Iron Goat Trail: Tunnel #14

Tunnel #14 in 1998.

This tunnel at milepost 1716.14 is the only tunnel that was built with the original rail line in 1893. All other tunnels along the Iron Goat Trail were built later. It was the fourteenth tunnel on the Great Northern between St. Paul and Seattle, and that is where it gets its name. The tunnel is 312 feet long. At one time, the ends of this tunnel were protected by timber snowsheds, which have long since collapsed, as has part of the tunnel itself. The trail goes around the tunnel, on a temporary construction route used while the tunnel was under construction. Just east of Tunnel #14 is milepost 1716, and just past that is where the Corea crossover connects to the upper grade at milepost 1715.99.

Milepost 1716 in 1998.

Between mileposts 1716 and 1715, there is ample evidence of the landslide danger in this area, illustrated by the strewn remains of the snowsheds and cribbing left behind by the railroad, as well as some sheet metal that may have been a water flume to carry a stream over the top of a wooden snowshed. The most recent major slide here occurred in 1990, wiping out parts of both the upper and lower grade, which the trail builders had to reconstruct.

Collapsed snowshed ruins near milepost 1716 in 1998.

Sheet metal that may have been a water flume in 1998.

Collapsed snowshed ruins near milepost 1715 in 1998.

Stream at the end of concrete wall at milepost 1715.08 in 1998.

At milepost 1715.08, a concrete wall begins. This was the back wall of a combination concrete and timber snowshed; the roof and front wall were made of timber. A stream now comes down the hillside at this end of wall. This wall was built in 1917 and is 518 feet long. Along this wall there is a break in the foliage near milepost 1715 that offers a glimpse of the active rail line and shows how much elevation was reduced by building the new tunnel. A modern double-stack container train is visible through the trees.

View of container train from near milepost 1715 in 1998.

Milepost 1715 in 1998.

At the other end of the wall at milepost 1714.97, the 500-foot Spillway Spur Trail diverges up the hillside to the remains of a spillway and reservoir above the wall. This spillway fed a fire protection system that was built into the snowsheds beginning in 1910. Every 200 feet inside a snowshed was a galvanized iron standpipe connected to fire hoses inside the shed and on the roof. Some sheet metal from the spillway is along this trail.

Sheet metal along Spillway Spur in 1998.

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