# Wellington Avalanche!



## jbwilcox (Jan 2, 2008)

I have been reading a very interesting book, "The White Cascade" by Gary Krist. It is a very detailed account of one of the greatest train disasters in the United states, the Wellington Washington Avalanche on the Great Northern's Cascade Division which occurred in 1910.

Two trains were stranded just west of the Cascade Tunnel for six days by one of the worst storms in years. One was the Seattle Express, Train # 25. The other was the Fast mail, Train # 27. Both were on a siding when a massive avalanche poured down on the trains, sweeping them into the canyon below. The exact death toll will probably never be known, since accurate passenger lists were not kept. Also, many of the workers who were trying to clear the tracks had been sleeping in the coaches. Somewhere around 100 people were killed.

They would clear one avalanche and just as fast another one would cover the tracks. The trains were staged on what was considered the safest location. 

Some interesting observations: They had 5 rotary snow plows working full time trying to clear the tracks. Rotorys could only handle snow 13 feet deep so they carried large numbers of "shovelers" to hand shovel the snow down to the level where the rotarys could then do the work. Each rotary would have one or two engines pushing it. In the Cascades the avalanches produced packed snow which was called Cascade Cement. A rotory would be backed up about 20 feet and then slammed into the face of the avalanche. They might clear 1 foot of snow each time before the blades could not cut through any more snow so the process was repeated time after time.

The snow continued to fall. They would clear one avalanche and another one would occur. It was a never ending battle. After about five days the coal supply was running low and they were scavenging coal from anyplace they could find it. There were several car loads of coal stationed a few miles from Wellington, however the rotary that was sent to get that supply broke down and was stranded.

Some of the passengers were able to hike down the track a couple of miles and then slide 1000 feet down an almost vertical slope to the Scenic Station. A very dangerous escape route.

The avalanche occurred at around 0100.

One great quote from James J. Hill, the founder of the Great Northern: "Give me enough Swedes and whiskey and I'll build a railroad to ****".

This book is full of great information obtained from survivor accounts and letters of passengers killed in the disaster.

The shovelers were paid 15 cents an hour. After several days they went on strike but the Cascade Division Superintendent, J. H. O'neill refused to listen to their demands of 25 cents an hour so many of them simply stopped working or hiked down the mountain and left.

John


----------



## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Interesting that you would mention that. I just finished writing a research paper on the Wellington Avalanche for my senior history class ( 16 week research project). I still have a copy of both papers. There's alot more books out there on the Wellington Avalanche then just "White Cascade" 
I could attach my handy work if your interested? 
Craig


----------



## jbwilcox (Jan 2, 2008)

I am interested.

I have really enjoyed reading this account of the avalanche.

John


----------



## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's my bibliography. Some of the newspaper articles are available online through your local library if they have access to newspaper archive services. The library of Congress also has some national papers available.

Craig Townsend
UIS
History 401 
Spring 2009

Secondary Source Bibliography
Anderson, Eva. Rails Across the Cascades.[/i] Wenatchee: World Publishing, 1952.

Written by the Wenatchee World newspaper columnist, this book retells the adventures of the passengers on trains #25, and #27 which were swept away by the avalanche. Composed of short articles taken from the Wenatchee World, and republished in book format. The author has little or no reference material to show where she used her sources although in the introduction she states that her quotes are directly from the Wenatchee World newspaper. This is one of the first stories of the Wellington avalanche and sensationalizes the troubles the passengers experienced. 

“Avalanche Sweeps Train From Track.” Galveston[/i] Daily News.[/i] March 2, 1910. 

An out of state article the day after the avalanche shows the wide spread knowledge of the event. This short newspaper report gives a few keys about the Wellington avalanche and suggests that it used telegraph reports out of Scenic for the basis of its article. Scenic is located down the mountain and was the headquarters for the recovery effort. This newspaper article does get one fact wrong by saying that Superintendent O’Neil’s private car was coupled on to the Seattle Express. According to other sources, and eye witness reports O’Neil’s car was on a private spur located above the trains. But O’Neil’s car was also swept down the mountainside with the two other trains. The writing of this article focuses more on the factual information of the avalanche. The article is informing the Galveston readers, rather then trying to sell a newspaper.

Burwash, Martin. The Great[/i] Adventure: The Railroad Legacy of Steven’s Pass.[/i] Arvada, Colorado: Fox Publications, 1998. 

