Iron Goat Trail: Milepost 1713

Milepost 1713 in 2002. Photo by Cliff West.

Just east of Milepost 1713 are the remains of timber snowsheds that covered the tracks here. They were abandoned when the new Cascade Tunnel opened in 1929 and have since collapsed and the timbers are rotting away.

Collapsed snowshed ruins near Milepost 1713 in 2002. Photo by Cliff West.

Near this point in December 1907, about two miles from Wellington, eastbound passenger train #4 from Seattle to St. Paul was trapped near here for nearly two weeks. The train, powered by new Baldwin 4-6-2 #1438 with 2-8-0 #1106 coupled to the front as a helper and consisting of eight cars including coaches, sleepers, diner, mail and baggage cars, had fought its way up the mountain from Skykomish with a rotary plow running 15 minutes ahead of it to clear the track. The train had already gotten stuck in a snowdrift before reaching Scenic, having to be rescued by the rotary crew, which had a rotary facing each direction with their locomotive between them. Having arrived at Skykomish on time, the train was 4 hours late into Scenic. Snow was reportedly falling at a foot an hour at Wellington. At Scenic, the crew had argued with the dispatcher over the telegraph against continuing up the mountain until the storm had passed, but the dispatcher ordered them onward. They proceeded up the mountain grade, closely following the rotary. After rounding Windy Point, they emerged from a snowshed into a short section of open track. As soon as the rotary disappeared into the next snowshed, an avalanche came down the mountain burying the entrance with 50 feet of snow and debris. The engineer of the helper engine quickly applied the brakes and immediately signaled to reverse, quickly backing the train into the previous snowshed. The sudden stop and change of direction knocked passengers and crew to the floors of the cars. The snowshed was barely long enough for the train, and the engineer of the 1106 made an emergency brake application 50 feet from the entrance to make sure the end of the train wouldn't be exposed. The train stopped with the 1106's pilot barely inside the shed as another avalanche sealed off the entrance. 30 seconds later another avalanche sealed off the other end, trapping the 40 passengers and crewmembers inside. For two weeks the railroad was at a standstill between Skykomish and Wellington. Onboard the stranded train, the passenger and crew lived off the food from the dining car and rationed their coal to keep from freezing. On the tenth day they walked into Wellington. It was a couple more days before the railroad dug the train out.

Collapsed snowshed ruins near Milepost 1713 in 2002. Photo by Cliff West.

Historical Photos:
Snowshed near here, circa 1907-1908 (WSHS)
Snowshed under construction near here, c.1910 (WSHS)
Snowshed under construction near here, c.1910 (WSHS)

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