Train Tunnel at Snoqualmie Pass, 2.3 mile one way hike, bring a flashlight!!

Описание: Why go over when you can go through the mountain?! Join me for a walk through the old train tunnel at Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. Hiked October 22, 2021.


**It is closed each winter from November 1 to May 1.

**Accessible Trail… The hike is flat and another accessible trail for families and those who use wheels. There are no lights and no benches through the tunnel, so walk as far as you feel comfortable, and bring a flashlight. When you reach the other end, there is a pit toilet and several picnic tables. There are also great views of the surrounding mountain peaks and Interstate 90, the main east/west highway over the Cascade Mountains. **The trail is open for biking and horseback riding as well as walking.

The tunnel is part of the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail, and it’s easily accessible from the Hyak portion of the park, just east of Snoqualmie summit. The elevation is 2,600 feet. The tunnel was built between 1912-1914 by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway company, and the last train went through in 1980.


*International Engineering Congress, 1915, Railway Engineering*
(original from Pennsylvania State University, digitized August 24, 2012. Google Books.)

https://www.google.com/books/edition/...

Snoqualmie Tunnel. (Page 273 of the book)
“Single-track tunnel, 11,890 feet long, opened for traffic in January 1915. Length of new line, including tunnel, 4.5 miles. The object of building this tunnel is to shorten length of line 3.7 miles; reduce Summit Hill, and eliminate 443.5 ft. of rise and fall …. to decrease snow trouble resulting from a fall exceeding fifty feet in some seasons; to reduce pusher service to a minimum and save in operating cost.”
“For the greater portion of the distance the bore passes through bodies of massive black slate, intercepted by comparatively thin strata of grey quartzite, blue conglomerate and an andesite dike; all of which dip to the east with an angle of approximately 75 degrees to the horizontal.” …
(The book goes on to tell the process and how work was done and advanced through the tunnel.)
“Average progress on the west-end bench was 7.7 feet per day; however, this cannot be taken as a criterion as to what speed could be obtained, as the bench work was held up for some time due to the fact that the work was carried on with a limited payroll, and when labor was scarce the heading was pushed at the expense of the bench progress.” …


Palouse to Cascades Trail
https://palousetocascadestrail.org/in...

Washington Trails Association
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/i...

More of my videos from this trail…

Beverly Railroad Bridge and Palouse to Cascades Trail
   • Beverly Railroad Bridge and Palouse To Cas...  

Renslow Trestle
   • Renslow Trestle, Palouse to Cascades State...  

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