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The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) was a railroad founded in Seattle, Washington, on April 28, 1885, with three tiers of purposes: Build and run the initial line to the town of Ballard, bring immediate results and returns to investors; exploit resources east in the valleys, foothills, Cascade Range, and Eastern Washington in 19th century style, attracting more venture capital; and boost a link to a transcontinental railroad for Seattle, the ultimate prize for incorporation. The historical accomplishment of the line was Seattle to Sumas at the border, with British Columbia, Canada, connecting with the Canadian Pacific transcontinental at the border at Huntingdon, British Columbia, now part of the City of Abbotsford. In addition to the historical accomplishment, the SLS&E built and ran branches from Seattle through Bothell, on to Woodinville, to Sallal Prairie (just past North Bend); Salmon Bay (the industrial district of the town of Ballard); and Spokane to Davenport.〔Pleasants This is a tertiary source, so secondary source , per Wikipedia:Cite sources.〕 Toward the latter end, one goal was creating a rail connection to North Dakota via Wallula,〔 〕 an outpost on the Columbia River in the early decades of railroad booms, near the present Tri-Cities. Local historian William Speidel reported that Henry Villard, tycoon of the Northern Pacific Railway (NP), had the federal rights and had the line through Wallula built.〔Speidel, p. 190. 〕 The SLS&E was first incorporated to build a line from the Seattle harbor in old Downtown, along Elliott Bay to the lumber and fishing town of Ballard. ==Promoting a railroad empire involving Seattle== Railroading in Seattle closely paralleled development and early hopes for the future. Like communications networks today, 19th century railroading represented more than track, stock, and trade. Romantic and practical potential wooed communities across the West, much as Web commerce and bandwidth today (bandwidth was narrow, desire high, competition passionate). Travel between America's coasts had taken months, whether overland by wagon or by sailing ship or steamer around Cape Horn, until the Union Pacific reached San Francisco in 1869 and the Northern Pacific opened to Tacoma in 1887.〔MacIntosh, & Crowley〕 The SLS&E was conceived and financed by Seattle business interests in response to Villard of the NP selecting Seattle's intense rival Tacoma as its transcontinental western terminus.〔Robertson, . Speidel, pp. 190–196.〕 The original scheme for the SLS&E was connecting with an intercontinental railroad somewhere, while actually building north and east from Seattle.〔Speidel, p. 196.〕 By the late 1880s, the SLS&E needed more capital for ongoing construction toward Sumas and an extension toward Spokane. The Seattle & Eastern Construction Company was formed with many of the same investors as the SLS&E. Construction of the eastern line began in Spokane.〔MacIntosh〕 By the end of 1889, construction ended, having only reached Sallal Prairie,〔Sallal Prairie (note the spelling is not as the native salal plant) is sometimes confused with Rattlesnake Prairie, which is a little further south around Rattlesnake Mountain. Further, Snoqualmie Falls is some northwest of North Bend. Both Sallal Prairie and Rattlesnake Prairie are today forgotten ghosts.〕 some miles past North Bend and from the Seattle station〔Martin〕 on Western Avenue at Columbia Street.〔Speidel, p. 202.〕 In 1890, the plans were amended to focus on connecting Seattle to the Canadian Pacific Railway at Sumas on the border.〔, also to differentiate from following〕 Local historian William Speidel (1967) observed that, At best, insider boosters had hoped they might get as far as Denny's Iron Mountain in Snoqualmie Pass. While the SLS&E was designed to connect with one of the other transcontinentals, its primary purpose lay in 19th-century industrial development exploiting the city's hinterland: the fast-disappearing easy timber, then primarily coal and iron. A theory, which later became profitable in fact, was that commuter trains could run along the SLS&E track, and be only twenty scenic minutes away from the center of the city. Ever since, every suburb around the perimeter of the city has been advertised as only "twenty scenic minutes away from downtown." The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad was a pretty weak reed for Seattle to cling to. City boosters blew a lot of money on that railroad and when they were through, it had only been built as far east as Rattlesnake Prairie〔Although track under the SLS&E name ended at Sallal Prairie, the line was later extended to the Rattlesnake Prairie area three miles to the south - see discussion for some details.〕 above Snoqualmie Falls and as for north as Arlington. But it was the only hope that Seattle-New York Alki〔"Alki" is a Chinook Jargon (Wawa) trading language word meaning "eventually" or "by and by", so "New York Eventually" or "New York By and By". As an oral language, the Chinook word allowed a literal or a satirical meaning.〕 held out for a connection with a transcontinental system. On the other hand, the side benefits of the SLS&E enabled boosters to hit the jackpot with the Great Northern.〔Speidel, pp. 196-7, 200.〕 The verso of a promotional print celebrating an opening excursion of the SLS&E stated, The Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad company was organized April 15, 1885 and was financed by local men and Jamieson, Smith and Cotting of New York. The first division of the road was to Issaquah where the coal mines would furnish cargoes. The first depot of the road was built at the foot of Columbia Street, but as space for trackage and terminals was too limited, the city created Railroad Avenue, 120 feet wide. The city gave the new road thirty feet of the Avenue for trackage and offered the Northern Pacific an equal amount which was not accepted. Construction was soon started from the eastern end of Spokane and forty miles of road built. Startled by the success of this competing line, the Northern Pacific purchased control and abandoned its fight against Seattle in 1890. (quote is text on the verso of a silver gelation print, "Excursion on the Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad, n.d.", A. Curtis 59932. )〔(1) Text:The SLS&E accomplished Seattle to Sumas at the Canadian border, connecting with the Canadian Pacific transcontinental, late 1880s-1892; with branches of approximately from Seattle through Bothell, Woodinville Junction to Sallal Prairie (North Bend) (about downtown Seattle to the prairie), 1886–1889; from downtown to Salmon Bay and spur to the town of Ballard, 1885;〔5.25 mi. Western Avenue at Columbia Street to Leary Way at 20th Avenue NW () but RR bridge location unknown.〕 a Winsor branch (through Bothell and up North Creek);〔(1) Covers land south of the Seattle-Woodinville railway line, on the south side of the Sammamish River. (2) Shows a branch line crossing the Sammamish River to Bothell and then up North Creek. (3) Mentions Winsor as having been platted but not built, consistent with there even now being no side streets off the main road in the platted area.〕 and Spokane to Davenport,〔Pleasants (search2) This is a tertiary source, so secondary source , per Wikipedia:Cite sources.〕 later middle to late 1880s. "()ll along the line the road's construction caused a tremendous stir ... logging camps, mills, mines, and towns sprang into existence as if by magic." The SLS&E boosted not only the town of Ballard (connected 1886), but new towns like Ross, Fremont, Latona (in what is now east Wallingford, Brooklyn (in what is now west University District), Yesler (now part of Laurelhurst), Bothell (Thanksgiving, 1887) and towns out to Gilman (now Issaquah).〔(1) Prosch in Dorpat (1994), ch. 42 (2) Dorpat (1994), ch. 42〕 The verso of a print in UW archives noted, August 20, 1894. Wreck on () Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern just west of Latone (Latona Avenue ). Freight train from Gilman (IssaquahThe streets at that time were rural, more tracks or plat lines than avenues. The run to Fremont Station was more than a mile (about 1.6 km). A small freight depot remains today at the foot of Stone Way N. Railroading before labor rights and worker safety was appallingly dangerous. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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