The year was 1890, and the Great Northern was laying track westward through Washington to the Pacific Coast. GN founder James J. Hill had sent John F. Stevens, one of the finest locating engineers in the country, to locate the railroad through the Cascade Mountains. The route was surveyed to Wenatchee and then west up through the Tumwater Canyon of the Wenatchee River keeping the grade to a maximum of 2.2%. At the location which would later be called Cascade Tunnel Station, there was no way to continue further west keeping the grade at 2.2%. At the same time, track was also being laid to the east from Seattle. From Seattle, the line headed east to Skykomish where the 2.2% grade started. The track continued east to Scenic where it made a 180-degree curve and headed back west up the mountain for 3 miles. At this location, the only way to continue up the mountain was to build a trestle over Martin Creek (Lower Martin Creek Trestle), go through a curved tunnel (the Horseshoe Tunnel), once again cross Martin Creek (Upper Martin Creek Trestle), and head east again up the mountain. At a location up the mountain right above Scenic, the track rounded Windy Point (where a double-track tunnel was built in 1914) and then headed for Wellington. The grade did not exceed 2.2% up to Wellington. Between Wellington (elevation 3136 feet) and Cascade Tunnel Station (3382 feet) it was decided to construct switchbacks over the mountain so that the line could be finished as quickly as possible. Cascade Tunnel Station and Wellington were about 3 air miles apart. Keeping the maximum grade to 3.5% on the east side and 4% on the west side of the mountain, the rail distance was 12 miles over 8 switchbacks up to the summit of 4059 feet. The final spike for the GN was driven at Scenic on January 6, 1893 at a point just west of where the West Portal of the present 7.79-mile tunnel is located. Immediately after that, Stevens started survey work on a 2.6-mile tunnel between Wellington and Cascade Tunnel Station to eliminate the switchbacks. Until the tunnel could be built, trains fought with the switchbacks, eastbounds in particular because they hauled more tonnage. Typically, a 600-ton eastbound would arrive at Skykomish. With a 2-8-0 on the head end and a 4-8-0 as a pusher, the train departed, heading up the 2.2% grade the entire 24 miles to Wellington. Having insufficient power to exceed 6 mph, the train could take from 5 to 15 hours to reach Wellington, which included meets and taking on water at Scenic and Embro and coal at Scenic. Because the spurs on the switchbacks were about 1000 feet long, trains between Wellington and Cascade Tunnel Station were limited to 23 cars and 2 engines. With an engine pulling, and a pusher behind, the trip from Wellington to Cascade Tunnel Station took about 90 minutes on a good day while burning 3000 pounds of coal. At that altitude, snow fell at the rate of 8 to 12 inches per hour. If it was snowing, the trip could have taken up to 36 hours due to the heavy accumulation of snow on the pass. Construction on the original tunnel began on August 20, 1897. The entire project was planned and completed by the GN Engineering Department without the assistance of any contractors. A total of 600 to 800 men worked in 8-hour shifts digging from Wellington and Cascade Tunnel Station, averaging 11.53 feet per day. Concrete plants were constructed at each portal. Close to 95,000 barrels of cement were used in the concrete mixture of 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, and 5 parts broken rock (taken from the tunnel). That translated into about 7 barrels per foot through the tunnel. When the tunnel was holed through, the alignment was off 0.0201 feet and the grade 0.019 feet. The tunnel cost about $4,000,000 and was completed on December 20, 1900. It was 13,873 feet long and had a 1.7% grade eastbound through it. The tunnel eliminated the switchbacks, reduced the maximum elevation by 677 feet, the curvature by 2332 degrees, the distance over the mountains by 9 miles, and the running time by 2 hours. A new problem developed -- smoke in the tunnel. With the 1.7% grade, the maximum speed for a heavy freight was about 8 mph. The smoke, flames, heat, and cinders coming out of the stack made working conditions through the tunnel nearly impossible with locomotive cab temperatures often reaching 200 degrees. Due to condensing steam in the tunnel, the rails frequently got wet, causing the engines to slip. Telephones were available every 1/4 mile in case of an emergency, but because of the gases from the smoke, they frequently did not work. Some engines had their stacks extended toward the rear, but this was not a perfect solution. Gas masks became standard equipment on all engines. In 1903, the coupler between the helper and road engines on a passenger train failed while in the tunnel. After several unsuccessful attempts to recouple the engines, the helper continued on for assistance. Meanwhile, the engine crew and most of the passengers had been overcome by the smoke from the road engine. The conductor headed for the engine and found the fireman and engineer unconscious. He also passed out before he could do anything. Another fireman who was a passenger on the train found his way up to the engine and released the brakes, allowing the train to coast backwards out of the tunnel. Fortunately, he remained conscious long enough to stop the train after it had coasted into