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Tag: railroads

Digital Archives map from 1909 shows Washington highways and proposed highways.
From the Digital Archives: 1909 Washington highway map

From the Digital Archives: 1909 Washington highway map

Nowadays, when we look at a highway map of Washington, we see a complex web of gold, red and black lines crisscrossing the state. But it wasn’t always this way. In the early 1900s, highways were a rarity in the Evergreen State. Probably because cars and trucks were rarities as well, considering that the automobile had just been invented. This 1909 map displays Washington’s located and proposed highways, railroads (the dominant form of transportation then) and county seats. The map…

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Library jewels contender #2: Stampede Pass railroad map

Library jewels contender #2: Stampede Pass railroad map

(Maps courtesy of Washington State Library) Before automobiles and highways came along, trains were the predominant mode of long-distance travel in Washington and beyond. But the rugged Cascades were a barrier preventing a direct rail route connecting Puget Sound to the rest of the U.S.  That changed with one of the most arduous construction projects ever completed in Washington – the building of the Northern Pacific’s route through Stampede Pass, the first of three rail crossings over the mountain range…

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