Tiger Mountain was once covered with dense stands of old growth forest. In 1912, William Wood and Iver Iverson decided to build a lumber mill near Hobart. They had previously operated a successful shingle mill in Snohomish County. At the height of their operations, Wood & Iverson operated 15 miles of logging railroad on Tiger Mountain.
State law required that the left over slash, stumps and standing snags be burned after a clear cut is completed to reduce future fire danger, and aid in reforestation. On September 23, 1923, a slash fire started in a clear cut of the nearby Northwest Lumber Company spread into Wood & Iverson's timber holdings. The fire consumed cut timber, damaged track and bridges, and destroyed a Wood & Iverson lumber camp.
A crew cleaning up after the fire on February 23, 1923 overloaded their train. As the train came down the mountain, control was lost and the Climax Locomotive, an unoccupied passenger coach, a flat car with a Clyde Tracklayer, and a flatcars carrying steel rail jumped the tracks on the Holder Creek bridge. All but one of the crew were able jump to safety before the wreck. A 50 year old section hand died in the accident.
The locomotive was salvaged, rebuilt, and returned to service by the Wood & Iverson shop. The wood coach and Clyde Tracklayer were damaged beyond salvage and the coach was burned on the spot. Almost everything else was salvaged.
Most of the wreck is gone, but many pieces remain as reminder of that unlucky day. Wood & Iverson continued to log Tiger Mountain until the death of Wood in 1932. The assets of Wood & Iverson were sold to another logging concern by 1934. The last timber in the former Wood & Iverson holdings was cut in 1941.
Getting There
Park at the trailhead at Tiger Mountain Summit off Highway 18. Depending on the season, there is an upper parking lot a quarter mile up the road through the white gate. Park there if you can.
Walk west on the West Side road (which is gated). At 2.1 miles you'll pass a gate for the Iverson Railroad trail. (You can take trail back to the upper parking lot on the return trip.) Walk 3/10 of a mile further on the West Side Road to where the Tiger Mountain Trail (TMT) crosses the West Side Road.
When you get to the TMT gate, make careful note that the trail is posted with signs that it is open to foot traffic only. Now keep count of the number of mountain bikers that disregarded those signs while you walk uphill on the TMT. About a half mile up the trail, you'll step across a bit of cable left over from the logging days. If you stop and look up, you'll see the railroad grade about 30 feet in front of you.
The trail turns right on the railroad grade and follows it for about a half mile. Where the hiking trail makes a sharp hairpin turn to the left, overhead on tree above the trail, there's a small wooden sign identifying the location as "Zeig's Zag". Old maps I've seen indicate that was a switch back on the logging railroad.
At this point, if you look past the sign, you'll see a faint foot path continuing on the railroad grade in the same direction you have been walking. About 20 yards down this path you'll find the first artifacts of the wreck.
If you walk past the two wheel sets, springs and journal box, you'll see more fragments of journal boxes and piping beside the trail. A few yards further on you come the twisted wreck of the Clyde Tracklayer (sort of crane like apparatus that was mounted on a flat car) wrapped around a tree, the boom pointing to more wreckage in the creek below.
This is the site of the Holder Creek bridge. All traces of the bridge are gone. If you walk down the bank, you'll see that a dam has been formed by debris and gravel held in place by several lengths of rail that were not salvaged. Across the creek you can see the coupler and draft gear from one of wrecked rail cars.
Not many people come here, and it is quiet and dark. Take a few minutes to think about how this place must have looked 80 years ago. A few tall stumps are all that remains of the original forest. All the trees that shade you now from the afternoon sun are second growth that has grown up since Woods & Iverson logged the area. Please remember that removal of any of the artifacts is against the law, and leave everything as you found it for future generations to enjoy.
Bibliography and Resources
Schmelzer, Ken. Wood & Iverson: Loggers of Tiger Mountain. (2001) Oso Publishing, Arlington WA ISBN 1-931064-01-6 (Available in the Northwest Railway Museum Bookstore)
Longwell, William K. Jr. Guide to Trails of Tiger Mountain. (1990) Issaquah Alps Trail Club, Issaquah WA
Tiger Mountain - No 204s. (2002) Green Trails Maps, Seattle WA
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