Wellington. By then, just about everybody on the train had passed out. As traffic increased, so did the problems. By 1908, train weight had increased to 1600 tons. Two 2-6-6-2's were used for these heavy trains. With the growing tonnage and increasing number of trains, the tunnel was hardly ever clear of smoke. Snow also continued to be a problem. Many miles of snowsheds had been constructed from 12"x12" timbers to partially solve the problems of snowslides. Frequently, the snow across the tracks was so deep that dynamite had to be used to clear or at least reduce the depth of the snow so that the rotary plows could handle it. The following description of a near-disaster in December, 1907 was an example of the snow problems. Snow had been falling heavily as No. 4, an 8-car passenger train arrived at Skykomish on time. At Wellington, the snow was falling 1 foot per hour. The crew, trainmaster, and dispatcher decided that the train go on, following behind a double-ended rotary plow train (one rotary plow on either end of the pusher engine) which had left 15 minutes ahead of the train. With two engines pulling, No. 4 headed east, getting nearly to Scenic before the drifting snow halted the train. When the train did not show up at Scenic (13 miles from Skykomish), the rotary headed back west and plowed out No. 4. The train arrived in Scenic 5 hours late. With 11 miles more to go up the side of the mountain to Wellington, the crew argued with the dispatcher to return to Skykomish or at least wait at Scenic until the storm was over. The dispatcher won the argument and told to train crew to continue on east. The plow and train continued up the mountain, to a point about 2 miles from Wellington. As No. 4 was emerging from a snowshed, the engineer saw the rotary ahead of him disappear into the next shed. Immediately after, a 50-foot avalanche covered the entrance to the next shed. The engineer did not put the train into emergency, as he did not want the train sitting on the side of the mountain waiting for the air to pump up. Instead, he made a normal brake pipe reduction, and before the train had stopped had thrown the engine into reverse. With a lot of people on the train having been thrown to the floor, the train headed back for the snowshed from which it had just emerged. About 50 feet from the shed, the engineer dumped the air. Since the shed was barely long enough the cover the train, the engineer didn't want the rear of the train sticking out of the shed. As the train stopped just inside the shed, another avalanche covered the opening. 30 seconds later, the other end of the shed was covered by another avalanche. It took 2 weeks to clear the line and get trains moving again. The GN decided to electrify the tunnel to eliminate the smoke problem. A 5,000kw hydroelectric generating station was built at Tumwater (about 4 miles west of Leavenworth) on the Wenatchee River. A dam was located two miles upstream (west) from Tumwater which diverted water into a pipe 8.5 feet in diameter to supply the generators with water. The generators produced 33kv, 25Hz, 3-phase to a transmission line which was constructed between Tumwater and Cascade Tunnel Station, 30 miles away. There a substation reduced the 33kv to 6600 volts for use on the trolley wires. (The Great Northern used to term "trolley" to refer to its catenary.) 3-phase was chosen because of the characteristics of 3-phase motors. Due to the electrification technology at the time, 3-phase AC had advantages over single-phase AC or straight DC. Three-phase induction motors and their controls were both mechanically and electrically simple and could take a lot of rough use. The motors had a higher electrical efficiency and continuous output than other types of similar-sized motors. The uniform torque gave better adhesion and less starting wheel slip than other motors. Three-phase motors operated at a constant speed which was an asset to the GN for limiting train speeds downgrade. Also, the regenerative braking capabilities allowed power to be returned to the distribution system from the electric engine when it was going downgrade. In order to take advantage of the regenerative braking, a water rheostat was installed at Tumwater to dissipate the returned energy. GN was the first American railroad to use regenerative braking, and the only North American railroad to use 3-phase. Since this was a 3-phase system, 2 conductors were installed above the rails with the rails themselves as the third conductor. This made the overhead distribution system more complex at turnouts where opposite phase wires crossed and had to be insulated from each other. The wires were spaced 5 feet apart, but in the tunnel were 8 feet apart so that a brakeman could walk the tops of the cars setting hand brakes without danger of electrocution. The total electrified route was 4.7 miles. GN required motive power that could pull a 2000-ton train at 15 mph. Alco-GE delivered four 1000hp electric locomotives with a B+B wheel arrangement in 1909. Trolley poles were used instead of pantographs for current collection due to the unequal spacing of the wires inside and outside the tunnel. The trolley poles themselves were spaced 5 feet apart. Inside the locomotive, the voltage was further stepped down to 500 volts which was fed to the four 275hp traction motors. These were synchronous induction motors designed to run at 375 rpm which allowed the locomotive to move at 15 