The Great Northern Railroad Avalanche | Snowed In

Against The Odds

The episode dramatizes the 1910 Great Northern Railway disaster in the Cascade Mountains, where a massive blizzard trapped two trains at Steve

Key takeaways

• A massive blizzard in February 1910 dumped at least 20 feet of snow on Stevens Pass.
• Superintendent James O'Neill faced a critical decision regarding whether to delay the Seattle Express or risk mail contract violations.

Main topics

• 1910 Cascade Mountains blizzard
• Great Northern Railway operations

Notable quotes

That's not thunder. It's rumbling snow. An avalanche.

Conclusion

A harrowing look at the intersection of industrial necessity and the o

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of Against the Odds early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app Speaker 2 (0:07) or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Speaker 3 (0:10) A listener note. Against the Odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented, but everything is based on research. Ida Starrett smooths the hair of her eight-month-old son, Francis. He's teething and has been fidgety all night. Speaker 2 (0:37) It's okay. Mommy's here. Mommy's here. Speaker 3 (0:40) But Starrett is almost as restless as her son is. It's just past 2 a.m. on March 1st, 1910, and Starrett and her three children are aboard a great northern railroad train. What was supposed to be a routine overnight trip from Spokane, Washington, to Seattle has turned into a never-ending ordeal. While Frances squirms in her arms, Starrett casts an anxious glance across the aisle at her other two children, nine-year-old Lillian and seven-year-old Raymond. Thankfully, they're both still sound asleep in their bunks. Finally, Frances starts the drift off, and Starrett lies back on her bed. Well, she thinks, at least she's not in Spokane anymore. That's where she and her husband had been raising their three children. But last month, her husband was killed in an accident at the rail yard where he worked. The railroad company gave her just $500 in compensation. With little money and no prospects, she decided to move in with her parents in British Columbia. So she bought train tickets for her and her three children, thinking it would be an easy trip. They left Spokane a week ago aboard the Seattle Express during a snowstorm. They'd hoped they'd make it over the Cascade Mountains before the weather got too bad. But soon the snowfall was too heavy for the train to make it any further. Hundreds of railroad workers who are stationed up here in this mountain pass have been trying to clear the track. but they can't keep ahead of the falling snow. Now, the train is stuck in this small railroad depot in the Cascades. Starrett and the 54 other passengers are going stir-crazy. Food supplies are running low. Even worse, as the snow piles up, it's triggering avalanches on the mountainsides around them. Starrett has been hearing the rumbles of sliding snow for days. She doesn't know how much longer her nerves can take it. The snow can't last forever, she tells herself. She just has to be patient. But as soon as Starrett settles into sleep, lightning flashes outside, followed by a gigantic boom of thunder. Starrett jumps in her bunk, her heart pounding. Frances wails and Starrett's other children startle awake. Raymond, Lillian, you can go back to sleep, okay? It's just some thunder. But as Starret soothes Francis, she notices something. The rumbling from the thunder hasn't died down yet. Not completely. It's still sounding in the distance. And in fact, it seems to be getting louder. This isn't like any thunder she's ever heard before. Then, with a chill, she realizes the truth. That's not thunder. It's rumbling snow. An avalanche. She goes rigid. Every other noise. Francis' sobs, the howling wind, the rattle of the train car windows, disappears from her mind. Starrett's been hearing these rumbles for days, but this one sounds different, much nearer. She clutches Francis and throws back the curtain of the window. And there it is, exactly what she's been dreading. A towering wall of snow churning toward their train. Starwet hugs Frances close, braces for impact, she prays. Speaker 5 (4:19) Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of the podcast American Scandal. Our latest series tells the story of college counselor Rick Singer, who thought he'd found a way to rig the admissions process for his wealthy clients until an unrelated FBI investigation inadvertently exposed the largest college admissions scandal in American history. Listen to American Scandal on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of American History Tellers. In our latest series, a police raid on a New York City gay bar in 1969 ignites a series of demonstrations lasting six days and marks a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights. Listen to American History Tellers on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (5:06) From Audible Originals, I'm Mike Corey, and this is Against the Odds. Speaker 3 (5:19) The Cascade Mountains of Washington State receive more snow than anywhere else in the lower 48 states. In February 1910, a series of blizzards dumped at least 20 feet of snow on Stevens Pass. The crossing cut across the mountains, allowing trains to pass between the eastern and western parts of the state. During the storms, two trains became trapped at Stevens Pass, their way forward blocked by massive snowdrifts. One was the Seattle Express with 55 passengers aboard and around a dozen crew members. The other was a mail train carrying 10 workers. In addition, hundreds of railroad employees were stationed at the pass. All of them were left exposed on a narrow mountain ledge as thousands of tons of snow piled up on the mountains. Railroad officials raced to figure out how to get the trains off the pass, but they faced one setback after another. And as temperatures rose and snow gave way to rain, the snowpack shifted and an avalanche slid down the side of the