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Stevens Pass
Wed Mar 03, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Snow in the western mountain ranges has long plagued American transcontinental railroads.
Trains traversing the coastal ranges from northern California to the Canadian border, have
faced snowfalls measured in feet and devastating avalanches. But none stands more infamous
than the disaster on the Great Northern Railway in 1910. Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather
Notebook.
For several days, two westbound trains had been delayed in Leavenworth, Washington, just east
of the Cascade Range. When finally given the high-ball, the trains, a fast mail train and a
Spokane passenger train, pushed across the Cascade divide before being halted again by snow
and avalanches outside Wellington at Stevens Pass. For six days, the trains remained snowbound
on the track ledge above Tye Creek, beneath Windy Mountain.
On February 28th, warming temperatures changed the blizzard into a steady rain/snow mix with
lightning and thunder. The already high avalanche danger level became critical.
Shortly after midnight, booming thunder shook Windy Mountain and unleashed a massive
avalanche. With frightful speed and power, it swept the half dozen locomotives and fifteen
railcars down into Tye Creek. They rolled more than 1000 feet before stopping in the canyon
150 feet below, only to be buried under 40 feet of snow mixed with trees and boulders.
Workers dug frantically to save those buried. And miraculously, 23 were rescued alive. The
official toll claimed 96 dead --- though many bodies may not have been recovered. The last
body was not found until the following June.
This stretch of grade was abandoned in 1929, replaced by the 7.8-mile Cascade Tunnel still in
use today. The old line is now the Iron Goat Hiking Trail.
Thanks to meteorologist Keith Heidorn for today's story. The Weather Notebook is funded by
Subaru and The National Science Foundation. Thanks to Davis Instruments, makers of the Vantage
Pro wireless weather station.
Today's Links
More on Stevens Pass
http://www.historylink.org/output.cfm?file_ID=1952
Picture
http://home1.gte.net/mvmmvm/index.html
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