mph. Train tonnage was limited so as not to slow the motors, which would damage them. This meant that tonnage had to be limited to the amount that 3 locomotives could pull -- about 1600 tons, not including the steam engine which remained connected to the train. The electrification project was completed July 10, 1909. There were minor problems with the new electrification, including the failure of both water wheels at Tumwater from August 11 to September 9, 1909. In 1910, the electrification suffered a major setback. There had been a heavy snow storm, and a mail and passenger train were being held at Wellington until the storm subsided enough so that the rotaries could clear the route to the west. After waiting at Wellington for 5 days, disaster struck. A heavy rain had fallen, loosening the mud and snowpack on the hills above Wellington. At 1:45 AM on March 1, 1910, the two trains, all 4 electrics (one of which was in an inspection shed), a rotary plow, three steam engines, a large part of the trolley wiring, and part of the town of Wellington were swept down the hill by a wall of snow and debris 14 feet high, 2000 feet wide, and a half mile long. Great Northern officials listed 101 people killed. About the same time, another avalanche at the other end of the tunnel had flattened every building at Cascade Tunnel Station. Finally on March 11, an eastbound rotary cleared the track, and trains started running again. It wasn't until the summer of 1910 that the electrification was put back in operation. The avalanche had also flattened the snowsheds just west of Wellington. These were replaced by a double track concrete snowshed a half mile long. The destroyed facilities at Wellington were later rebuilt just west of the tunnel portal, a point about 1000 feet east of their original location. Wellington was very much a railroad town. At one time, the only non-railroad employee living there was the hotel-keeper. After the avalanche, the name of Wellington was changed to Tye. As time went on, trains got heavier. By 1923, 2500-ton trains were common. Three electrics did not have the power to pull that much weight through the tunnel. By adding the fourth electric, the generating station became overloaded. Trains ran through the tunnel in 2 sections, which added an unacceptable 1 hour delay. After some studying, the electrical engineers devised a "concatenated" traction motor armature connection (which became known as the "Cascade" connection) that allowed the motors to run at half speed and draw less current. This allowed all 4 electrics to pull a 2500-ton train through the tunnel in one piece at 7.5 mph. Going through the tunnel at this speed was a 20-minute ordeal. Passenger trains and light freights could still run through at 15 mph. Normally, two electrics were put on the point ahead of the steam engines, and two more were used as pushers behind the caboose. In one instance, an eastbound train had entered the tunnel at 7.5 mph. The helper engines lost power, and the train gradually slowed to a stop, but the head end electrics were still running with the wheels spinning on the rails at their synchronous speed. When the engineer hadn't seen daylight after the usual 20 minutes, he investigated and found that the train had been sitting still for 10 minutes while the wheels had ground 2/3 through the rail web. With the more efficient operation of trains through the tunnel, train crews, locomotives, and the generating station were being used less than before, resulting in a considerable expense from people and equipment sitting idle waiting for the next train. After a study, a decision was made to extend the electrification west to Skykomish and east to Wenatchee along with construction of a new tunnel allowing a line relocation to eliminate the avalanche problem permanently. On November 19, 1925, the Board of Directors of the Great Northern authorized building of a new tunnel, a new 19.37-mile line through Chumstick Canyon, and an extension of the electrification between Wenatchee and Skykomish for a total cost of $25,000,000. The snowsheds had an average life span of 13 years and cost nearly $500,000 a year to maintain. Due to their deteriorating condition, the tunnel had to be completed before the winter of 1928-1929. John Stevens was responsible for locating the new tunnel, and within a week of the Board of Directors authorizing construction, A. Guthrie & Company, a contracting company in St. Paul, got the contract to bore a new tunnel. The contract required that the tunnel be finished 3 years from the start of drilling, with 3 days grace. This required drilling methods twice as fast as former tunnelling methods. In an effort to speed up the tunnel construction, drilling was started from both ends at the same time. On December 28, 1925, drilling started from the west end on a tunnel smaller than the actual tunnel. This smaller tunnel, called the Pioneer Tunnel, was 8 feet wide and 9 feet high and located 66 feet south of the main bore at a height of 7 feet above the main tunnel subgrade. At approximately every 1500 feet, a crosscut was drilled to where the main tunnel was being drilled. Because the bore of the main tunnel was 18 feet wide and 26 feet high, the Pioneer Tunnel could be drilled faster than the main tunnel. With all of the crosscuts allowing access to the main tunnel axis, the main tunnel could be drilled from many different working faces. In addition, the Pioneer