lbadge320     2 years, 2 months ago

Beautiful shot!

• Sign in to reply
• Suggest removal

LiveFREEorDIE     2 years, 2 months ago

I agree. Very nicely done!

• Sign in to reply
• Suggest removal

    2 years, 2 months ago

Very nice indeed! My wife and I have taken that nature walk to the end of that trail several times. It's always a pleasurable experience.   Lots of history there on that bridge for those who are interested in steam engine trains that were once very much a part of Leavenworth's logging industry once upon a time.    

• Sign in to reply
• Suggest removal

douglas     2 years, 2 months ago

Very nice. But Marv, the trail and bridge carried water pipe from the Tumwater Dam to the Great Northern's hydro electric plant that would have been to the right of the picture. The plant provided power for the electrified line between Sky and Wenatchee.

• Sign in to reply
• Suggest removal

mtg0722     2 years, 2 months ago

Only word I can think of is "Stunning"

• Sign in to reply
• Suggest removal

    2 years, 1 month ago

Hi Doug. I knew that the old steel truss bridge carried a steel water pipe (originating at the Tumwater Dam) across the bridge to the current highway side of the river for the hydroelectric generators that you mentioned. The old Great Northern railway route used to coincide with Highway 2 as it now runs through Tumwater Canyon. These hydroelectric generators supplied power for a three mile trolley section running through the old Cascade Tunnel at Stevens Pass. I was always under the impression that steam engine locomotives also filled their tenders (15,000-20,000 gallon holding capacity) at or near the same location as the generators, using the same water made available from the Tumwater Dam. Since that supply water was already under pressure, a fill line would have made an overhead storage tank for filling purposes unnecessary and it also would have filled the tenders very quickly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://people.msoe.edu/~westr/stevens.htm

HISTORIC TUMWATER DAM

The Tumwater Hydroelectric Project was constructed from 1907 to 1909. At that time, the hydroelectric project was the largest west of Niagara Falls. The project was constructed by the Great Northern Railway Company to produce power for electric locomotives traveling through the old Cascade Tunnel on the Stevens Pass route.

Electrification of the three miles of the line brought an end to the serious smoke and gas conditions in the tunnel resulting from the coal burning locomotives. Four 100-ton electric locomotives were in service on the trolley line to pull passenger and freight trains through the tunnel, which was abandoned in 1929 upon construction of a new eight-mile-long Cascade Tunnel. The locomotives were the first in the United States to utilize the principle of regenerative braking, returning power to the lines on the downhill grade.

From the Tumwater Dam, water was delivered through a penstock to a powerhouse over two miles downstream. A bridge was constructed across the river to allow railroad access to the dam construction site. The bridge was then utilized to carry the penstock to the powerhouse. The bridge still stands, and serves as a link to the old penstock route. The powerhouse was a concrete and brick structure that housed three waterwheels and three 2,000 kilowatt generators.

The Tumwater Hydroelectric Project was closed in 1956. By that time, the railroad had converted to diesel engines. The project was purchased by the Chelan County public Utility District in 1957. The powerhouse and related generating facilities were subsequently removed.

The Tumwater Dam is now equipped with modern fish passage facilities to assist adult salmon and steelhead returning to their spawning grounds.    

• Sign in to reply
• Suggest removal