Martin Burwash is a railroad photographer who has captured the look of modern day railroading in his series of photographs taken on the “Hill.” Burwash provides the reader with the railroaders prospective of what it means to be a railroader on Steven’s Pass. Along with his photographs Burwash includes first hand accounts of railroaders in the 1990’s who deal with the snow in the same way that railroaders dealt with snow in 1910. While Wellington is not the focus of the book, it highlights the struggle to get trains over Steven’s Pass. Burwash introduces a new source in the Wellington Avalanche by discussing the discovery of a letter by Ned Topping, a victim of the avalanche. Although Burwash doesn’t include a discussion of the letter and what it means to researchers, he points out it is a newly found artifact that may help the study of Wellington Avalanche.




Duncan, Don. Washington: The First One Hundred Years 1889-1989.[/i] Seattle: Seattle Times Company, 1989.

Don Duncan writes primarily in a short essay format that is used in newspaper articles. The overview of Washington state history includes mention of the Wellington Avalanche. This brief description is followed by a mislabeled photograph. The photograph included in this source is mislabeled as the contents of the photograph are unrelated to the disaster. Duncan’s primary source for this entire collection is the Seattle Times Newspaper. Duncan’s focus is to inform the public about the railway disaster, and its place in Washington State history. 

“Eighty Four Dead.” New York[/i] Daily Tribune.[/i] March 3, 1910. 

The New York Daily report focuses primarily on first hand accounts from Wellington, along with Great Northern reports. The newspaper report notes that the eyewitness accounts might not be accurate due to the hysteria, and that reliable reports might not be available for some time due to the telegraph wires being down. The Daily Tribune also attributed a quote from surviving passenger John Rogers. The verification of the accuracy of the quote is questionable. The newspaper also attributes another quote to John Wentzel, who was the first person to report the news of the avalanche to Scenic. Wentzel’s original quote “All wiped out” has been embellished and expanded into a longer quote by the Daily Tribune. This expansion of the quote was noted by Krist in his book and was considered quite common for newspapers of the era.

“84 In Buried Cars; Few Can Be Alive.” New York Times.[/i] March 3, 1910.

The New York Times report on March 3rd had one of the most accurate accounts of the total dead. They reported 84 dead, which is close to the 87 dead as the unofficial report. Although the Times may have published a number close to the actual number of dead, the number is still in question today. This report is more accurate then reports of 118 dead or even the 100 dead reported by the Times on March 2nd. The article also introduces the idea that passengers were scared of the suffocating in the tunnel, while in fact the passengers requested to have the trains pulled into the tunnel. The argument of the source is to follow-up on the news story from the day before.

Hult, Ruby. Northwest Disaster: Avalanche and Fire.[/i] Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1960.

Ruby wrote the first official history of the Wellington disaster, and her work is the most mentioned and quoted source in many of the secondary sources. The book has no footnotes, or endnotes so the reliability of her sources has been questioned. Ruby notes that she only used two sources for her entire book. The first source was oral interviews by the still living survivors. Her second more reliable source is the certified copy of the trial “Topping vs. Great Northern.” The argument Hult makes throughout this book is the blame for the disaster is entirely the Great Northern’s fault. 


Krist, Gary. The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche[/i]. New York, New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2007.

Gary Krist wrote the most recent work on the Wellington Avalanche. Krist writes from a fresh perspective, and regards the loss of life as an accident. Although Krist does not entirely blame the Great Northern for the lost of life, he points out that the company officials could have tried harder to save the passengers. Krist uses many of the same sources that Hult used her book, but Krist introduces into the discussion the science of an avalanche. Krist argues that the Great Northern practice of burning timber in the summer contributed to the cause of the avalanche, but was not entirely to blame. 

Lange, Greg. "Train disaster at Wellington kills 96 on March 1, 1910." History Link: The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. Available from http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5127. Internet; accessed 14 March 2009.

Greg Lange provides an overview of the Wellington avalanche. In his descriptive narrative, Lange reminds the readers that the newspaper reports were not always accurate, or reliable. Lange uses secondary sources to write this short essay. Lange views the avalanche as a result of clear cutting above the mountainside, which made the area vulnerable to snow slides. 

“List of Dead Grows With Rescue.” Centralia[/i] Daily Chronicle. [/i]March 3, 1910. 

This newspaper article is one local report of the avalanche. Although the newspaper account does not discuss where or what sources they used to write the article, I would suspect that it is based primarily on circumstantial evidence and/or other newspaper accounts. With in the article the newspaper quotes a passenger as saying the train was backed into the Cascade Tunnel and then brought back into Wellington after a slide blocked the train into the tunnel. Although this never happened, it was suggested by the passengers as a means to prevent an avalanche from striking the train but was not acted upon by the railway because it was deemed infeasible. It seems that the author(s) are trying to exaggerate the news story. The subtitle of the article also seems to suggest this by using the specific words that would invoke fear into the readers.

