were delayed once again when they reached Wellington, Washington. Heavy snowfall and a few smaller avalanches blocked the tracks. The trains stopped under Windy Mountain above Tye Creek.
For six days, the trains waited in whiteout conditions. The weather made it impossible for the crews to clear the tracks. The telegraph lines went down on February 26th, cutting off communications with the outside world. Then, on February 28th, an electrical storm moved in, the heavy rain, thunder and lightning shaking the snow-laden mountains.
It was after midnight on March 1st, when the snow on the slope above the trains became an avalanche. The snow picked up momentum as it tumbled down toward the tracks, taking everything with it. The trains were picked up and tumbled down the slope to Tye Creek.
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| Train wreckage from avalanche, By B.E. Frazier Library of Congress, Wikemedia Commons |
Charles Andrews, a Great Northern employee happened to be on his way to the bunkhouse in Wellington when he heard the rumble of the avalanche. He later described what he saw as, “White Death moving down the mountainside above the trains.” He went on to say, “[The avalanche] descended to the ledge where the side tracks lay, picked up cars and equipment as though they were so many snow-draped toys, and swallowing them up, disappeared like a white, broad monster into the ravine below.”
With no way to contact anyone for help, the few Great Northern employees began the laborious task of digging down to the wreckage, which was buried under forty to seventy feet of snow. During the first few hours they were able to rescue 23 survivors.
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| Debris from avalanche, By John Juleen Technical World Magazine, 1910 Wikimedia Commons |
In all, there were 96 deaths from the avalanche, 35 passengers and 58 railroad employees. Recovery took time and the bodies were taken by toboggan to trains that carried them to Everett and Seattle.
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| Names of those who died in the avalanche. |
The town of Wellington was partially destroyed by the avalanche and was renamed, Tye, to distance it from the disaster. Within three weeks, Great Northern had the tracks repaired and trains resumed their travels. In 1913, Great Northern constructed snow-sheds to protect trains from more avalanches.
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| Snow sheds in 1911-1913 |
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| Snow shed today on hiking trail. |
What caused this disaster? It was proven in court that the fault was not the railway’s but a natural disaster. However, many believed clear cutting the slopes was a contributing factor, as was the sparks from the trains and the fires they caused.
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| You can still see wood from one of the Wellington buildings destroyed in the avalanche. |
A new tunnel was built in 1929, making the old railroad obsolete. Today, the old grade is a hiking trail, the Iron Goat Trail. It was so named after the Great Northern Railway’s symbol of a mountain goat standing on a rock.
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| Beautiful forest along the trail. |
Last fall, I visited my daughter in Washington and she took me hiking on one of the Iron Goat trails. It was a beautiful area and there were markers talking about the tragedy of 1910. It’s hard to imagine the people stuck on those trains for days, only to be killed by an avalanche.
Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning, best-selling author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats and dog, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.
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