In 1885, a group of Seattle businessmen formed the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway. Their plan was to build a railroad from Seattle, through Woodinville, Squak (now Issaquah), Preston, “The Landing” (early name for Fall City), Rangers Prairie (now Snoqualmie and North Bend) and over the pass to Eastern Washington. The current Preston-Snoqualmie Trail is a portion of that route. With venture capital from the sale of stock, the railroad began laying track, and by 1888, it had reached Issaquah.
Creation of the new railway route required the building of several trestles. One of the longest carried the tracks across the Raging River between Preston and Fall City (below). This trestle collapsed in 1900 (below) and was rebuilt in 1901.
In 1891, the U.S. Postal Service contracted with the railroad to carry the mail. Mail was dropped off at the Fall City Depot and then was brought to the post office by Simon “Time” Bailey with his twohorse team and wagon. He also transported freight and passengers.
In 1901, the Northern Pacific Railroad acquired the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern track, facilities and rolling stock. However, with improvements in roads and vehicles, the railroads began to lose money on spurs like the one connecting North Bend to Seattle. In 1970, what remained of the Northern Pacific became the Burlington Northern and by 1974, rail service to the Snoqualmie Valley had been discontinued. The tracks that had tied the Snoqualmie Valley to the outside world were torn up and the bridges and trestles dismantled. Within a few years all that was left was a trail for hikers and bikers, called the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail.
