The white cascade

the Great Northern Railway disaster and America's deadliest avalanche

by

315 pages

English language

Published Nov. 13, 2007 by Henry Holt and Company.

ISBN:
978-0-8050-7705-6
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
70408053

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4 stars (1 review)

"In February 1910, a monstrous blizzard hit Washington State. High in the Cascade Mountains near the tiny town of Wellington, two trainloads of cold, hungry passengers and their crews found their railcars buried in rising drifts, parked precariously on the edge of a steep ravine. An army of the Great Northern Railroad's men worked round-the-clock to rescue the trains, but the storm was unrelenting. Suddenly the earth shifted and a colossal avalanche tumbled, sweeping the trains and their sleeping passengers over the steep slope and down the mountainside."--From source other than the Library of Congress

1 edition

reviewed The white cascade by Gary Krist

Interesting time in history

4 stars

I was reading this right when the RR unions were standing up in 2022, so it was an interesting parallel.

Before reading this I knew little about the history of the rail roads or the Paciffic North West. It was an interesting time. I recently read The Indifferent Stars Above about the Donner Party and an earlier period of westward migration. This book was an interesting companion to that one.

It was also interesting to read about an age when the telegraph was so critical.

Subjects

  • Avalanches
  • Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.)
  • Railroad accidents
  • History

Places

  • Washington (State)