Along the Great Northern route through Riverside State Park

I went hiking along the old Great Northern railroad grade through Riverside State Park today. While the grade does not appear on all trail maps (including the official state park map), you can find it marked on some trail maps, and it is very easy to walk along as it was used and maintained by the railroad up until 1973. Trail 25 provides runs along a short section of the railroad grade and provides easy access to it. I had written about this trail a bit in a previous post which you can find here and I had always meant to provide more details on this route as well as photos from various trips over the last two years. It's a beautiful, easy trail that clings to the side of a bluff with great views to the north and east. Trees shade parts of the trail while much of it is exposed, making it a great option on sunny days when the weather is cooler. On warmer days it's best to visit late in the day when the bluff provides shade for the trail. 

Great Northern grade through Riverside State Park. The trail is essentially on a shelf between basalt cliffs on one side and a steep drop off on the other. Trees provide some shade relief along some stretches of the trail.

First some background on the Great Northern Railway’s arrival in Spokane, one small but important step on it’s 1,726 mile route building westward from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle. By early 1892 the Great Northern Railway had built within 50 miles of Spokane but had not yet determined whether it would actually enter Spokane. The challenge with Spokane was the westward climb up to the Columbia Plateau after crossing the Spokane River. An 1891 plan had the railroad passing about 10 miles to the north of Spokane where a route was identified that would be just slightly more than a one percent grade. Spokane citizens wanted the railroad to come through the city. James J. Hill, who controlled the Great Northern, claimed that going through Spokane would cost about one million dollars more (whether this estimate was true is unclear, but it was likely exaggerated), so he made an ultimatum to the city demanding that citizens offset that cost with free right of way within the city, about half of the presumed cost. Citizens capitulated to the demand within days and construction quickly followed on a line directly toward downtown. The first through train from St. Paul arrived in Spokane on May 28, 1892.

Rather than building a line west from downtown and across the river immediately, Hill reached an agreement with the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway to temporarily use a few miles of their trackage through the western part of the city as well as their bridge over the Spokane River. About a mile west of that bridge the Great Northern built a junction with the SLS&E, eventually called Ft. Wright Junction, and began road grading westward toward Seattle sometime around or after March, 1892. Track laying began at the junction with the SLS&E on July 23, 1892 and progressed eastward about three to four miles per day, so the entire section within Riverside State Park likely was completed on the first or second day. After some winter weather delays, the last spike for the line between Spokane and Seattle was driven January 6, 1893 just west of Steven Pass and scheduled freight traffic began rolling over the line in February, although through passenger service to Seattle would not commence until June, 1893.

The grade that goes through Riverside State Park was in use by Great Northern, and later by successor Burlington Northern, until 1973 when it was replaced with a new, shorter route slightly further south. Most of the right of way through the park is now owned by the Washington State Department of Parks and Recreation, except for one stretch of right of way (near Highland on the first map below) which is somehow still owned by BNSF, successor to Burlington Northern. Between the south park boundary and Ft. Wright Junction, the old railroad right of way is still there but not easily accessible. Part of the right of way is now owned by the State of Washington, part by the City of Spokane, part by BNSF and part is a city street (N. Houston Rd.) There is a potential for this to become a developed trail in the future, providing a link to the Centennial Trail, as most of the land is publicly held. For now I’ll just have to enjoy the grade that’s within the park boundaries.

This is an excerpt from a map compiled by the Spokane County Surveyor and published in April, 1900. Map is part of the Washington State University Libraries collection. Highlighted in yellow is the section of the GN route that is within the boundaries of Riverside State Park today and is accessible to the public. At the north end of the curve is a spot labeled Highland, which is approximately where the state park boundary is today. Point A on the map is Fort Wright Junction where the GN branched off of the SLS&E route. Point B is the SLS&E crossing of the Spokane River. Point C is the the second crossing of the Spokane River that the Great Northern built a few years later, providing an easier and more direct route west from Spokane than the SLS&E route. The segment between points A and B is part of the Centennial Trail today. The north half of the segment between points A and C is preserved as it is owned by the federal government; the south half has disappeared due to development.

This excerpt from a 1954 USGS topo map shows the railroad hugging the side of the cliff. Near the top of the curve labeled 2052 (referring to elevation) is the location of Highland you saw on the previous map, very close to the park boundary today. At some point the Great Northern moved their Highland station to where you see it labeled on this map.

An open stretch of the trail looking north

And a photo in the same location in winter. No recent human activity on the day we visited, just deer and bird tracks in the snow.

On a foggy day the rest of the park disappears.

Old foundations for railroad equipment can be found along the route, gradually being reclaimed by nature.

Some more old equipment

It looks like an old tree stump but this was a utility pole, now being colonized by the next generation of trees.

Looking up toward the trail from below you can clearly see it cutting across the landscape. The Great Northern dumped a lot of rock here which has gradually been colonized by vegetation except for a few bare patches of talus.

Another view looking up at the trail from below. The snow highlights the railroad fill and clearly shows where the trail is.

Further north near the trail is enclosed by trees that create a tunnel effect.

As you reach the north end of the trail the trees suddenly disappear. This view is to the west from the end of the trail segment within the park boundary. Beyond this point the roadbed is still owned by BNSF but is surrounded by private property owners on both sides. Other park trails converge here so there are hiking options beyond returning on the same trail. 

References

• Lewty, Peter J. Across the Columbia Plain: Railroad Expansion in the Interior Northwest, 1885-1893. Washington State University Press, 1995.
• Wetzel, John. Map of Spokane County, State of Washington (1900). Scale 1/2 inch to one mile. Spokane, WA: Publisher unknown, 1900.
• U.S. Geological Survey. Airway Heights Quadrangle, Wash. 1954. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Denver, CO: United States Department of the Interior, USGS, 1954

Trestle work update

Not sure what happened with updates to this blog. Work on the PE&A has not progressed as quickly as I was hoping this summer due to competing priorities, but that doesn't mean nothing has happened at all. Time to provide some updates on progress over the past few months.

My main priority was to complete the curving trestle which is the first thing a visitor to the railroad would see. I was not completely happy with the work I did in the spring and I ripped out a few pieces that I didn't think looked right. The key challenge was coming up with a design to go over the rocks I had arranged here.

I repositioned the trestles on the east approach (to the left) and decided to use two short double bents to cross the rocks. I had to make a couple some adjustments to the rocks to provide an adequate surface.

This is the result, with the two short bents evenly spaced, then a large gap to the right.

Next step was to glue on supporting cross beams.

Meanwhile, I needed to finish the west approach. I had partially built this in the spring but then ran out of pre-made bents.

To transition from the west end of the trestle back to ground level I decided to use cribbing filled with crushed rock. I reused a structure I had from my old railroad and modified it to fit the space.

This shows the finished approach. I don't have ballast on the track yet as I need to extend the track before I decide on the final alignment.

This picture shows the east approach to the trestle and an industry spur to the left. I started placing ballast here once I was happy with the track alignment.

I needed a small retaining wall as the industry spur is along a slope. Nothing fancy here.

Here the wall is in place and tracks have ballast. The spur is slightly below the level of the main track so any cars spotted here won't accidentally roll back and foul the main.

Next thing I'm working on is defining the route the track will take from the main line (lower loop) to the upper loop. The main line is on the left hand side and is already partially ballasted.

This is another view of the current work area showing the slope to the upper level.

With the arrival of the fall rains some of the native plants in my garden have had a new set of blooms like this sticky geranium (Geranium viscosissimum)

Blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata)