page_title: Everett and Monte Cristo Railway
section_title: Route
hierarchical_section_title: Everett and Monte Cristo Railway / Route
caption_attribution_description: English: According to Philip R. Woodhouse, Monte Cristo, p. 109, "Canyon of the Stillaguamish. Tunnel number five is in the foreground. A passenger train is waiting in the distance, near the east portal of tunnel number four." Subjects (LCTGM): Rivers--Washington (State); Tunnels--Washington (State); Railroad tracks--Washington (State); Canyons--Washington (State) Subjects (LCSH): Stillaguamish River (Wash.); Everett &amp; Monte Cristo Railway
context_page_description: The Everett and Monte Cristo Railway was built to transport gold and silver ores from mines in the central Cascade Mountains to a smelter in Everett, Washington. After the first mining claims were staked in 1889, entrepreneurs began exploring the possibility of building a railroad to exploit the find. Construction began in April 1892 and the first train reached what became the town of Monte Cristo in August 1893. The mining boom ended in 1903. Poor ore quality and quantity played a role in the decline, but the failure of the railway to maintain service to Monte Cristo in the face of floods, landslides, winter snows, fires, and other disasters was also a factor in the collapse of the industry. Nonetheless, the railway hauled out approximately 300,000 tons of ore over the course of its operations.
  The railroad found a second set of customers among the timber companies. Logging in Puget Sound began along the shore, where water transport to sawmills was inexpensive. By the early 1900s, however, much of the lowland forest had been cut. The Everett and Monte Cristo tracks gave access to large areas of virgin forest, so the railroad was used to move raw logs down to existing mills.
context_section_description: In order to move ore from the mines in Monte Cristo to the smelter in Everett in 1894, a train would travel on three different sections of track.  It would begin its journey from Monte Cristo to Hartford Junction on the tracks of the "Eastern Division" of the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway.  From Hartford Junction to Snohomish it would use the track of the Seattle, Lakeshore, and Eastern Railway, which later was acquired by the Northern Pacific Railway.  From Snohomish to the smelter complex in Everett, it would switch to the "Western Division" of the Everett and Monte Cristo track, the previous Snohomish, Skykomish, and Spokane Railway which had been acquired in 1892.
  Traveling east from Hartford Junction, on the Eastern Division, the Everett and Monte Cristo reached the town of Granite Falls after traversing relatively moderate terrain for some 6 miles.  There was a two-story depot in Granite Falls.  Just east of town, the tracks followed the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River into Robe Canyon, which was so steep-sided that six tunnels had to be dug in just two miles (a seventh tunnel, closer to Monte Cristo, was dug, collapsed, and was abandoned).  Tunnel cave-ins became so problematic that the roofs of tunnels #2 and #4 were dynamited off, turning them into cuts open to the sky.  Three bridges crossed the Stilliguamish as the right of way sought easier ground on one side of the river or another.
  Past Robe Canyon, and 29 miles beyond Hartford Junction, the railway reached Silverton, which developed as a secondary mining center along the line.  It also had a depot.  Three miles further on, the line reached the site of the Inn at Big Four.  At 38 miles east of Hartford Junction, the route reached Barlow Pass and left the Stilliquamish drainage.  The railroad built a snow shed there.  At 42 miles the end of the line was reached in Monte Cristo.  At this terminus there was a hand-operated turntable, rail yard, water tank, a small engine house, and a passenger depot.  A spur line led to the concentrator for the collection of ore.
  Along the route were various spurs used by mines, lumber mills, farms, and other commercial enterprises.  An 1,800' sidetrack served the Cypher's and Stinson's logging camp near Granite Falls.
caption: Robe Canyon tunnel #5 in 1894
exif: {}