Tunnel also allowed for a way to remove the tunnelling debris. At the West Portal, the debris removed was used to construct the new grade from Scenic to the new tunnel. On January 30, 1926, at Mill Creek (2.41 miles west of the East Portal) directly over the axis of the new tunnel, a shaft 8 feet by 24 feet was dropped 622 feet which would eventually meet with the Pioneer Tunnel. The Mill Creek shaft was about twice as far from the West Portal as it was from the East Portal. Until commercial AC power could be supplied at Mill Creek and Scenic, power generating stations were constructed using diesel engines which powered 2300-volt 3-phase, 60Hz AC generators. The Pioneer Tunnel and Mill Creek shaft bore broke through on May 1, 1928. The bore between Mill Creek and the East Portal was holed through in September, 1927 at a location 9329 feet west of the East Portal. Tunnelling records were broken time after time. 36 feet per day was the average digging time. The crew drilling from the East Portal at Berne once drilled a 984-foot long tunnel 10 feet by 10 feet in 31 days, a new world's record at the time. At one time, there were 1793 men working underground. In order to speed up work, bonuses were paid to members of crews exceeding 650 feet per month. With the large amount of people working in the tunnel, camps were set up at both portals and Mill Creek. In addition to bunk houses and mess halls, each camp had a school, barber, dentist, blacksmith shop, recreation hall, and hospital. On October 20, 1928, the main tunnel was holed through. The survey work had been done so accurately that the center line of the tunnel was off by 9 inches horizontally and 3 inches vertically. The finished tunnel was 41,152 feet long. A total of 3 years and 47 days passed between the time the contractor started until the first train ran through the tunnel. 923,000 cubic yards was removed from the mountain with 4,750,000 pounds of dynamite and 750,000 blasting caps. Also, 262,562 cubic yards of concrete were used to line the tunnel. The new line from Scenic to Berne shortened the route by 11 miles, eliminated 40,000 feet of snowsheds, 1940 degrees of curvature, 9 miles of 2.2% grade from Scenic to Tye, and reduced the summit by 501 feet to 2881 feet. Because of advances in electrification technology and past experience from the 3-phase system, GN decided to make the new electrification 11,000-volt single-phase 25Hz. The major problem with the old 3-phase system was keeping the trolley poles from jumping off the wires at turnouts and other locations where the different phase wires crossed each other. The GN was so convinced of the operating efficiencies of the new electrification that the 11 miles of track from Scenic to Tye (which were abandoned after the new tunnel was put into operation) were also electrified although the expenses in this section were kept to a minimum. Work started on the electrification project in December, 1925. On February 6, 1927, the single-phase system was put into operation between Scenic and Cascade Tunnel Station, and extended to Skykomish on March 5. The electrification in the old tunnel was modified so that the new single-phase electrics could run through it by installing single-phase trolley wire between the 2 three-phase trolley wires. With temporary short horns on the single-phase pantographs, both types of electrics could run through the tunnel during the change-over phase. New single-phase electrics were ordered. Baldwin-Westinghouse delivered 2 Z-1 electric pairs in 1926. Each Z-1 pair (or double-cab) consisted of a pair of semi-permanently coupled 1-D-1 boxcabs. Their top speed was about 45 mph. The locomotives were placed in service on March 25, 1927 between Skykomish and Cascade Tunnel Station. Three more Z-1 double-cabs were acquired during 1928. The Z-1 double-cabs could easily haul 1500 tons up the 2.2% grade. If needed, 2 double-cabs could easily handle a 3000-ton train. All of GN's single-phase electrics used an 11,000-volt to 1350-volt transformer to provide power to a pair of 25-cycle synchronous motor-generator sets. These supplied DC voltage to the traction motors. A bank of 56 batteries (total of 125 volts) was on each electric for starting. A single-phase synchronous motor would not self-start. Battery power was applied to the generator of the motor-generator set until the motor was running at about 1/3 full speed. The battery power was then disconnected, and the 25Hz AC was applied to the motor to bring it up to full speed. The Z-1's made a big difference in train handling up to Tye. Before the electrics, a Mike and two Mallets would take 4 hours to move 2500 tons from Skykomish to Tye. After the electrification was installed, two double-cabs and a Mike could haul 3500 tons to Tye in less than 2 hours. Of the 5 Z-1 pairs purchased, the first 3 were built with MU receptacles on one end only, the last 2 having them on both ends. Starting around 1930, up until World War II, the Z-1's were configured as 2 triple-cabs and 2 double-cabs. In order to keep up with wartime traffic, the Z-1's were once again configured as 5 double-cabs to increase the number of available locomotives. During 1927-1928, GE delivered 4 boxcab Y-1 electrics with a 1-C+C-1 wheel arrangement. Four more were delivered in 1931. The Y-1's were rated at 1000 tons per engine on the 2.2% grade. Maintenance facilities for the new electrics were built at Appleyard, 2 miles east of