“Rescuers Trail Blood of Victims.” Centralia[/i] Daily Chronicle.[/i] March 4, 1910.

The follow up article to the previous day’s news report about the Wellington avalanche and seems to be more factual in the reporting. The title of the article suggests that the newspaper would be sensationalizing the report, but the second day’s newspaper report had more information that is proven accurate in the secondary sources, such as Holt and Krist’s book. In Krist’s book, the proof of rescuers using the trail of blood to find victims is substantiated by an eye witness account. It seems that the newspaper is trying to create a more accurate portrayal of the scene, rather then sensationalize the news story. The newspaper does not directly quote an eyewitness account, but the facts seem to support the article, thus giving this article more creditability.

Roe, Joann. Stevens Pass: The Story of Railroading and Recreation in the North Cascades.[/i] Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press, 2002.

This work discusses the impact of the Great Northern on the development of the Steven’s Pass area. Throughout this book, the author mentions the importance of railroading and recreation. Without the railroad to develop the area, Roe argues, it would still be wilderness. Roe uses multiple sources for her book which includes various primary source letters. Although the focus is mainly on the development of Steven’s Pass, her chapter on Wellington focus mainly on the railroaders who survived the avalanche. She also briefly points out that the Great Northern was not the only railroad to experience deadly avalanches in the winter of 1910.

“Slide Buries Train; 20 Dead, 25 Missing.” New York Times[/i]. March 2, 1910.

The initial report by the New York Times is a hesitant report about the avalanche in Wellington. This report gives little detail about the accident other then the initial reports from the Great Northern Railway. The times notes that the telegraph is not connected to Wellington, so the information is bare. Unlike many of the other newspaper accounts this article is not trying to sensationalize the news story, or scare the public. 

“Snow Bank is Tomb.” The Nebraska State Journal.[/i] March 5 1910.

This newspaper report was written based upon reports from eyewitness, and Great Northern officials in Seattle. The report suggests that 10 people have been pulled alive from the wreckage. The newspaper article notes that this information is coming from Seattle, suggesting that the information is from the local newspapers. As the article continues, the paper notes that the Great Northern offices have not been able to confirm the reports, nor has Wellington been able to communicate with the outside world. The newspaper is trying to create a balanced report to inform the readership. This newspaper is primarily using the Seattle papers for it’s reporting, which have been proven inaccurate by other primary sources. 

“Ten Persons Taken Alive From Drifts.” Kentucky[/i] News.[/i] March 5, 1910

At the beginning of this report was the bold notation of “story not confirmed.” The article is based upon the reports of Seattle area newspapers, and it notes that the information might not be accurate. By using the local reports this newspaper makes a critical error by announcing that 118 people are dead. Although the Great Northern at this time supported the death toll it was an overestimation when all of the bodies were recovered. The report also notes that the paper received photographs of the accident. These photographs are not published, but the newspaper used them in writing their report. The newspaper simply seems to be reporting and informing their readers about this deadly avalanche, rather then publishing inaccurate, unreliable news stories.

“Two Great Northern Trains Swept Down Mountain By Huge Avalanche.” The Salt Lake Herald--Republican.[/i] March 2, 1910.

One of the few newspaper articles to have an accompanying photograph of the Great Northern plow trains. This photograph provides the reader with a scale of the mountainous terrain, and the volume of snow. This newspaper article gives a summary of the Wellington Avalanche, without sensationalizing the news. The Salt Lake Herald report is primary composed of dispatches from the Great Northern office in Everett. The newspaper article also reports 100 people dead. Different newspaper accounts and conflicting reports from the Great Northern all have a range in the low 100’s so the Herald is conservatively reporting 100 dead. The paper also reports that some of the dead are residents of Wellington. Depending on how you approach this, it could be true because the railroad section crews lived at Wellington during the winter time. 

“Two Trains Lost in Avalanche.” The Ogden Standard. [/i]March 2, 1910. 

The Ogden newspaper report is based on eyewitness accounts along with information from the Seattle papers. This newspaper published many factual information although this paper has like many other out of state newspapers a small error in reporting that the private car of O’Neil was coupled on to the end of the Spokane Express. This information must have been distributed by the Seattle newspapers and so the national papers reported this information. This report also mentions the request by the passengers to move into the Cascade Tunnel. Some of the other newspapers reported that the trains moved into the tunnel and then were brought back out again. The Ogden Standard gives an informative and descriptive account, with some factual errors. 


