The 1910 Wellington Disaster - (Images of America) by Deborah Cuyle & Rodney Fletcher (Paperback)

About the Book

"The town of Wellington was located by the Stevens Pass summit in the Cascade Mountains. During the last days of February in 1910, the snow was relentless in the Cascades, falling as much as one foot per hour and rising up to 20 feet deep in areas. Rotary plows could not keep the lines open as snow covered the railroad tracks almost immediately after being cleared. The Seattle Express, coming from Spokane, and a fast mail train were stranded just beyond the "safety" of the Cascade Tunnel, where they remained unmovable for almost a week under the snowpacked mountains. On March 1, an avalanche swept away the tracks and passengers aboard the two trains as well as several of Wellington's buildings and homes. Almost 100 individuals were killed in just a few seconds, creating America's deadliest avalanche and train disaster in history. Today, the site is part of the Iron Goat Trail off Highway 2, east of Skykomish. The snowshed, the abandoned original Cascade Tunnel, and various scraps of the trains left in the ravine are the only evidence that remain of Wellington, its long-forgotten inhabitants, or the disaster."--Amazon.com.

Book Synopsis

The town of Wellington was located by the Stevens Pass summit in the Cascade Mountains. During the last days of February in 1910, the snow was relentless in the Cascades, falling as much as one foot per hour and rising up to 20 feet deep in areas. Rotary plows could not keep the lines open as snow covered the railroad tracks almost immediately after being cleared. The Seattle Express, coming from Spokane, and a fast mail train were stranded just beyond the safety of the Cascade Tunnel, where they remained unmovable for almost a week under the snow packed mountains. On March 1, an avalanche swept away the tracks and passengers aboard the two trains as well as several of Wellington's buildings and homes. Almost 100 individuals were killed in just a few seconds, creating America's deadliest avalanche and train disaster in history. Today, the site is part of the Iron Goat Trail off Highway 2, east of Skykomish. The snowshed, the abandoned original Cascade Tunnel, and various scraps of the trains left in the ravine are the only evidence that remain of Wellington, its long-forgotten inhabitants, or the disaster.

Review Quotes

The Cascade Mountains set a beautiful backdrop for Leavenworth and trains rattling on tracks near town is a common form of transportation for those coming and going. However on March 1, 1910 these two elements, two trains and the Cascade Mountains, were a part of the formula that formed a historical tragedy - the Wellington Disaster. The Wellington Disaster was the worst train disaster in history and one of the deadliest avalanches in America. Authors, Deborah Cuyle and Rodney Fletcher, decided to embark on retracing the steps of this pivotal moment in history - they put the tragedy's timeline and victims in black and white print while bringing local history to light in their book, The Wellington Disaster. Leavenworth Echo

About the Author

Deborah Cuyle and Rodney Fletcher live near Wellington and visit it often. They have gathered photographs from various collections to bring Wellington back to life and offer an intimate look at the town, its people, the Great Northern Railroad crew, and the actual disaster.