Wenatchee, where 25 people worked. Inspection facilities were built at Skykomish, staffed with 7 employees. The electrics ran in and out of the shop by connecting a shop power cable to a special low-voltage DC connector on the locomotive which connected 2 traction motors in series. In the last three months of 1928, the new electrification had been finished from Wenatchee through the Chumstick Canyon up to the East Portal of the new tunnel at Berne. However, the new tunnel had not been completed yet, and there was no trolley wire installed in the 4.5 miles on the old line from Berne to Cascade Tunnel Station, as that portion of the line was about to be abandoned. There was a problem getting trains over this non-electrified gap. The solution was to tie a Mallet onto the train ahead of the electrics, and pull the whole works over the unelectrified portion of the line. A little bit about the electrical system. Puget Sound Power & Light Company provided electricity to the GN at 3 points: Skykomish (110kv, 60 Hz), Wenatchee (110kv, 60Hz), and Tumwater (44kv, 25Hz). PSP&L leased and operated the GN's Tumwater station. At Wenatchee and Skykomish, the 110kv was reduced to 13.2kv through a transformer and applied to a synchronous motor of a motor-generator set. The generator produced 13.2kv, 25Hz, single-phase which ran through a transformer to produce 11.5kv for the trolley, 44kv for the substation transmission lines which paralleled the tracks, and 13.2kv for the signal transmission lines which provided power for the signal system. Substations were located at Scenic, Berne, Winton, Leavenworth, and Cashmere. These substations converted the 44kv transmission voltage to 11.5kv for the trolley. The Tumwater station ran at full capacity (55kva) continuously. If there were no trains running, any excess power was routed back through the frequency-converter sets at Skykomish and Wenatchee to the power company. The trolley wire itself was kept to within 9 inches of track center to prevent hooking the ends of the pantographs. Typical overhead clearance was 24 feet above the rail with the trolley down to 19 feet through the tunnels. The electrics were designed so that the pantographs could reach a maximum of 27 feet. The electrification portion of the project cost $6 million. There was 73 miles of main line and 12 miles of secondary line electrified, not including the old line up through Tye. The maximum capacity of the electrical system was 20,000kva. The electric motors required approximately 1kva per horsepower, so trains were limited to 20,000hp total in the electrified zone. If more than one train was operating at any one time, Amp Orders were issued by the Load Dispatcher in Skykomish to prevent overloading the frequency converters. In addition, the newly-constructed line through the Chumstick Canyon eliminated the line through the Tumwater Canyon. This $5 million portion of the project between Peshastin and Winton eliminated the problems of the Tumwater line, including 1.5 miles of snowsheds, 1286 degrees of curvature (reduced the sharpest curve from 9 to 3 degrees), and reduced the maximum grade from 2.2% to 1.6%. The new line, including the tunnel, was put in service January 12, 1929. Steam operation was completely eliminated between Wenatchee and Skykomish, and the old line through Tye and the original tunnel was abandoned. To celebrate the opening of the tunnel, a special train with reporters and dignitaries was run westbound through the tunnel. After stopping at the East Portal for ceremonies, the train attempted to head west. However, the two electrics on the head end had been waiting just inside the tunnel while the remainder of the train was outside. Due to the temperature difference between the cold outside and warmer inside air of the tunnel, condensation caused an arc-over in the second unit. The train was too heavy to pull with one electric, so another pushed the train into the tunnel. The train went considerably slower than planned due to the loss of one of the electrics and its regenerative braking capabilities, so air brakes were used on the 8-mile downgrade. What should have taken 20 minutes was closer to 35 when the train burst through the paper cover that had been put over the West Portal of the tunnel. The NBC Radio Network carried the opening ceremonies over 36 radio stations. Typical train operation after the completion of the new line and tunnel consisted of 3 Y-1's on the point and a triple-cab or 2 double-cabs cut in 2/3 of the way back, handling around 5000 to 6000 tons. They could operate at about 17 mph with a train of that weight, both up and down the grades. During World War II, a typical motive power consist of a train may have had three electrics on the head end, a 4-unit FT helper mid-train, and a Mallet pushing behind the caboose. The Mallet cut off before entering the tunnel, with the remaining electrics and diesels handling the down-grade run. This may be the only instance where three separate kinds of motive power were regularly assigned to the same train. Y-1 5011 derailed on the curve at the east end of the Foss River Bridge near Tonga during World War II. The carbody was demolished and scrapped. The remainder of the electric was repaired and a new carbody was built from 2 FT noses at the GN shops in St. Paul. After this streamlining and paint to passenger colors, it was reclassified as a Y-1a and was often used on the head end of passenger