Archives West Finding Aid
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Washington State railroad bridges photograph collection, 1902-1911
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Cornell University. College of Civil Engineering
- Title
- Washington State railroad bridges photograph collection
- Dates
- 1902-1911 (inclusive)19021911
- Quantity
-
.37 cubic feet (2 boxes)
33 photographs ; various sizes - Collection Number
- PH0862
- Summary
- Photographs of the construction of railroad bridges across the Columbia River during the early years of the twentieth century
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
As early as the 1860s, the railroad construction industry had spread to the Pacific Northwest. As the primary source of water for the communities, the Columbia River dictated the route these railroads would take. In addition, the Columbia River Valley provided engineers with an ideal slope on which to lay track. The turn of the twentieth century brought with it a renewed desire for western expansion. Railroad commissioners capitalized on this desire to bring more people to the Northwest and advertised the pleasant and never-ending summer of the Northwest as enticement for uprooting families and traveling west. As the tracks for the railroads were being laid, however, fractures within the railroad community lead to the development of competing companies. During the years between 1902 and 1910, railroad companies in the Northwest, such as the Great Northern Railroad, the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Spokane Portland and Seattle Railroad, and the Chicago Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railroad, participated in a much heated race to build tracks through the Cascade Mountains and in the western part of the state.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Photographs of the construction of railroad bridges spanning the Columbia River in the early twentieth century. Also includes one photograph of a bridge over the Spokane River.
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Labels provided by the Cornell University College of Civil Engineering are adhered to the back of the mat-boards.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View the digital version of the collection
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Custodial History
These photographs were the private collection of Professor Henry Jacoby of Cornell University. They were collected in 1904 by Professor Jacoby. The collection was then acquired by Charles Apfelbaum. There are labels on the backs of the photographs from the Cornell University College of Civil Engineering.
Acquisition Information
Source: Charles Apfelbaum, Rare Books and Collections, 1991.
Processing Note
Processed by Hillary Saalfield and Jennifer Hawkins; processing completed in 2010.
Transferred from the Transportation Files, October 2009.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Great Northern RailroadReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
2/1 | 1 |
100 foot span simple wooden truss
bridge over Snohomish River
D.B. Ewing
(photographer)
|
1902 |
Puget Sound Electric RailroadReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
2/2 | 2 | 1906 |
Northern Pacific Railroad / Spokane Portland and Seattle RailroadReturn to Top
Benjamin L. Crosby ( photographer)The Spokane Portland and Seattle Railroad is part of the Northern Pacific Railroad system.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
2/3 | 3 | August 26, 1906 | |
2/3 | 4 | September 6, 1906 | |
2/3 | 5 | September 18, 1906 | |
2/3 | 6 |
Pile point taken from Pier I
foundation, Vancouver, Washington
Written on front: point of pile driven in 1890 for foundation
of bridge shows effect of hard pounding in cement gravel.
|
March 2, 1907 |
2/4 | 7 | April 22, 1907 | |
2/4 | 8 | May 7, 1907 | |
2/5 | 9 | February 26, 1908 | |
2/5 | 10 | April 15, 1908 | |
Box/Folder | |||
1/1 | 11 | April 16, 1908 | |
1/1 | 12 | April 16, 1908 | |
1/1 | 13 | June 29, 1908 | |
1/1 | 14 | June 29, 1908 | |
1/1 | 15 | April 4,1908 | |
box-folder:oversize | |||
2/5 | 16 | 1908 |
Chicago Milwaukee and Puget Sound RailroadReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
½ | 17 |
Viaduct over Hanson Creek in Cascade
Mountains, Washington
J.M. Gilman
(photographer)
|
between 1907 and 1909 |
½ | 18 | March 23, 1907 | |
½ | 19 | October 23, 1907 | |
½ | 20 | November 1, 1907 | |
½ | 21 | November 26, 1907 | |
½ | 22 | January 25, 1908 | |
½ | 23 | 1909 | |
1/3 | 24 |
Riprapping Pier 9 of Columbia River
Bridge
Riprap is rock or other material used to armor shorelines,
streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against
scour and water or ice erosion.
|
February 11, 1909 |
1/3 | 25 |
Wooden trestle in Cascade Mountains,
Washington
J.M. Gilman
(photographer)
|
1910 |
1/3 | 26 |
Viaduct in Cascade Mountains,
Washington
J.M. Gilman
(photographer)
|
1910 |
1/3 | 27 |
Arch culvert over Humpback Creek in
Cascade Mountains, Washington
J.M. Gilman
(photographer)
|
1910 |
1/3 | 28-29 | 1910 | |
1/3 | 30-31 | between 1902 and 1911? |
Monroe Street BridgeReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
2/6 | 32 |
281 foot span concrete arch over
Spokane River
Murgrittroyd's, Spokane,
Washington (photographer)
|
1911 |
Nisqually Power Plant bridgeReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/3 | 33 | 1910? |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Bridges--Columbia River--Design and construction--Photographs
- Bridges--Spokane River (Idaho and Wash.)--Photographs
- Railroad bridges--Washington (State)--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- Cornell University. College of Civil Engineering (former owner)