Wandell, Becky. The Iron Goat Trail: A Guidebook.[/i] Seattle: The Mountaineers, 1999.

This short guidebook is a trail guide over the former right-of-way of the Great Northern. Wandell integrates the story of Wellington into an interactive trail map. Vivid descriptions of the site are the main focus of this guidebook. No secondary or primary sources are noted in the guide. The lack of source material should discredit some of the information that is provided. Wandell does use some primary source material including sections of letters written by deceased victims. But Wandell never gives credit, or publishes a bibliography to authenticate the sources. 

Wood, Charles. Lines West: A Pictorial History of the Great Northern Railway Operations and Motive Power from 1887 to[/i] 1967.[/i] Seattle, Washington: Superior Publishing, 1967. 

Mainly a pictorial history the Great Northern, Wood provides a wide variety of photographs of the Great Northern and the Cascade mountain range. This photographs range from railroaders in action, to structural photographs. Wood briefly mentions the Wellington Avalanche in his book but offers no perspective on the events. Woods includes photographs of the Great Northern in its endless ba


----------



## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's what is called in the history field a historiographical essay. Basically its a history of the history was written and how it has evolved over time. 
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/historiography

Craig Townsend
History 401
Spring 2009
Historiography Essay

The Study of Wellington, Washington.

As the words â€œAll Wiped Outâ€� reached the ears of Skykomish from the mouth of John Wentzel a Great Northern Railway maintenance of way worker, those in the railroad town, 18 miles away from Wellington knew something was drastically wrong[1] at the town one thousand feet above them. After John Wentzel had recovered from his exhausting trip on foot along the railway right-of-way down the mountainside from Wellington to Skykomish, Washington the word of a deadly avalanche reached the outside world.[2] At approximately 1:42 AM on March 1st, 1910 a snow pack came loose above the town of Wellington wiping two trains off their tracks and into the valley below and sending eighty seven people to their death. For the prior week two westbound trains, number 25 and number 27, had been stalled at Wellington waiting for the Great Northern to clear the snow filled tracks between Wellington and Scenic in order to bring the trains off the mountainside. Although Scenic and Wellington were separated by a mere one thousand vertical feet, it took over 10 miles of railway track to cover the distance.[3] For a week snow had been falling at a continuous rate filling the railway tracks faster than the railroad workers could clear them off. Because of this blockage, both trains were stuck on the mountain ledge and would suffer a deadly peril after an avalanche destroyed westbound trains 25, the Spokane Express and number 27, the Fast Mail. Although the news of the Wellington Avalanche spread across the nation, it quickly died off as the bodies of the victims were recovered. This local history would have been lost as the few remaining survivors and witnesses died if it had not been for the research and in-depth studies of historians. The study of the Wellington Avalanche has developed and changed since the first reports of the deadly avalanche reached the telegraph wires and the printing presses of newspapers. First developed as informative news to the general public the scholarship on the Wellington Avalanche changed and developed into an argument that blamed the Great Northern, then radically changed course by highlighting the natural disaster and provided contrasting views on the impact of the Wellington Avalanche, but scholarship continued in a full circle to once again inform the local population of Washington about the great adventure that took place over of Stevens Pass on March 1st, 1910. 
From the time the first published report hit the newspaper printing presses, scholarship on the Wellington Avalanche began. The initial newspaper reporting provided primarily an introduction to the topic. On March 2nd both the national and local newspapers began to report the news of the deadly avalanche. As these papers flashed the headlines â€œGreat Northern Trains Swept Down Mountain By Huge Avalancheâ€�[4] newspapers began to sensationalize the events that took place at Wellington. Newspapers have a specific purpose and process in which to sell the news and inform the general public. Because of this, the information coming from the initial newspaper reports was not always accurate, even if the newspaper had access to accurate information. The initial reporting of the news across the country created a demand for follow up. 
As more information became available a distinct shift began in some newspapers. The New York Times [/i]provides an example of the abrupt shift in reporting of factual information. On March 2nd, The New York Times[/i] reports that an avalanche had struck the town of Wellington, and that possibly 20 people could be dead.[5] On the very next day, March 3rd, The New York Times[/i] increases the number of dead from 20 people to 84.[6] The increase in the number of victims did not necessary create a change in scholarship, but The New York Times[/i] introduced the idea that passengers could have been spared their death if they had not been scared of the Cascade Tunnel.[7] According to later works of scholarship, this information by The New York Times[/i] was false, and in fact passengers requested that the train be moved into the Cascade Tunnel.[8] 
While The New York Times[/i] was reporting their version of the Wellington Avalanche, other newspapers across the nation were more skeptical about reporting perceived factual information. Only four days later when the Nebraska State Journal[/i] printed its title, â€œSnow Bank is Tombâ€� it also published a note to the readers saying information may not be accurate.[9] The Kentucky News[/i] is even more open in its reporting by having as a subtitle the words â€œstory not confirmed.â€�[10] Even as the Kentucky News[/i] was notifying the readers that the information was not confirmed, they were spreading false information to the readers.[11] The New York Daily Tribune[/i] article on March 3rd seems to take a multifaceted approach. The New York Daily Tribune[/i] reported that information may not correct because the â€œtelegraph wires were downâ€� and that people may have been suffering from hysteria.[12] However, it continued to publish information that might not be one hundred percent accurate as many of the national newspapers were basing their writing on the reports from the Seattle area newspapers. 
Local newspapers took a different approach to the Wellington Avalanche. The readership of the Seattle area papers would have been more familiar with the story of the two trains trapped on the mountainside. The Centralia Daily Chronicle [/i]was one local newspaper that tried to invoke the imagination of the readers by publishing the title â€œRescuers Trail Blood of Victims.â€�[13] Although the title of the local report would have captured the imagination of the readers, the newspaper was reporting factual information. Other reports by the same paper, including the publication the previous day, were not factual with the information. Both the national and local papers that were published between March 2nd and March 5th have similar approaches to the scholarship of the Wellington Avalanche. These local newspapers were similar to the national papers, although limited with facts and information, were able to inform the general public about the Wellington Avalanche.
As initial reports from the newspapers began to die down, and the Wellington disaster began to fade from the national spot light, new writers entered the scene. In 1960, Ruby El Hult published the first historical book about the Wellington Avalanche.[14] In her book Northwest Disaster: Avalanche and Fire[/i], Hult finds the Great Northern at fault and lays the blame on Superintendent Oâ€™Neil the man in charge of the snow clearing operations. 
Hultâ€™s focus on the Great Northern is similar to that of Eva Anderson. Although Anderson published her book in 1952, it was not as harsh on the Great Northern as Hultâ€™s publication was. Anderson was trying to remind the readers in her book about the troubles the Great Northern had in 1910 in getting trains across Stevens Pass. As she informed her readers, she was laying the blame on in ability of the Great Northern to safety escort passengers over the Cascade Mountains.[15] These initial works of scholarship on the Wellington Avalanche created a new set of information for future scholars to study.
In Martin Burwashâ€™s book The Great [/i]Adventure, published in 1998 he combines modern photographs of trains fighting the winter snow, with legacy and history of the Wellington Avalanche. Through the use of his photography skills, Burwash allows the reader to understand the purpose behind the legacy that the Great Northern still has on modern day railroaders. Burwash attributes the avalanche to the snowy conditions that took place that winter. The Great Northern was not at fault for the accident according to Burwash but the Wellington Avalanche caused the Great Northern to examine the railroadâ€™s purpose and very existence on Stevens Pass. According to Burwash the legacy of the Great Northern in the Cascade Mountains was defined on the night of the March 1st. 
Stevens Pass has its defining moment at 1:42AM on March 1, 1910. Ninety-six people were killed by the hands of a million snowflakes loosely packed about two stalled trains in the town of Wellington. Once again, winterâ€™s snow assumed the role of a harsh dictator, enforcing laws of its own making with deadly strictness.[16] 

