Wellington Train Avalanche: 1910

On March 1, 1910, high up in the Cascade mountains, winter snows the week before had stalled trains along the Great Northern Railway between Spokane and Seattle. Stranded passengers had hopes that the track would be cleared that day, unaware of the disaster to come.

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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

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Script by THG

#history #thehistoryguy #disasters

[chrislittlepage]

There is a book called White Cascade about the events that happened there on March 1st 1910. The author's name is Gary Krist

[aspie-anarchist]

The mountain pass in winter can be absolutely horrific. When you get up on the those mountains it feels like it will be a miracle if you ever get through it. It's so bizarre cause then once you get outside Seattle there is like no snow at all. It feels almost mystical or magical going through them.

[arsmith]

As a young man in the late 90s I visited this site. It was an early Autumn day and was drizzling and quite cold. I don't normally get spooked but I must admit that that place gave me the willies. Thanks for doing a video about my home state by the way. I feel that, unless someone is talking about grunge or Mt St Helens, Washington gets overlooked.

[jamesjustus]

Thank you sir, for covering this event. For many years we have lived outside of the town of Leavenworth, now an iconic tourist “Bavarian Village” but was the Great Northern RR division point on the east side of the Cascades/Stevens Pass at the time of the Wellington disaster. Over the years we have visited the resting places of victims in the town cemetery and hiked the Iron Goat. We passed through the original Cascade Tunnel a number of times prior to its collapse in 2007/8. The history of the GNRR is all around our area, from the highway that follows portions of the original railway alignment to barns that were constructed from lumber salvaged from trestles and snow sheds when the realignment happened in the late 1920’s. The dam and remains of the power plant that ran electric engines through the old Cascade Tunnel still exist in Tumwater Canyon. The road we live on is named after one of the construction camps during the realignment and construction of new tunnels, Camp 12.

[webbtrekker]

I have visited Wellington. As the new tunnel (8.7 miles long) being built the town of Wellington was disassembled and moved down to the western end of the new tunnel. All that remains are some foundations and flat spots with signs saying what the buildings use to be on that site. The old tunnel was abandoned but after a walk though the forest you can see the mouth of the old tunnel though the forest service had blocked access into the tunnel. The site of the slide can be reached walking through the concrete snow shed still there. Take a jacket or heavy shirt to wear as you will be in the shade and partly underground for the walk and a breeze blows through. (Ask me how I know). Depending on how the winter was sometimes the road to Wellington is blocked by snow well into August.

[drshoe]

I can't imagine the amount of labor it took to free those trapped without the power tools we have today, they were definitely a different breed back then. "Grab your bucksaws and shovels, there's work to be done!"

[frankgulla]

These "trainwreck" stories are all awful. I believe you have already done one on the Ashtabula wreck late in the 19th century. But this sounds as bad or worse. Thank you for sharing this painful tale.

[annbastin]

As a long time resident and frequent traveler in this area, I can say that this disaster is never forgotten. Yours is the finest telling of the history I have seen. Thank you.

[clayhackney]

I got stuck for 24 hours on the Empire Builder in Glacier National Park a few years ago because of an avalanche. We had to wait for the plow to come behind us so we could backtrack to Spokane and take buses from there instead. Wild times!

[victoriacervantes]

This is a wonderful book about this disaster.

The White Cascade : The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche
by Gary Krist

[donl]

Being a railroad buff. I've heard that story a number of times. You did it justice! Definitely, "History Deserves to Be Remembered".

[stuartriefe]

In your seats, class. The master Historian is beginning the lesson!

[grantbowers]

Growing up 70 miles away and driving past it many times. Never knew about this. May they rest in peace and be remembered

[mollybell]

Once again, another significant piece of American history that I was not aware of. When I first discovered THG, I had many episodes to catch up on, so I could enjoy several videos per day. Now I eagerly wait for each one to come out. Can't get enough, but grateful for what I can get.

[Andrewm]

I live in Seattle, have gone to Steven's Pass many times to ski - and took a long train ride on Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle and it was, looking out of my window, a harrowing stretch to be on a train with nothing but seriously long drops down between the crags of the Cascade mountains.

[jamesdoyle]

I am always enthralled by old newspaper accounts. The descriptiòns, the personal stories, the colorful stories of witnesses paint indelible scenes in my mind.

[StevenDietrich-kw]

As soon as you said Steven's name I thought "ah, the Panama Canal guy"! If I could make a suggestion to my other history nerd classmates it would be to read David McCullough's book "The Path Between The Seas", which is about the construction of the Panama Canal, and in which Steven's is prominently mentioned.

[dannycolerain]

My great grandfather George Washington Hoxsey was the first physician on the scene from Leavenworth WA. He was also the first Dr in Leavenworth and worked for the Great Northern Railroad.

[prontsc]

Thank you! Not for me, but for the generations of people whose tales were thought forever forgotten and families of those remembered.!

[Eric_Hutton.]

Terrible tragedy. May these poor souls Rest in Peace.