1920 to 1924, Gorge Creek Diversion Dam
 
During 1919 surveys were carried out on the route of a road or railroad from Rockport in Skagit County to the location of the proposed powerhouse site east of Newhalem Creek, 23 miles distant. Rockport was at the end of the Great Northern Railway Rockport Branch. Although a railroad was the transportation method of choice the costs were high. Attempts were made to have the GN extend their line but after their rejection the city looked at construction of a highway. After an investigation of the pros and cons of motor trucks, caterpillar tractors, and railroads the decision was made in 1920 to build the railway. A contract was let to Grant Smith & Company in 1920 for the initial phase from Rockport to Power Camp, later renamed Newhalem. Numerous bridges had to be built and extensive cribbing was constructed along the Skagit River as the railroad curved and twisted on its way but grades were kept to less then 1%. In 1921 the railroad was completed to the site of the powerhouse. Up to this point the railroad passed through a broad river valley but at Newhalem a narrow river canyon began. To reach the site of the planned dam near Gorge Creek 2 1/2 miles upstream the railroad was built with very sharp curves and grades reaching 4%. This section of line was started in 1921 and finished in 1922. A spectacular bridge on this section of the railroad known as the Devils Elbow crossed the river with the railroad staying on the south side up to the dam.

The railroad equipment used at this time was very interesting. On the section from Rockport to Newhalem two gasoline railcars were purchased from the Skagit Steel and Iron Works of Sedro-Wooley, Washington to haul freight. The #2 was a four wheel machine capable of moving one freight car and the #3 was 40' long with a body over 3/4 of the length and capable of moving 4 freight cars. Passenger service was provided by the "Toonerville Trolley", a converted 2 1/2 ton truck with rail wheels and a trailer formerly used as a bus between Seattle and Camp Lewis during World War One. From Newhalem to the Gorge Creek Diversion Dam the trackage was electrified and two streetcars and an interurban baggage motor which had been used by Washington Water Power in the Spokane area were purchased.

On the Skagit River near Gorge Creek a rock and timber diversion dam was built and a power tunnel 11,000 feet long was bored to the Gorge Powerhouse. In 1924 the first power was generated.

 
1925 to 1936, Diablo Dam

Even before the first power was coming from the Gorge Powerhouse plans were in the work for the next dam. Located about 7 1/2 miles upstream from Newhalem, Diablo Dam is a Constant Angle Arch Dam measuring 389 feet tall, 1,180 feet across the top, and 146 feet thick at the base. To reach the dam the railroad from Gorge Creek was extended about 4 1/2 miles to a point known as Reflector Bar. From Gorge Creek the railroad stayed on the South side of the river until crossing over at a point known as Ferry Bar. Construction of the railroad was done by Morrison-Knudsen of Boise, Idaho from 1926 to 1928. With the railroad being just above the height of the river and materials needed at the top of the dam something had to be worked out. That something was an incline railway that was capable of moving a fully loaded freight car 600 feet up the side of Sourdough Mountain.

Work on the dam was carried out by the Winston Brothers Construction Company of Minneapolis with work beginning in 1927 and completed on August 27, 1930. Winston Brothers used quite a bit of their own railroad equipment including a 37 ton Shay. One thing dams consume a lot of is concrete, and in the case of Diablo that was 350,000 cubic yards. The cement used came from the Superior Portland Cement plant in Concrete, about 40 miles downstream. Loaded in Great Northern boxcars, carload after carload of cement would be shipped the 9 miles to Rockport by the GN and then by the City up to Diablo. The trackage up to Reflector Bar was electrified and trains were powered by electric cars number 89 and the 407 which had been used by the Seattle Municipal Railway.

While the gasoline railcars did a good job on small freight shipments from Rockport to Newhalem larger power was needed. In 1927 the city purchased a used 2-4-2T that turned out to be a real basket case so in 1928 a new Baldwin 2-6-2 was purchased becoming the #6. The #6 still exists today and is on display at Newhalem. Also added when the "Toonerville" wore out were two Brill Model 55, 36 passenger railcars which held down passenger duties from Rockport to Newhalem.