trains. With increasing traffic and heavier trains, the GN bought additional electric motive power. This time GE supplied 2 W-1 electrics which at the time were the most powerful single unit electrics in the world. They had a B-D+D-B wheel arrangement with roller bearings and 5000hp. Known as "Big Berthas", they could pull a 1900-ton train unassisted up the 2.2% grade. The regenerative braking allowed downgrade operation without the use of train air brakes. After the arrival of the W-1's in 1947 in orange/green paint, the Y-1's were also slowly painted in the orange/green color scheme. The engineers and firemen had their own nicknames for the 3 different types of engines. The Z-1's were referred to as the Westinghouse, and the Y-1's and W-1's were called the Little GE's and Big GE's. Until around 1940, all pantographs had to be raised on all electrics in a lashup to prevent current interruptions from the air gaps in the trolley wire. If all pantographs were used at once, they could all be torn from the electrics if any one of them had hooked the trolley wire. To prevent this from happening, high-voltage power bus shoes were installed on each end of the Y-1's. After this modification, it was a requirement to have two pantographs up in any lashup of Y-1's, with the center electrics getting their power from the power bus shoes. Y-1a 5011 was also modified with a power bus shoe on the rear end. By monitoring the meters in the Superintendent's office in Wenatchee, it was possible to determine train speed by watching the engines cross the evenly-spaced air gaps in the trolley wire. In the early 1950's, the GN tested the latest in GE technology - a 5000hp pair of B-B electrics designed for the Pennsylvania RR. They were numbered 5020 and 5021 and painted black. They became known as The Black Mariah. The GN was not impressed with their operation mainly because of their lack of pulling power at slow speeds which was common the 2.2% grades. Since they were a straight AC design, they had the greatest pulling power at high speed. Back when the electrification system was designed, the GN and Northern Pacific were considering a merger, and routing all traffic over the GN route, in addition to extending the electrification to Spokane. Thus, the system was highly over-designed, making it complicated and inefficient. Due to the electrical system in the engines, the efficiency rarely exceeded 40%. After studying extending the electrification to Spokane in the 1930's, and to Seattle in the 1950's, there was no economic justification to extend either. The electrics cost half as much as steam to operate, but twice as much as diesels. Because of this inefficiency and the high cost of purchasing electrical power, when the thought was given to operating diesels over the line, the electrification was scrapped. By 1947, diesels had been assigned to the hot-shot mail and passenger trains. These trains being light and fast had no problem going through the tunnel under diesel power. Instructions in the timetable stated to run through the tunnel in throttle position 6 -- referring to a 4-unit FT set. By 1952, the Cascade Division was completely dieselized. The last steam run was from March 23 to March 30, 1953 when a stored 4-8-2 left Seattle with a weed-burner train. Slow-moving freights going up the eastbound grade through the tunnel had problems with overheated engines from the exhaust gases. Because the train acted as a piston, the cool air in the tunnel was pushed out ahead of the train, leaving little more than hot (1000 to 1500 degrees) exhaust gases for the trailing engines in the consist. This caused the trailing engines to overheat and shut down. GN's solution was to have the Morrison-Knudsen Company of Boise, Idaho install a $650,000 ventilation system at the East Portal. The East Portal was modified with a steel door and blower installation. Two 6-foot fans, each powered by an 800hp electric motor turning at 1150 rpm, could each supply 220,000 cfm of fresh air. In operation, as an eastbound enters the West Portal, the door closes, and one fan turns on, blowing cool air to the train. Because of the closed door, the train cannot act as a piston and push the air out ahead of it, and plenty of cool air reaches the trailing units in the consist and keeps them cool. When the train is within 3200 feet of the East Portal, the door opens. After the train has left the tunnel, the door closes, and the second fan cut in, blowing the exhaust out of the tunnel in 28 minutes. Eastbound trains are restricted from entering the tunnel unless the fans are blowing. Two lights are located at Scenic which flash when the exhaust system is running. Should the door not function properly, a chain hoist can be used to open it. A standby generating station is located at the East Portal in case of power failure. There can still be danger from the exhaust fumes in the tunnel. Because of this, all crew members are issued Biopaks and gas masks for emergency use. Inside the tunnel, refuge bays are located every 2000 feet. Breathing support devices are also located in refuge bays 2 through 20. There are also exit doors located in refuge bays 13, 15, 16, and 19 which lead to the Pioneer Tunnel. After the ventilation system was installed and put in service on July 31, 1956, diesels took over complete operation through the tunnel. The wires were taken down, and the electrics were taken out of service. The 10 Z-1's were