Stevens Pass: Three Railroad Routes Across the Pass

There have been three engineering approaches used by the Great Northern Railway to cross the Cascade Mountains: From 1892 to 1900, there were a series of switchbacks, much like the zigzags of a steep hiking trail, that went over the pass at the 4,060 ft. summit. Train length and weight were severely limited and it took hours even in the best of weather to cross over the pass. In the winter it was often impossible. How would you liked to have worked as one of the railroad’s winter employees shoveling deep snow by hand? When this original line was built, speed of construction took precedence over the quality of line because of the Great Northern’s need to generate traffic and income quickly.

The Great Northern was planning on a tunnel but James J. Hill did not want to wait, thus the switchbacks. In 1900, the Great Northern completed the 2.5 mile-long Cascade Tunnel. It was a vast improvement, but the trip across the mountains was still treacherous during the winter months. The biggest hazards were the frequent avalanches sweeping down the mountainside. The New Cascade Tunnel is the third approach to crossing the pass and the one the Empire Builder uses today. Trains climb to an elevation of just under 2,900 feet. This tunnel dramatically reduced the climb and reduced the problems caused by snow and eliminated the miles of snow sheds on the second line that were expensive and difficult to maintain.

Empire Builder Master Resource Guide 20170702, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park – Seattle Unit, National Park Service/Department of the Interior