The plans for what would become the Ballard Traction and Navigation Company Railway (BT&NCRy) date to 1890 when the Northern Pacific took over the famed Seattle, Lakeside, and Eastern (SL&E) which had to hoped to become a major player in the transcontinental sector. The SL&E was an important link to the city of Ballard, and it was loudly decried in an edition of the Ballard Journal "The Northern Pacific a stranglehold and monopoly on freight and passenger traffic in our fair city!"
Soon the outcry became so, that a group of local businessmen founded the Ballard Steamship Navigation and Packet Company, with the idea of turning Ballard into the shipping capital of the Puget Sound. This company lasted until 1891, when it was recognized into the Ballard Traction and Navigation Company. With a new board of directors backed by the famous timber Baron C. D. Everingham, the new company intended to "Cross this great land in as northerly fashion as is humanly possible" and "Establish eastern routes to the Orient for the purposes of trade and commerce". The idea was to establish the sea routes first, and the railway would follow.
The Railway Articles of Incorporation were signed on June 16th, 1903 and the BT&NCRy was formed. It should be noted that by this time the Navigation part of the name was a misnomer as the companies only ship, the side wheeler SS Alaska sank on it's launching and burned to the waterline on May 8th, 1899. The forlorn hulk was left to rot in the mud, the company received the insurance for the vessel. The money from the Insurance claim was used to fund the party for the driving of the first spike in the mud and filth of East Ballard Harbor. Work on the railway began the next day, June 17th.
The route chosen was done more out of spite to the Northern Pacific then any engineering genius. There was already a ready interchange with the Great Northern at East Ballard, so every effort was made to secure right-of-way and interchange traffic with The Route of the Empire Builder.
The first decision made by Chief Engineer Ronald Seitz was to bypass the city center of Seattle completely, and instead head straight west for the Cascades. Original plans called for BT&NCRy trains to arrive in grand fashion in the yet uncompleted King Street Station to points east and south. However, the Great Northern already had plans to lay track to the station and Seitz decided he could not wait for it to be built and instead rerouted the line south east through Salmon Bay, then east to the shores of Lake Washington. There, a rail ferry would transport trains and cargo across Lake Washington to the city of Kirkland.
The Northern Pacific, following the old SL&E chose to head north around the top of Lake Washington and head to Snoqualmie in a more northerly direction.
Work was not swift. The first miles from East Ballard to Salmon Bay took a year and a half. Labor disputes, community opposition and terrible weather plagued the building crews. By May 1905 the railway had just passed 62nd Ave NE and were nearing the shores of Lake Washington. Ironically, the Hill Line's King Street Station had opened as the gateway to the Pacific Northwest on May 10th, 1906. Two more years elapsed as the ferry terminals were built and during this time Seitz decreed that the line could not continued west until a "secure and established marine route of navigation and terminals are established."
The line west was continued on November 3rd, 1908. It would take seven more hard years for the railroad to reach Snoqualime via Redmond, Sammamish, and Fall City. Irish, Italian, Finish, Swedish, Indian and Black workers cut savagely through the land. Dynamite was the preferred method of setting the grade and one newspaper estimated a blast could be heard every 45 seconds during daylight hours. Finally the road was in the shadows of the mighty Cascade Range. There worked stopped, Seitz declaring the Cascades "impassable" and finding a route would be "Financially and physically impossible". When it was mentioned the Milwaukee Road, Great Northern and Northern Pacific had built through the Cascades Seitz would wave his hand and change the subject.
The once proud engineer was a broken man, known now more for his nervous ticks and habit of diving for cover at imaginary dynamite explosions then the route that would keep his name alive. He announced his retirement two days after work on the line was stopped. He died the next day after leaping over a forth floor balcony in a Seattle skid row hotel to avoid an explosion of dynamite in the lobby that didn't exist. He was 73.
It was decided to hold a Last Spike ceremony in Snoqaulime and send Raymond Edmonds, the new Chief Engineer east to Portland, Maine to see about building from the eastern terminus. Edmonds was never seen, nor heard from again. The last spike, one of more then a million laid was, driven home on October 30th, 1915. A sign pointing west proclaimed "46.9 Miles to East Ballard".
As the railroad was driving it's last spike, building the long awaited Ballard Locks was at a fever pitch. These locks opened commerce from Lake Union and Lake Washington to Puget Sound via the Washington Ship Canal. Workers from the BT&NCRy flocked in droves to ready employment. The railroad hauled men and supplies, turning over it's first and only profit in 1916. Stockholders were urged to invest money not only in the railway, but in the locks as well. The Company purchased it's own rail ferry, the Queen of Puget Sound and had buyers out looking for ocean going vessels for use through the locks.
Rail ferry Queen of Puget Sound on it's Maiden Voyage, 1916
It was hoped the wealth of Seattle could be had by transferring ship cargoes to rail. It was also in 1916 an agreement with the Great Northern was finally brokered for trackage and interchange rights. All was looking well for the "Standard Railway of the Pacific Northwest".