mountain straight toward the two trains. The passengers and crew members had to rely on their wits, resourcefulness, and luck to survive the deadliest avalanche in United States history. This is Episode 1, Snowed In. Speaker 3 (6:46) James O'Neill settles into a chair in his home office north of Seattle and flips through the weather reports in his hand. With each page, his frown deepens. Snow's headed for the mountains, and temperatures are going to fall to zero. It's late afternoon on February 21, 1910. O'Neill is 37, with brooding dark eyes and a no-nonsense manner. For the past three years, he's been a superintendent for the Great Northern Railway Company. Trains are in his blood. His father was a railroad foreman, and O'Neill himself quit school at age 13 to work on a train. By 17, he was a full conductor. A railway boy wonder. Now, as a superintendent, he's in charge of trains running through all of Washington state. But... 90 % of his time is spent worrying about just one section of tracks that winds through the Cascade Range. It's a 700-mile stretch of alpine peaks that bisects the state of Washington. O'Neill glances out the window. On a clear day, the western slopes of the Cascades, just 40 miles away, are visible. But not today. Thick clouds, fat with precipitation, hang over everything. That's one of the main dangers of the Cascades. When humid air from the ocean blows inland and rises over the cold mountains, the landscape gets pummeled with snow. The steep slopes make it especially dangerous for trains. Even a small storm can bury the tracks and leave the train stranded. O'Neill turns back to the weather reports. If the forecasts are right, a big storm is coming. That means O'Neill is going to have to head up to the pass. Great Northern has stations throughout the Cascades that are manned with shovelers and plows used to keep trains moving. And telegraph lines theoretically mean he can keep in touch with his men from here. But given the coming storm... The wires to those depots could easily snap or get torn loose. They'd be cut off in every way. And O'Neill can't afford to be out of touch. As superintendent, he has an impeccable record of keeping the trains running on time. He does this by ensuring that mechanical plows are running at all times, and by quickly deploying shovelers to any location where a train gets stuck or the plows are useless. He intends to keep things that way. So he'll head up to the mountains himself to personally direct the work of clearing the tracks. The only problem is his wife, Bernice. She's been a saint throughout their marriage, despite O'Neill's regular absences during storms like the one that's coming. But they have a young daughter now, and O'Neill has already been gone for several weeks this winter. It's straining their marriage. Every time he leaves, he senses her frustration. But after consulting the weather forecast again, he feels he has no choice. He'll just have to make Bernice understand. Speaker 3 (10:00) O'Neill hears the front door open. Bernice is returning from a doctor's appointment. He rises from his chair and heads over to take her coat. They kiss hello, and on the way into the parlor, she turns to him. I have some news for you. Great, I've got some news for you as well. Come sit. When they're settled, O'Neill jumps right in. Listen, the Cascades are going to get hammered with snow again starting tomorrow. I'll have to head up just for a few days, maybe a week. He explains the weather reports, then stops in surprise. Bernice is crying. He asks her why, but that only makes her cry harder. O'Neal is bewildered. Dear, I don't like it any more than you do, but I have responsibilities. It's the end of the winter soon, and we'll have all spring and all of summer together. But she keeps crying. O'Neal can sense something else is going on. He asks her to tell him. She shakes her head. then finally wipes her eyes. Speaker 2 (11:01) Jim... I'm pregnant. Speaker 3 (11:04) O'Neal hugs his wife close. Speaker 2 (11:07) Bernice, that's fantastic. Speaker 3 (11:09) But he realizes she's not hugging him back. When he pulls away, she gazes into his eyes. Speaker 6 (11:16) Jim, just Speaker 2 (11:17) this Speaker 6 (11:17) once. Can't you just stay and be with me? Speaker 3 (11:20) She grasps his hand, but O'Neal sighs and shakes his head no. He explains that he'd give anything to stay with her, but Speaker 2 (11:30) he can't. Speaker 3 (11:32) Not when his railroad needs him Speaker 3 (11:44) Louis Jessup watches the incoming train lumber to a halt with a hiss in the Spokane Railroad Station. Its piercing whistle echoes off the station walls. Jessup and the other passengers gather up their belongings and get ready to board. A thick layer of snow lies atop each railcar. Jessup is eager to be on board and out of the cold. He hands his suitcase to the porter, then finds his car. It's painted a handsome burgundy colour with white trim. He climbs aboard, then fishes out his ticket for the 7pm Seattle Express overnight from Spokane, 230 miles as the crow flies. It's Tuesday, February 22nd. The 32-year-old Jessup enters the car and nods approvingly. He paid extra for this first-class ticket, and he admires the elegant arched windows, the delicate light fixtures. and mahogany benches with plush cushions. He has a sleeping berth for later as well. As he makes his way down the aisle, Jessophe overhears snippets of conversation. A trio of men are talking about mining. Another pair in suits are talking about a paper mill that one of them apparently owns. Jessophe would normally look forward to joining these conversations. He's a chatty fellow. But not tonight. Jessophe is a lawyer. and he has a big case in two days in the state capital of Olympia. He's arguing in front of the state appeals court. Jessup lost the initial case in the lower court, and he's determined to win this round. So, rather than chat with other passengers, Jessup plans to review his arguments and make sure he's as prepared as possible. At his window seat, he