Stories by Fred Cruger about how life in Granite Falls used to be. Articles also appear monthly in the Granite Falls Press.
One
of the most popular pictures of the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway is that of
their 4-4-0 locomotive paused on the trestle across the Stilliguamish River about 3 1/2 miles east of
Granite Falls.
The train is westbound,
headed toward Granite Falls, having just emerged from Tunnel #1, the longest
tunnel (847 feet) on the E&MC Railway onto one of the longer Howe Truss bridges
(150 feet) on the route.
Next we see the West Portal. The West Portal collapsed
more than once, and has long been invisible.
However, the East Portal was cut into more stable rock, and is still open
today, though partially obscured by landslides. Also surviving today is the concrete retaining wall shown in the picture
of Hartford Eastern gas car #22 as it approached the East Portal heading to the resort at Big Four.
Given its
length, the tunnel was quite dark inside (it's even darker now, with one end
closed off), and was popularly known as "The Kissing Tunnel" by those
passengers inclined to take advantage of the temporary privacy afforded. The group in this picture uses a crew car to take a Sunday ride through the Robe Canyon.
You can hike the Robe Canyon Trail and see remnants of the railroad. If you want to hear more about the railroad, use the QR tag below on your cell phone to hear about it. You need a smartphone that supports MP3 and shows pictures.
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