Plans were to construct the Diablo Powerhouse soon after completion of the dam but with the coming of the depression the selling of bonds was in a very poor state. Finally the powerhouse was completed in 1935 with the first power being generated in 1936.

1937 to 1955, Ross Dam

The key to the entire Skagit Project was Ross Dam, located 4 1/2 miles upstream from Diablo Dam at the top of the lake. To get the railroad to the dam site was more of a challenge because of the terrain so a decision was made to barge the freight cars up the lake two at a time. Construction of the dam began in September 1937 and a 2,700 foot long extension of the railroad from the top of Diablo Dam to a barge landing was built. Tugboats and barges were constructed in Seattle and shipped up on flatcars. At Ross Dam the freight cars were pulled off the barge by a winch up the North side of the river and finally shuttled to position by a small industrial locomotive. All the material used in construction of the dam had to be moved up lake on barges. Originally it was planned to get gravel for Ross Dam upstream but sufficient quantities didn't exsist so the material had to come from sites at Ferry Bar, Goodell Creek, and the County Line pit. To move the gravel a number of 30 yard steel hopper cars were purchased from the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad of Nevada.

The building of Ross Dam was done in three steps. The first step was performed by contractors General-Shea-Columbia beginning in September 1937 with completion to a height of 305 feet in March 1940. The second and third steps was built by contractors General-Shea-Morrison with work starting February 1943 and completion to height of 540 feet finished in August 1949. The dam measures 1300 feet across the roadway and 208 feet thick at the base. To build to 540 feet in height it took 909,214 cubic yards of concrete. To raise the dam to its ultimate height of 665 feet the thickness had to be increased so a "waffle" pattern was built into the dam to provide better adhesion.

Soon after the dam was completed work was started on the powerhouse which is located on the south bank of the river. To get freight cars to the powerhouse site the railcar barge landing was moved to the south side in 1949. The first three generators were placed online in 1952, 1953, and 1954. The fourth generator was placed into service in November 1956.

With the need to haul more freight for Ross Dam Diesel Electric #7 was built by Skagit Steel and Iron Works in 1939 for service on the Rockport to Newhalem run. Three more electric locomotives from the Tacoma Municipal Beltline were added during World War Two to join the #80 and #300 which had come up in the 30's. Also on hand at various times were electric locomotives owned by the contractors and a 2-6-2T which was used at one of the gravel pits. 

The Skagit Tours

One of the biggest promoters of the Skagit Project had to be Seattle City Light Superintendent James Delmage Ross, or J.D. as he was known to his friends. Ross believed that all the citizens of Seattle should have a chance to visit the Skagit and see its potential. Towards this end City Light began two day tours to the Skagit beginning in 1926. Visitors would find their own way to Rockport and then board an afternoon passenger train to Newhalem. Upon arrival at Newhalem the guests would find their rooms and then meet for supper at Gorge Inn, where they would truly gorge on some great food. After dinner the tour would cross the river and visit the Newhalem Powerhouse which provides the power for the town and gets it water from Newhalem Creek. At dusk the group would tour the Gorge Powerhouse and then take a tour of Ladder Creek Falls which are lit up at night with colored lights.

Breakfast would come early at 6:45 AM and by 7:30 the tourist was on an electric powered passenger train heading eastward. Up until 1930 the visitor went only as far as Gorge Creek but in 1930 trips were extended to Diablo and a ride up the Incline to view Diablo Dam from Windy Point. In 1931 a new feature was added to the trip when two ex-US Navy Motor Launches gave the guest a ride 4 1/2 miles up Diablo Lake to view the proposed site of Ruby Dam (after the passing of JD Ross in 1939 the dam was renamed in his honor). In 1935 a new boat was needed and the "Alice Ross" was built on the lake. Carrying 300 passengers the boat was named for the wife of J.D. Ross. After viewing Diablo Powerhouse the trip would return to Newhalem for lunch and a return trip to Rockport by 3:45 PM. Tours continued to grow each year but 1941 was the last year of the two day trips. World War Two with its heightened security and gas restrictions brought tours to an end.

