First Train to Reach Cle Elum | Cle Elum, WA

October 11, 1886, after a rush by the railroad to complete the laying of tracks to this rich coal-mining region, Cle Elum greeted its first train.

The construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad as a form of transportation played a large part in the development of the state of Washington as well as that of Cle Elum.

In 1848 the California Gold Rush brought many settlers to the West who, after becoming disappointed in their ventures, went further north. With this influx of settlers, providing adequate transportation became a huge factor in the development of the northwest.

The trains needed coal to keep running, and the Northern Pacific Railroad found plenty of it in 1886 in Cle Elum. The city not only had an established stake in the coal industry, but now had a wonderful outlet for her coal.

In 1888, the construction of the Stampede Pass through the Cascades enabled the Northern Pacific Railroad to run trains direct from Puget Sound to Spokane Falls, and then on to eastern states. This was the event that brought Washington Territory to economic statehood.

The importance of the railroad to Cle Elum has an important place in the building of our community. First, it established a very definite coal field in the area; second, it provided an outlet for that product; third, it was directly responsible for the opening of the first sawmill which produced 40,000 feet of lumber daily; and, fourth, the railroad brought with it an era of construction.

(SWIFTWATER, History of Cle Elum 1848-1955, published by Northern Kittitas County Historical Society, 2014, Page 34 & 37)

northern,pacific,locomotive,cleelum,1910

Northern Pacific locomotive loading coal in Cle Elum, 1910. (Photo courtesy of Dr. James E. Brooks Library, Archives and Special Collections, Frederick Krueger Collection, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA)

troop,train,cleelum,1917

(Troop train in Cle Elum in 1917. Photo courtesy of Northern Kittitas County Historical Society)






           

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