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Queen Anne Counterbalance
Queen Anne Counterbalance cars in operation, c. 1910. View is directed north along Queen Anne Ave.
Service
Operator(s)
History
Opened1901; 123 years ago (1901)
Closed11 August 1940; 84 years ago (1940-08-11)
Technical
Track length1,500 ft (460 m) (Comstock to Roy)
CharacterCombination electric & funicular streetcar

The Queen Anne Counterbalance was a funicular streetcar line operated by the Seattle Electric Company, serving the steep slope along its namesake street on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington state from 1901 to 1940. It replaced an earlier cable car line built by the Front Street Cable Railway in 1891.

Design

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Map
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500m
550yds
3
Southern terminus (Denny Way)
2
1
Key locations on the Queen Anne Counterbalance Line
1
Northern terminus (Comstock)
2
End of cable loop (Roy)
3
Southern terminus (Denny Way)

The steep hill along Queen Anne Avenue has grades of up to 19 percent between Mercer and Comstock.[1][a] The initial cable car service to the top of the hill that was completed in 1891 used a route north from the existing cable car powerhouse at Denny Way and 2nd Avenue along 2nd, west via Aloha Street to Queen Anne Avenue, then north via Queen Anne to the terminus at Highland Drive.[3] After Seattle Electric Company took over the Front Street Cable Railway in 1900, the line was rerouted and converted to funicular operation by 1901 along Queen Anne Avenue, north from Mercer to the terminus at Comstock.

Cross-section of Queen Anne Counterbalance

The counterbalance that began operation in 1901 used an underground cable that looped around two sheaves, one each at the top and bottom of the hill. The surface-running passenger streetcar attached to the upper cable length and ran on tracks at street level. The lower cable length was connected to a rail car counterweight that ran on a parallel set of tracks in an underground tunnel below the surface tracks. A narrow gauge railway (2 ft 6 in) was laid in the tunnel for the counterweight rail car, laden with 16 short tons (15 t) of concrete and pig iron. When the streetcar ascended or descended, it would be counterbalanced by the descending/ascending rail car.[1] The timber-lined counterweight tunnel was set at a constant grade of 13.5%, aside from the top and bottom ends, and has a cross-section of 5 ft (1.5 m) wide by 4 ft (1.2 m) tall.[2]

At the top and bottom of the hill, the streetcar would stop so that attendants stationed in small booths could engage (or disengage) the streetcar from the counterbalance cable and adjust the weight of the counterbalance rail car; the work-intensive attachment and adjustment processes limited minimum headways to 12 minutes.[1][2] The car connected to a "plow" attached to the upper cable run; the plow was a single plate of steel, 3⁄4 in (19 mm) thick, which projected a few inches above the center slot. The streetcar engaged a notch cut into the center of the plow using a cross-bar controlled by the conductor.[2]

Roadwork in 1934 exposed the tracks and center slot atop the second tunnel of the Counterbalance

This design was invented by J.P.F. Kuhlmann, a civil engineer in Seattle, and was implemented earlier in that city on Washington Avenue (1891, 16% grade)[2] and on Rainier Avenue (17% grade).[4] Outside of Seattle, the Kuhlmann design also was used on the Front Street route (14% grade) of the City & West Portland Motor Line in Portland, Oregon,[5] the College Hill line (15% grade) of the Union Railroad in Providence, Rhode Island,[6][7] and the Selby Avenue line (1898, 16% grade) in St. Paul, Minnesota.[8] The Queen Anne Counterbalance had the largest tunnel and counterweight car of all the Kuhlmann systems.[2] A similar underground counterweight system was used for the Balmain Tramway extension, but with horizontal sheaves.[9]

In 1902, a parallel set of tracks were added on the west side of Queen Anne Avenue, with a second underground tunnel and concrete rail weight.[1] That year, Seattle Electric Company also purchased ten new streetcars to serve the line, numbered 311 to 320, which were built by the Stephenson Car Company.[3] Most served until service over the line was discontinued in 1940.[10] In 1908, the first tunnel was rebuilt with reinforced concrete supports.[2]

