Great Northern Railway

Imagine zipping from Vancouver to Portland in less than an hour. That dream might be closer than you think, but there’s a lot to unravel.

The History of Train Travel through Stevens Pass On September 18, 1889, the name of the old Minneapolis & St. Cloud Railroad Company was changed to the Great Northern Railway Company.  The mission of connecting Minneapolis/St. Paul with Seattle via the Rocky Mountains and Stevens Pass became a reality - in the summer of 1893.  ...

With each tiny town, I’d discover interesting history that makes these small hard to see dots on the map so unique. So while looking for another tiny town to explore with just a few people living there, I stumbled upon a town named, Marlin with a population of 52-ish. But when I went to look it up on the map, to my confusion it kept pointing me to Krupp, Washington. “No, you stupid Google Map! I want Marlin, Washington!” Once again I was directed to Krupp in Grant County.

And then there are really small towns. Like Skykomish, here in the state of Washington. The tiny town has a total area of 0.33 square miles. Its current population is about 160 people. The population peaked in the 1930’s when the census count was 562. You can almost fit the whole population into the town’s favorite local pub called, Whistling Post Saloon. Where when the train cruises by and blows the whistle…they serve up free shots.