scrapped in August, 1956 as no buyer could be found. The 8 Y-1's were sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad in August, 1956. GN 5010, 5012-5017 were renumbered PRR 1-7. Y-1a 5011 was sold to the PRR in 1957 for parts. It could not be used in regular service on the PRR because the end doors did not provide easy entrance and exit which was required because of tight clearances on the PRR. Even though the Y-1's used brass bearings, the GN took such good care of them that there was no need to replace the bearings before the electrics were put into service on the Pennsy. All of the Y-1's were scrapped between 1962 and 1966. W-1 5019 was scrapped in 1959. W-1 5018 was sold to the Union Pacific in 1958 where it was rebuilt into a 5000hp coal-burning turbine (number 80B, and renumbered 8080B in 1964). Its last run was May 12, 1964 after 21,848 miles of freight service. It was scrapped March 1968. The generating station at Tumwater was sold to the Chelan County P. U. D. The Cascade Tunnel today is located on Burlington Northern's preferred route through Washington, and it sees considerable traffic every day. There have been two significant derailments in the tunnel, both occurring since 1981. There are plans to drop the tunnel floor to allow stack trains more clearance. Limits for the helper district presently are between Wenatchee and Skykomish. Today if you drive through the Cascade Mountains on US Highway 2, you can still see remnants of the old GN line. There is still a yard at Appleyard, but the electric engine maintenance building was damaged on August 6, 1974 when a tank car exploded in the yard. The building was later torn down. The diesels are now serviced near the freight house in Wenatchee. Heading west from Wenatchee, some tall poles which used to support the trolley wire are located along the right-of-way, although they are presently being cut down. Highway 2 is built on the old right-of-way from Leavenworth to Chiwaukum. The dam is still at Tumwater, although the generating station is gone with the exception of some of the foundations. A bridge is located over the Wenatchee River where the pipe which fed water to the turbines crossed the river. The lower 1/3 of the pipe still remains on the bridge as a pathway across the river. The path the pipe followed between the dam and generating station is now little more than a dirt road which is barely traversable. The footings that the diesel engines and compressors rested on at Mill Creek can still be seen. On the west side of Stevens Pass, there are still a few remains of the snowsheds, now rotting piles of wood. Windy Point Tunnel can still be seen on the hill above Scenic. There are still scars on the mountains tracing the path of the switchbacks. The concrete snowshed at Tye still stands, although it is starting to crumble. A road which uses some of the old switchbacks is available to get to it and both the East and West Portals of the original tunnel. Nothing remains of the towns of Tye and Cascade Tunnel Station. At a point across the valley from Tye, US Highway 2 goes around a big curve which is located on the switchback route. For a time, the University of Washington and the Boeing Company had used the old tunnel as a scientific research laboratory which housed a 3300-foot laser interferometer. A barricade had been located in the tunnel during that time, but now the tunnel is open end to end. The footings remain of the Upper and Lower Martin Creek Trestles that were located on either end of the Horseshoe Tunnel, although the entrances to the tunnel have caved in. The large building that housed the frequency-converters at Skykomish is still there, but now it is used for storage. ROSTER OF GN ELECTRICS ---- ORIGINAL FINAL DATE DATE WHEEL CLASS NUMBER NUMBER BUILDER BUILT RETIRED WEIGHT HP ARRNGMNT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- 5000 5000 ALCO-GE 3-09 5-27 227,000 1000 B+B --- 5001 5001 ALCO-GE 2-09 5-27 227,000 1000 B+B --- 5002 5002 ALCO-GE 2-09 5-27 227,000 1000 B+B --- 5003 5003 ALCO-GE 3-09 5-27 227,000 1000 B+B Z-1 5000 5000A BLW-WEST 10-28 8-56 371,100 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5001 5000B BLW-WEST 10-28 8-56 371,100 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5002A 5008A BLW-WEST 3-28 8-56 371,100 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5002B 5008B BLW-WEST 3-28 8-56 371,100 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5007A 5002A BLW-WEST 8-28 8-56 371,100 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5007B 5002B BLW-WEST 8-28 8-56 371,100 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5004 5004A BLW-WEST 12-26 8-56 357,700 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5005 5004B BLW-WEST 12-26 8-56 357,700 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5006 5006B BLW-WEST 1-27 8-56 357,700 1830 1-D-1 Z-1 5007 5006B BLW-WEST 1-27 8-56 357,700 1830 1-D-1 Y-1 5010 5010 ALCO-GE 8-27 8-56 518,250 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1a 5011 5011 ALCO-GE 9-27 8-56 518,250 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1 5012 5012 ALCO-GE 9-28 8-56 527,200 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1 5013 5013 ALCO-GE 7-28 8-56 527,200 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1 5014 5014 ALCO-GE 8-30 8-56 527,200 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1 5015 5015 ALCO-GE 8-30 8-56 527,200 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1 5016 5016 ALCO-GE 8-30 8-56 527,200 3000 1-C+C-1 Y-1 5017 5017 ALCO-GE 8-30 8-56 527,200 3000 1-C+C-1 W-1 5018 5018 GE 6-47 8-56 735,000 5000 B-D+D-B W-1 5019 5019 GE 6-47 8-56 735,000 5000 B-D+D-B REGENERATIVE BRAKING TONNAGE CAPACITY ON RATING ON MAXIMUM 2.2% GRADE 2.2% GRADE LENGTH SPEED CLASS (TONS) (TONS PER UNIT) (FEET) (M.P.H.) ----- ------------ --------------- ------ -------- Z-1 1250 750 47 45 Y-1 1400 1000 74 50 W-1 2800 1900 101 65 PROFILE OF GRADES OVER CASCADE MOUNTAINS 4000 FEET 6. . . . . .5 7 7 . 