After the war was over the construction of Ross Dam didn't allow for the tours. In 1953 one day tours were started on the weekends with visitors driving to Newhalem. Tours would then head east on the electric train to Diablo, a ride up the incline, and a boat ride on Diablo Lake. On April 3, 1954 the last trip using the railroad was held for a group of school teachers and by April 5th dismantling of the railroad began.

To haul passengers on the railroad four electric motor coaches were purchased which had formerly run on the Puget Sound Electric Railway between Seattle and Tacoma and later five more motor coaches were acquired after serving the Oregon Electric Railway. All of the electric motors were removed with the cars used strictly as trailers. A wood coach from the Northern Pacific Railway and several flatcars converted with benches helped to round out the fleet. 

Sticks and Stones - Other Freight Hauling

Besides hauling the materials neccessary for the dam construction the railroad also transported timber and mineral products for those located along the railroad. Logs were hauled for the entire duration of the railroad with early loggers such as Jennings and Nestos and Erickson and Fuhrman running there own trains over the railroad to Rockport and interchange with the Great Northern. Several sawmills also were built along the railroad hauling shakes and lumber from such mills as the Buller Brothers Lumber Company located near Marblemount.

The other natural resources hauled were dug from the ground. Large deposits of talc are located along the route with this used for making paper glossy besides the more well known talcum powder. Another raw material was silica sand which was used for various purposes such as an abrasive and glass.

These shipments were very important in that they helped to offset the costs of maintaining the railroad and shipments remained up even in later years. For 1952 from Newhalem to Rockport 126 carloads of logs, 247 cars of silica, and 54 cars of talc were handled along with the 427 emptys brought in to be loaded. Material for the project itself came to 293 carloads of cement, 396 carloads of contractors material, and 338 carloads of city material which were transported from Rockport to Newhalem and Diablo. On top of this 1,934 carloads of gravel were hauled to Diablo Lake where the gravel was dumped onto barges for the trip to Ross Powerhouse. Also moved were 1,509 city owned cars of freight that was transferred from trucks. Add to this 82,682 passengers primarily from Diablo to Newhalem and it was very, very busy. 

End of the Line

The end of the railroad was becomong more of reality by the early 1950's. The road which had been extended from Marblemount to the outskirts of Newhalem in the 1930's was finally extended into camp in 1939. At first small shipments started coming in by truck and as truck sizes increased so did the loads. Also with the completing of the Ross Powerhouse the larger material was coming to an end. Another factor was the building of a large dam at Gorge Creek which had to be built on top of the railroad right of way. On April 5, 1954 the work of removing the railroad began from Diablo to Newhalem with the bridges at Devils Elbow, Ferry Bar, and Stetattle Creek planked to allow one way highway traffic. A new highway was built to Diablo to allow completion of the High Gorge Dam. The Incline at Diablo was rebuilt to allow trucks to be moved up the mountain and the barges were also setup to move trucks.

All of the railroad equipment was removed except for 2-6-2 #6 which was placed on display at Newhalem and Tankcar #138 which was kept at Diablo Lake to store fuel for the boats (in 1967 the car was sold to the Northwest Railway Museum at Snoqualmie). Most of the equipment was scrapped except for two of the ex-Oregon Electric passenger cars which became part of Andys Diner in Seattle and two more ex-OE cars which made it to the Black Hills Central Railroad in South Dakota. Several flatcars also are at Snoqualmie and Diesel-Electric Locomotive #7 operated at the Port of Vancouver, Washington until being scrapped in the early 90's.