Burwash continues his argument by explaining that the Great Northern had a choice after that night; â€œprepare adequately for winterâ€™s fury or die at its handsâ€�[17]. Because the Great Northern would continue to battle the winterâ€™s snow, it created and defined a legacy of those railroad men of the Great Northern. The Great Northern shifted its prospective from â€œwhat was once viewed as the conquest of a mountain grade became the story of steps taken to limit the damage inflicted by the beautiful winter canopy.â€�[18] Burwashâ€™s argument about the impact of the Wellington Avalanche implied long term as well as short term consequences. Those long term consequences were explained by later scholars. 
For example, Joann Roe argues that the Wellington Avalanche changed the Stevens Pass area from a small knit railroad community into a large recreational area that continues to strive today. The book Roe authored, Stevens[/i] Pass: Gateway to Seattle highlights the stories of â€œrailroading and recreation in the North Cascades.â€�[19][/b] [/i]Roe makes a case that if the avalanche had not destroyed the town of Wellington, and forced the Great Northern to modify its route through the Cascade Mountains; railroading would have created the typical boom and bust cycle of typical railroad towns.[20] Instead as railroading slowly moved away but continued to be important to the commerce of Stevens Pass, recreation took its place as the important revenue stream the mountain towns that the Great Northern had created. Roe writes that â€œthe Great Northern Railroad was a catalyst for the development of â€¦at least three fair-sized towns along Stevenâ€™s Passâ€"Index and Skykomishâ€¦.and Leavenworth.â€�[21] The railroad provided a viable means for the citizens of western Washington to travel up into the Cascade Mountains and help formed a useful transportation system that brought with it tourists, and skiers to the former railroad towns.[22] Charles Wood also takes a similar approach in two of his books about the Great Northern entitled Lines West: A Pictorial History of the Great Northern Railway Operations and Motive Power from 1887 to[/i] 1967, [/i]and The Great Northern Railway: A Pictorial Study.[/i] Wood develops an argument similar to Roe. The Great Northern according to Wood lead to the development of the Stevens Pass area, allowing other forms of businesses to follow suit. The Wellington Avalanche is just one part of the story of the development by the Great Northern in the Stevens Pass area.
Prior to the publication of Gary Kristâ€™s national book â€œThe White Cascadeâ€�[/i] began to bring the Wellington Avalanche back into the attention of the national spotlight, local historians had been trying to inform the public about the one of the nationâ€™s deadliest avalanches. These historians and scholars are not trying to prove or disprove some of the theories about the Wellington Avalanche, but rather let the public become informed and allow the public to discover the rich history of the Wellington Avalanche and its role in Washington


----------



## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's what is called a primary source analysis. I basically took one source and examined it and then developed a historical narrative about the Wellington Avalanche.
I hope this all makes sence. If not let me know and I can explain better.
Craig Townsend
History 401
Spring 2009
Primary Source Analysis

