New Cascade Tunnel

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New Cascade Tunnel is a 7.8 mile (12.5 km) long single track railroad tunnel at Stevens Pass through the Cascade Mountains approximately 65 miles (105 km) to the east of Everett, Washington.

It is the longest railroad tunnel in the United States and was constructed by the Great Northern Railway, being put in service on January 12, 1929. The new tunnel reduced the summit by 501 feet (153 m) (to an altitude of 2,881 feet (878 m)) from the original tunnel, which had suffered problems with fumes, and was itself built to avoid problems caused by heavy winter snowfalls on the original line that had 8 Zig Zags (switchbacks).

It is currently part of the BNSF Railway system on their mainline between Seattle and Spokane. Amtrak's Empire Builder runs through it. Speed through the tunnel is approximately 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).
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Coordinates:   47°44'33"N   121°4'19"W
This article was last modified 9 years ago