by Semaphore Sam
Before the building of the Salmon Bay Bridge, in the early 1900's, I heard the ROW (NP, I think, but might have been GN) went on the south edge of Ballard to around 14th Ave, where it crossed on another bridge, of which I saw no evidence. I investigated that stretch (14th Ave to the Locks area around the present bridge) and found remnants of what looked to be 3, or even 4 tracks in parallel, embedded in street most of the way. These might have been sidings, or part of the old ROW, or both. Dates of rail are mostly 1912 & 1922, when readable. Does anyone out there know exactly where the ROW ran, how many tracks it had, or have pics of the old bridge at 14th Ave, or have any other info on this stretch? It must have been a bottleneck, running it seems in a downtown stretch on street areas, properly bypassed. It is now part of a long siding, or industrial branch. Thanks, Sam.