Winter’s Fury

Investigating the Wellington avalanche today would yield little information if one chooses to hike the Iron Goat Trail[1], or explore the remains of the town of Wellington. The few clues that are scattered across the landscape provide slight information about the dangers experienced by railroad men during the winter of 1910. High up in the Cascade Mountain range, Wellington was a railroad town that existed for the sole purpose of getting Great Northern trains over the Cascade Mountains. On the morning of March 1st, 1910 the town of Wellington was changed forever. The transformation from a quiet railroad town into national headlines was one that the Great Northern was neither expecting nor prepared for. The cause of this instant transformation was an avalanche that swept off two trains from the rocky ledge called Wellington. As newspapers flashed the headlines “Slide Buries Train; 20 Dead, 25 Missing”[2] the public became aware of the troubles of the Great Northern had been having fighting snow on the Cascade Mountains for the past week. But as 1910 came to a close, and the bodies of the victims were recovered, the Great Northern quickly tried to erase the memories of Wellington by renaming the mountain town to Tye. The Great Northern’s method of changing the town’s name might have erased the public’s knowledge of the Wellington Avalanche, but the record of the avalanche would live on through the King County Superior Court Records. The King County Superior Court record of the trial, Topping vs. Great Northern would preserve the history of the Wellington Avalanche for generations.[3] The trial testimony of Topping vs. Great Northern has provided researchers and writers with a rich historical narrative of the events of late February and early March of 1910. The testimony provided in the trial Topping vs. Great Northern provides the historical researcher with the opportunity to learn more about the daily struggles on the part of railway men, who risked their lives every day to get trains over the Cascade Mountain range despite all the risks to both life and limb. Without this testimony the exploits of the railroad men fighting the snow storm that took the lives of 87 men, women, and children would be lost to the few remaining rusty spikes and baggage car hooks that are slowly rusting away in the bottom of the gully, one thousand feet below the former town site of Wellington, Washington. 
The many times before that snow slides would block the railroad line over the Cascade Mountains, the men of the Great Northern lead by “Snow King” Harrington would successfully battle the elements and unblock the lines to ensure trains would be moved up and over the mountain. Alongside Trainmaster Harrington, Superintendent James O’Neil had successfully choreographed the safe passage of over 1,350 trains over Steven’s Pass without the loss of a single life prior to the accident of 1910.[4] “During O’Neil’s tenure as superintendent there had remarkably few major line closures….an impressive record.”[5] But the winter storm in February of 1910 would be one that men and machine would not be able to battle against.
Never before had a winter storm been as powerful and relentless as the storm the come blowing in late February of 1910, for the men of the Great Northern this storm would produce great rewards and failures almost instantly. The testimony of Topping vs. Great Northern provides a record of the struggles faced by the railway men. Rotary Engineer John Meath recalled in the trial testimony to not having slept, nor eaten more then twice during an entire thirty hour period.[6] The lack of sleep and food was not the only problem faced by the men of the Great Northern.
Snow was the major problem faced the railroaders. As the railroad rotary snowplow crews plowed through the drifting snow, the rotary locomotives would be able clear the trains in a manner of hours.[7] The thirteen foot high blades made quick work of the drifting snow which had settled on the tracks, but when snow slides buried the tracks higher then thirteen feet, men with shovels would be required. 
Snow slides thirteen feet or higher were common during the winter months and the Great Northern had tried to prepare for the winter wrath by hiring temporary snow shovelers at a rate of fifteen cents an hour.[8] The snow shovelers would dig out the snow to a depth of thirteen feet, at which depth the rotary snowplows could begin the work of clearing the snow. Trainmaster Harrington recalled in during his testimony that “there were times when we could not gain a point with shoveling, on account of the wind; the wind was blowing faster than we could move by hand.”[9] Despite its best efforts many of the shovelers walked off the job after facing grueling hours shoveling snow and seeing the poor working conditions that they struggled with.[10] After the hired snow shovelers walked off the job, it would be up to the rotary crews to dig down the snow slides to a level of thirteen feet. The railroad men during the winter time had one choice to make; “prepare adequately for winters fury or die at its hands.[11] So the railroad men shoveled snow in preparation for the work of the rotaries.
Once the men reached a level of thirteen feet above the rail head, the rotaries could begin to buck against the snow. Rotary engineer J.C. Wright described during the testimony how the rotary would bite into the hard packed snow. “You back (the rotary) away from the face of the slide, probably eight or ten or fifteen feet, and then when you are ready….(the engineer) just pushes the rotary against the face of the slide as hard as he can.”[12] The snow was so hard packed that distance gained against the snow was measured in inches, rather then feet.[13] Snow slides that blocked the railway line between Scenic and Wellington could be anywhere from a few hundred feet long to over 1500 feet long. 