3000 FEET . . . . . .4. . . . . . . . . .8 .8 .8 3 . 2000 FEET . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . 1000 9 9 9 SEA LEVEL ----|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------| MILES 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 ORIGINAL LINE OLD TUNNEL LINE PRESENT LINE ------------- --------------- ------------ 1 LEAVENWORTH LEAVENWORTH LEAVENWORTH 13 MI (2.2%) 13 MI (2.2%) 13 MI (1.6%) 2 WINTON WINTON WINTON 7 MI (1.0%) 7 MI (1.0%) 7 MI (1.0%) 3 MERRITT MERRITT MERRITT 7 MI (2.2%) 7 MI (2.2%) 7 MI (2.2%) 4 BERNE BERNE BERNE 5 MI (2.2%) 5 MI (2.2%) 5 CASCADE TUNNEL STATION CASCADE TUNNEL STATION 4 MI (3.5%) 6 STEVENS PASS 3 MI (1.7%) 8 MI (1.6%) 8 MI (4.0%) 7 WELLINGTON (TYE) WELLINGTON (TYE) 11 MI (2.2%) 11 MI (2.2%) 8 SCENIC SCENIC SCENIC 13 MI (2.2%) 13 MI (2.2%) 13 MI (2.2%) 9 SKYKOMISH SKYKOMISH SKYKOMISH TO SEATTLE (80 MILES) / / / SKYKOMISH O : : : : ..../ (.O.. TONGA \ : / : ALPINE O \ : * : * \ * / * SCENIC O * - ***** TYE \ O \ - ORIGINAL \ \ TUNNEL \ \ NEW \ - TUNNEL \ O CASCADE \ * TUNNEL \ * STATION \ * \ * \ * - * BERNE O : \ \ GAYNOR O : : : \ : MERRITT O / / / / / NASON CREEK O \ : ORIGINAL LINE CHIWAUKUM ..O.../ .......O......./ WINTON .. ..../ / TUMWATER / \.O../ / .....O./ DRURY : / \ : \ NEW LINE : \ \.. OLD LEAVENWORTH : O.. ....................O..../ \ O CHUMSTICK / / NEW LEAVENWORTH ...../ / O......./ / PESHASTIN TO WENATCHEE (18 MILES) ______________\ NORTH / ------------------------------------------------------ | MAP OF OLD AND NEW LINES THROUGH CASCADE MOUNTAINS | ------------------------------------------------------ TO SKYKOMISH / ./ \ / HORSESHOE TUNNEL \ ./ (1511 FEET) ... \ ./ / \ \ / --- --- _\| / : : N / COREA : : ./ .........O...../ / / .../ .........../ / / ..../ . / .../ ../ .../ / ..O./ ....../ .../ .../ EMBRO / ./ ..../ ../ SCENIC O\/..../ ./ / .../ ./ \ ../ / .\ : / \ : --- WINDY POINT TUNNEL : : (1202 FEET) --- : | \ | \. | \ | \. | \.. | \. | \. | \. | \. | \. | \ | : | : | : | \ | O TYE (WELLINGTON) | : | --- | . | | | NEW . | CASCADE | TUNNEL | (41,152 FEET) . | ORIGINAL | CASCADE | . TUNNEL | (13,873 FEET) | | . | | | . | | | . | | | | . | --- | \ | : CASCADE | O TUNNEL | : STATION | \ | : | / | ./ | ../ | ./ | / | : | : | : | / | / | ......../ | ......./ | ../ | .../ | / --- / : / :/ ----------------------- / | MAP OF ORIGINAL AND | O BERNE | NEW CASCADE TUNNELS | / | | : | SWITCHBACKS | / | REMOVED FOR CLARITY | ----------------------- TO WENATCHEE TO SKYKOMISH \ \ \ \. \ \ _\| WELLINGTON (TYE) O N ./\ \ SPUR 7 6 8 / \. \ SPUR 4\ \ \ : \ \ \ \ \ - : /\ \ : \ | ../../ : : : \|..../ ..../ / / | ../ ./:/: | / ./ / : .|../ / / \../ | ./ / | / / | / / | / / SPUR 5 | ./ | / | ../ | ......./ | ./ | ORIGINAL / | CASCADE : | TUNNEL \. STEVENS PASS | (13,873 FEET) O.. | \ | : | \ | \ | \ | \ | \. | \. | \. | \.. | ... \.. | / \.. \.. | \ \... \. | \.. \..: | \... \.... | / SPUR 3 \... \..|./ \.. | \ | \ | \ 1 | \ : | --------------------------- : : - | MAP OF SWITCHBACKS AND | : : : | ORIGINAL CASCADE TUNNEL | : :\: --------------------------- :/ O CASCADE TUNNEL STATION : : : : : : : : SPUR 2 : : : : TO WENATCHEE REFERENCES ---- BOOKS --- Electric Locomotive Plan And Photo Book -- N. J. International, Inc., 1987 The Great Northern Railway -- by Charles & Dorothy Wood -- Pacific Fast Mail, 1979 The Great Northern Railway - A History -- by Ralph W. Hidy, Muriel E. Hidy, Roy V. Scott, Don L. Hofsommer -- Harvard Business School Press, 1988 Lines West -- by Charles R. Wood -- Superior Publishing Company, 1967 Railroad History 143 -- by The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society -- Harvard School of Business, 1980 Rails Across The Cascades -- by Eva Anderson -- World Publishing Company, 1944 Turbines Westward -- by Thos. R. Lee -- T. Lee Publications, 1975 Union Pacific Motive Power Review 1968-77 -- by F. Hol Wagner, Jr. and James W. Watson -- Motive Power Services, 1978 When The Steam Railroads Electrified -- by William D. Middleton -- Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1974 MAGAZINES --- Mainline Modeller, Oct 1987 -- Great Northern Electrics Part 1 Mainline Modeller, Nov 1987 -- Great Northern Electrification Part 2 Trains, Nov 1961 -- How Great Northern Conquered The Cascades Trains, Dec 1961 -- The Reason For America's Longest Tunnel Trains, Jul 1970 -- Classics Under Catenary (And Beside Third Rail) OTHER --- Cascade Division Timetable 50 (Dec 4, 1949) -- Great Northern Railway Great Northern Modernized Class Y-1 Electrics -- GNR Historical Society Great Northern's New Cascade Tunnel Construction: Part 1 -- GNRHS, 1987 Great Northern's New Cascade Tunnel Construction: Part 2 -- GNRHS, 1987 Great Northern's New Cascade Tunnel - Surveying The Route -- GNRHS, 1986 The Great Northern Railway Electrification -- Westinghouse Electric, 1929 Seattle Region Timetable 9 (Oct 25, 1987) -- Burlington Northern Wayne F. Vlasak 71500,3154 July 2, 1988