Unfortunately, the tunnel area continued to be plagued by snow slides. Box-cab electrics were used to haul trains through the tunnel itself. Due to fume problems from the coal-burning steam locomotives used in those days, the railroad decided to electrify the tracks extending from both ends of the tunnel. The tunnel, at 2.6 miles (4.2 km) in length, made the journey less subject to severe winter weather. A few years later, in 1900, the first Cascade Tunnel opened and the switchbacks were eliminated. Originally, the track alignment required trains to negotiate a treacherous series of switchbacks to make the crossing over Washington's Cascade Mountains. The Great Northern Railway completed its link to the Puget Sound port of Seattle in 1893.
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