The railroad crews would battle against these slides continually until they broke through the other side. The time it took to break through these slides would depend not only on the depth and length of the slide, but also the number of rocks and trees imbedded into the snow. By the time a slide was cleared 24 to 36 hours after the crews had first encountered the slide, other slides could have blocked the previously cleared tracks. The trial testimony records that at Windy Point, a few miles west of Wellington on the evening of February 26th, a snow slide came down in the exact same location that a slide had just been cleared from a few hours prior, frustrating the railway men who had just spent twelve hours clearing a pervious slide.
Although winter in the Cascade Mountains was a time of hard work, great rewards there was also times of recreation. As winter approached and snow shovelers, rotary engineers, and other railroad workers descended on Wellington and increased the population of the railroad town. The times of hard work during the winter were eased by the jovial nature of the ‘rails’ that lived in the crowded town of Wellington. The strangers to Wellington would be treated to mock trials in the kangaroo court in the Wellington Depot were one such incident lead the ‘mock’ arrest and trial of a courage hunter.[14] Other recipients of the railroaders joking nature was the local hotel owner W.R. Bailets who always seemed to be the scheming for ways to wring money from the railroaders.[15] Telegraph operator Basil Sherlock recalled that “the only amusement we had was manufactured right there in Wellington.”[16] 
As the railroad men continued to struggle against the increasingly overwhelming odds, they did so not only for the passengers trapped at Wellington, but also for their own pride. John Rogers, a survivor and passenger on train number 25 stuck at Wellington recalled that the railroad men “believed we would (get through); and we would have, if we could have stopped the snow from falling. But as they would gain one victory….here would come another heavy fall of snow and slides.”[17] 
Using the court proceedings of Topping vs. Great Northern as a history of the Wellington avalanche would yield great factual information about the horrors and problems faced by the railroad men and passengers during the week they were trapped at Wellington. This alone would not give enough information to thoroughly investigate and study the avalanche that took 87 lives. The legal document provides a good starting point for the historian to begin studying the Wellington avalanche, and provides detailed explanations about the daily struggles the railroaders faced in the mountains. The court document does not provide an overview of the events; rather it gives a very detailed view. In order to effectively understand the Topping vs. Great Northern case, the historian needs to understand how the various figures related and the trial records do not provide that. This primary source is a useful tool when used with other primary sources, but does not stand well alone. A trial testimony is useful in providing a legal document about the Great Northern and the development after the Wellington avalanche, but it does not provide a detailed stand alone account because the relationships between the witnesses are unclear. The individual witnesses in the trial provide authentic testimony but without knowledge of what the individuals were doing during the winter of 1910 it is useless. 
The Wellington avalanche had remained a small part of local history until recently when author Gary Krist published a new book detailing the story of the Wellington avalanche. Prior to Krist’s book few historical studies had investigated the story of Wellington. Among Krist’s many sources he relies on to investigate the Wellington avalanche is the trial of Topping vs. Great Northern. Krist uses the trial to prove that the Great Northern was not at blame for one of the nations most deadly train accidents. This interpretation of the source is vastly different from that of Ruby El Hult, who published the first historical book about the Wellington avalanche in 1960. Although Hult and Krist use the same source they have radically different conclusions. Hult uses the trial to prove her point that the Great Northern was at fault for the deadly avalanche. These two vastly different opinions show how the interpretation of the source can change when the historical investigation develops a particular viewpoint.
The trial testimony gives vivid accounts of the locomotive engineers, rotary engineers, and the other railroad workers who worked for endless days to free two trains from the grip of winter. The battle between men and machine against the weather continues to this day as the predecessor to the Great Northern continues to travel across Steven’s Pass. Each winter the men and machines of modern railroading continue the legacy that was placed before them in the aftermath of the Wellington Avalanche. Although the titanic struggles of winter have been lessoned by the increasing ability of men and machines to fight the wayward snow, the grip of winter continues to fight back and affect the daily lives of railroaders who work on Steven’s Pass. 
Bibliography

