The Snoqualmie Tunnel is a former

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

near Snoqualmie Pass in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

of Washington, located east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. The tunnel crosses the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

about south of the pass, which is used by

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, on the border between King County and Kittitas County. It is long and is at an approximate

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, just north of Keechelus Lake. Its east portal is at Hyak. The tunnel was originally constructed for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in the early 1910s and was abandoned in 1980. It now serves as part of a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

Iron Horse State Park The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the ...

, known officially as the

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and the Iron Horse Trail, is a rail trail that spans most of the U.S. state of Washington. It follows the former railway roadbed of the Chicago, Milwaukee ...

. The trail was formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and commonly called the Iron Horse Trail. A major renovation to the walls, ceiling, and path were completed in July 2011 after a two-year closure.

History

The tunnel was constructed from 1912 to 1914 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("The Milwaukee Road") as part of its line from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, completed in 1909. It replaced a temporary surface line over Snoqualmie Pass at ; this grade from Hyak to Rockdale later became

U.S. Route 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

, now the eastbound lanes of I-90. The tunnel is aligned east–west and

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

in 1917 eliminated smoke dissipation issues. In 1980, the Milwaukee Road received approval from the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

to abandon its lines west of eastern Montana. On March 15, 1980, the final Milwaukee Road train passed through the tunnel. Later, the State of Washington acquired the right-of-way for recreational use. Today the tunnel is part of the

rails-to-trails project. It is usually closed between November 1 through early May due to ice formations inside the tunnel. On July 5, 2011, the tunnel re-opened after 11 months of renovations. The $700,000 renovation added a layer of concrete to the walls and ceiling, a reinforced structure, and a new and improved walking surface of crushed rock.

Gallery

Image:Tunnel inside.jpg, About 200 yards from exiting the west side of the Snoqualmie Tunnel Image:Tunnel west.jpg, The west entrance to the Snoqualmie Tunnel Image:Tunnel nametop.jpg, Snoqualmie Tunnel 1912–1914. Image:Snoqualmie_Tunnel.jpg, Inside the tunnel 2008.

References

External links

Washington State Parks
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213213615/http://parks.state.wa.us/521/Iron-Horse , date=2016-02-13 - Iron Horse State Park Trail

Washington Trails Association
- Iron Horse tunnel Railroad tunnels in Washington (state) Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Transportation buildings and structures in King County, Washington Transportation buildings and structures in Kittitas County, Washington Tunnels completed in 1914 Pedestrian tunnels in the United States

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links