 The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway; the Davenport–Spokane line is not shown | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
| Locale | Washington |
| Dates of operation | 1885–1896 |
| Successors | |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) was a railroad founded in Seattle, Washington, on April 28, 1885, with three tiers of purposes: Build and run the initial line to the town of Ballard, bring immediate results and returns to investors; exploit resources east in the valleys, foothills, Cascade Range, and Eastern Washington in 19th-century style, attracting more venture capital; and boost a link to a transcontinental railroad for Seattle, the ultimate prize for incorporation. The historical accomplishment of the line was Seattle to Sumas at the border, with British Columbia, Canada, connecting with the Canadian Pacific transcontinental at the border at Huntingdon, British Columbia, now part of the City of Abbotsford.
In addition to the historical accomplishment, the SLS&E built and ran branches from Seattle through Bothell, on to Woodinville, to Sallal Prairie (just past North Bend); Salmon Bay (the industrial district of the town of Ballard); and Spokane to Davenport. Toward the latter end, one goal was creating a rail connection to North Dakota via Wallula,[1] an outpost on the Columbia River in the early decades of railroad booms, near the present Tri-Cities. Local historian William Speidel reported that Henry Villard, tycoon of the Northern Pacific Railway (NP), had the federal rights and had the line through Wallula built.[2] The SLS&E was first incorporated to build a line from the Seattle harbor in old Downtown, along Elliott Bay to the lumber and fishing town of Ballard.
Subsequent to its abandonment in 1971, a southern portion of the railroad’s right-of-way re-opened in 1978 as the Burke-Gilman Trail.