Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad silk train, ca. 1921

By the end of the 1920s, the single most valuable import coming through Seattle was Japanese silk. This luxury material came to Seattle on fast steamships and was sent by express train to eastern markets. Because it was both expensive and perishable, silk needed to be handled very carefully. One train carried a cargo of silk valued at $5 million. In this photo, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway silk train speeds to the east. Electric locomotives were often used for travel through tunnels because they did not produce poisonous fumes. *Subjects (LCTGM): Silk industry; Railroads; Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company

Date

c. 1921

Photographer / author

Webster & Stevens

Archive

Wikimedia Commons

Type

photograph

Original size

700 × 567 pixels

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