By this time the railroad rostered seven powerful locomotives, named for area cities, Indian Chiefs, Engineers, and Rivers. They were all oil burning engines of the latest design 4-4-0 for lighter work, 4-6-0 for heavy work. The East Ballard docks had it's own 0-6-0 switcher, and Salmon Bay to the Lake Washington Ferry Slip was worked by it's own 3-truck Heisler.
BT&NCRy #20 and crew Salmon Bay, Washington June 1924
A daily passenger train The Northwestern Limited ran between East Ballard and Snoqualmie, giving a direct connection to the Northern Pacific and it's famed North Coast Limited. The Great Northern ran local service from East Ballard to King Street Station.
The Northwestern Limited arriving Snoqualmie, 1917
It was not to be. Following the opening of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in 1917, rail revenues plunged and forced the sale of the railways rail ferry. Constant washouts drove maintenance costs up. Ferry operation was sporadic, forcing the end of through passenger train service in 1918. The railways saving grace was the Seattle Lighting Company's gasification plant, which demanded a steady stream of coal. Even this was taken way when the Northern Pacific took over shipment for the Gas Company. The year 1929 marked the stock market crash, and the railways first bankruptcy. Following a bailout from the Federal Government, the railroad ceased operations west of Lake Washington, ceased all passenger traffic and only worked local industry between East Ballard and 62 Ave NE. The Seitz Extension was torn up for scrap in 1930.
There was no grand ending to this railroad with such grand plans. The building of the Seitz Extention is considered by many to be the railroads worst decision. By going head to head with the Northern Pacific without the capital needed for such an endvor, the railroad was fated for failure east of Lake Washington from the start. By 1930 it was obvious there was little future for the BT&NCRy. The last train ran the length of the line westbound on April 13th, 1936. The three steam locomotives were placed in storage on the Ballard waterfront, the other locomotives were sold at auction, along with all rolling stock possessed by the railroad. Even the Galena, first coach to cross Lake Washington was sold for a paltry $1,200.
The BT&NCo remained a business entity through World War II, and used it's savings to maintain the remnants of it's great dream. The line between 62 Ave NE and Salmon Bay was torn up for a scrap drive in 1943. An offer to buy the line from the Milwaukee Road in 1946 was refused. Even the Northern Pacific, which shared a depot and interchange seemed uninterested. It seemed as if the railroad had outlived it's very reasons for existence.
But the post-war boom following WWII would ensure the legacy of the BT&NCRy would live on. With a prime spot for industry, and ready track it was only a matter of time before life would once again return to the rails of The Standard Railway of the Pacific Northwest. And after several false starts, it did.
On May 14th, 1954 the company re-emerged into the public eye as the Salmon Bay Terminal Railway and began operations between Salmon Bay and East Ballard. Later that year the ferry terminal past 62nd Ave NE was reclaimed and interchange between the Milwaukee, Northern Pacific and Great Northern became possible. Not one but three transcontinental railroads were able to access the Puget Sound area and it's resources, fulfilling a dream laid down in 1890.
Timeline for the BT&NCRy
1890 – Northern Pacific takes over Seattle, Lake Side and Eastern, uproar ensues. Ballard Steam Ship Navigation & Packet Company formed
1891 – BSSN&PCo reorganized into Ballard Traction & Navigation Company
May 8, 1899 – Only ship in the fleet, SS Alaska sinks upon launching and burns to the waterline.
June 16, 1903 – Ballard Traction and Navigation Company Railway formed
June 17, 1903 – Work begins on BT&NCRy
May 1905 – BT&NCRy passes 62nd Ave NE towards Lake Washington. Work stops later that year upon reaching the shore.
May 10, 1906 – King Street Station opens for Great Northern and Northern Pacific.
Nov 3, 1908 – Westward work on BT&NCRy continues
Oct 30, 1915 – Last spike driven at Snoqualmie, Washington.
November 2nd, 1915 - Chief Engineer Ronald Seitz resigns.
November 3rd, 1915 - Former Chief Engineer Ronald Seitz dies.
1916 – BT&N CRY turns its only profit
1916 – Trackage and interchange rights brokered with Great Northern at East Ballad
July 4, 1917 – Hiram M. Chittenden Locks open
1918 – Through scheduled passenger service ends on the BT&NCRy
1929 – First bankruptcy
1930 – Seitz extension scrapped
April 13, 1936 – Last scheduled train movement.
1943 – Line between 62nd Ave NE and Salmon Bay torn up for wartime scrap drive
1946 – Milwaukee Road offers to buy line, refused
1951 - BT&NCo aquire first diesel locomotive, placed in storage.
May 14, 1954 – Salmon Bay Terminal Railway begins operations
1 comment:
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