Railroad: Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: c. 1887
Credit: Asahel Curtis, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved, 2002.3.936
Well-dressed men and women attend a commemorative opening of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway in a forest near Seattle, c. 1887. The railway reached north from Seattle to the Canadian border where it connected with the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway. In Seattle, the line connected with another transcontinental route, the Northern Pacific, which ultimately acquired the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern by 1901.
In 1970, the Northern Pacific joined three other railroads to form the Burlington Northern. The new company found itself with two routes between Seattle and the Canadian border but only needed one of them. It soon abandoned the former Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern.
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Trail: Burke-Gilman Trail
Trail length: 19.8 miles
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: December 1, 2021
Credit: Ben Bachman, courtesy of the photographer
Trail users enjoy the route of the Burke-Gilman Trail, which cuts across central Seattle, and is a popular commuter option for both students at the University of Washington and city dwellers. The trail is notably one of the westernmost connections in the Great American Rail-Trail.
Segments of the old Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railbed form the corridor for the Burke-Gilman Trail, named for two Seattle businessmen who had helped establish the railway in the 1880s. In 1971, soon after the line was abandoned, local residents and activists organized to raise support for its reuse as a trail. Today, this multi-use path carries hundreds of cyclists, runners, and walkers daily.