Burwash, Martin. The Great[/i] Adventure: The Railroad Legacy of Steven’s Pass.[/i] Arvada, Colorado: Fox Publications, 1998. 
Krist, Gary. The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche[/i]. New York, New York. Henry Holt & Company. 2007.
“Slide Buries Train; 20 Dead, 25 Missing.” New York Times[/i]. March 2, 1910.
[1]The Iron Goat Trail is a hiking trail created on the old railroad bed after the Great Northern abandoned the line in 1927 and travels through the former town of Wellington. 

[2]Headline from The New York Times[/i] on March 2, 1910. 

[3]A copy of the King County Supreme Court proceedings, along with part of the Great Northern’s legal file remains available to historians. The Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, Washington holds both the original documents relating to the trial, and bound photocopies of the original documents. Ned Topping had perished in the avalanche leaving behind a five year old boy. This child’s grandfather was the one who brought forth the claim against the Great Northern.

[4] Topping vs. Great Northern, King County Superior Court Record. 

[5] Gary Krist, The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche [/i](New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2007), 17.

[6] Topping vs. Great Northern.


----------



## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

Is there a way to attach a PDF on this website? If so I have saved most of the newspaper clippings as PDF's if your interested in reading them. 
Edit: I just realized that my copy and pasting of the documents was right. For some reason it didn't like the footnotes or quotation marks. If you can't read them I'll send them via PDF.

Craig


----------



## jbwilcox (Jan 2, 2008)

That was really interesting. Thanks for posting all the information.

I did not know that they were using Electric Engines at that time. I guess they developed them because the smoke got so bad in the tunnel that engineers as well as passengers were on the verge of passing out from the gasses. That was one of the main arguments for not moving the trains back into the tunnel.

It seems that O'neill did everything he could. 

John


----------



## SteveF (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By bnsfconductor on 06/01/2009 1:58 PM
Here's my bibliography. Some of the newspaper articles are available online through your local library if they have access to newspaper archive services. The library of Congress also has some national papers available.

Craig Townsend
UIS
History 401 
Spring 2009

Secondary Source Bibliography
Anderson, Eva. _Rails Across the Cascades._ Wenatchee: World Publishing, 1952.

Written by the Wenatchee World newspaper columnist, this book retells the adventures of the passengers on trains #25, and #27 which were swept away by the avalanche. Composed of short articles taken from the Wenatchee World, and republished in book format. The author has little or no reference material to show where she used her sources although in the introduction she states that her quotes are directly from the Wenatchee World newspaper. This is one of the first stories of the Wellington avalanche and sensationalizes the troubles the passengers experienced. 




I grew up reading Eva Anderson's columns in the Wenatchee Daily World, and knew Eva a bit. She was a friend of the family and I was always fascinated by her stories, most of which never saw print, unfortunately. To say that she had a lot of information about the Wellington Disaster (as it was known in Wenatchee) is to understate the obvious. She knew almost all of the rescue party personally. The information she published was from first hand interviews of the folks involved. Eva did have a flair for the sensational, which is why I like her so much.


----------