History

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Initially, the Front Street Cable Railway (FSCRy) started a cable car franchise in 1889, connecting Pioneer Square and Denny Way via Front Street (now First Avenue) in Seattle. FSCRy extended its line north to Highland Drive via 2nd, Aloha, and Queen Anne under a subsidiary called the North Seattle Cable Railway Company in 1891.[3] Cable cars, as designed for hilly San Francisco, were ideal for the steep northernmost blocks of the extended line.[1]

Single-track Counterbalance c. 1901 or 1902, viewed north from Mercer, photographed by Asahel Curtis

The panic of 1893 left the company weak and after going bankrupt in 1898, FSCRy and its franchises were acquired by the Seattle Electric Company in 1900,[3] who promptly set about electrifying the cable car lines to reduce operating costs. For the northernmost blocks along Queen Anne (between Mercer and Comstock), electric streetcars would rely on a counterbalance system instead of a tow cable and grip. By early 1901, the Queen Anne Counterbalance began operation with a single track.[1]

In May 1901, Seattle Electric advanced a plan to tunnel beneath Queen Anne Hill to replace the counterbalance, but the idea was unpopular and not pursued further.[1] The first serious mishap occurred less than a week later, after a counterbalance cable snapped, releasing the railcar weight, which buried itself at the bottom of the hill and shut down operations for two days.[1] By 1903, the street had been paved.[11]

Counterbalance car #320, immobilized by the Big Snow of Feb 2–3, 1916

On March 5, 1937, Seattle Municipal Railway held a race between the Counterbalance and a new trolleybus, powered by a temporary overhead line; the trolleybus, laden with 92 passengers, finished climbing the hill in a minute and a half, well ahead of the streetcar, which finished in just over three minutes despite the latter being given a head start from halfway up the hill.[11] The Queen Anne Counterbalance streetcars finished their final run early on the morning of August 11, 1940; that run was swamped by a "mob of 70 Queen Anne youths" who took over the streetcar for approximately 15 minutes, dispersing the 40 passengers onboard, breaking windows, and throwing rotten fruits and vegetables; 20 were arrested later in connection with the wild scene.[1] A trolleybus line assumed service over Queen Anne starting on September 2,[11] but the tunnels were retained in case the counterweight cars were needed to assist the trolleybuses during winter.[1] The surface tracks and cable slots were removed in 1943.[10]

Currently, Queen Anne Avenue is served by King County Metro route 2, which is a trolleybus line in Seattle.[12] As of 2019, the underground tunnels and counterweight cars are still present and undisturbed.[13]

Accidents

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On the evening of December 23, 1901, Mary Phelan was killed in a collision on the Fillmore Counterbalance that left nine others injured.[14] Car no. 757, which was carrying approximately fifteen passengers, suddenly slid north down the hill without warning from its starting position at Broadway. At the time, two cars were stopped at Green: one on the opposite track, waiting for a descending car to help carry it up, and another at the switch between tracks; the conductors of these two cars, seeing no. 757 plunging down the hill, alerted their passengers, who escaped to safety. No. 757 collided with the car stopped at the switch at Green, staving in the left side of the stationary car and throwing it off the tracks; no. 757 continued downward after the collision, jumping its tracks and running on the cobblestone street until it collided with a telegraph pole at Union.[14] Mayor-elect Eugene Schmitz witnessed the accident from his home and called the offices of the Market Street Railway, asking them to send medical help.[15]

The initial investigation blamed the conductor for uncoupling no. 757 from the underground cable; the car had just come up the hill and was about to make a return trip down due to a prior accident that had delayed operations.[16] A subsequent court hearing found that while the conductor failed to couple the car to the cable properly, he was not faulted because the timer had rang the signal bell prematurely, prompting the motorman to start operation before the Counterbalance was ready.[17]

Additional accidents followed. In October 1907, the ascending car detached from the cable, causing the two descending cars to plunge "down the hill at a terrific pace".[18] Brake failure caused a car to plunge downhill in May 1914.[19] In June 1915, the motorman lost control of a descending car while halfway down the hill; according to initial reports, the descending car jumped the tracks at Green and collided with an ascending car.[20][21] It was later clarified the descending train had received a premature signal to release the cable, causing a two-car ascending train to reverse direction and smash into an ascending train behind it at Green; conductors had tried to minimize casualties by herding passengers to the ends away from the collision, and opening the doors to allow some passengers to jump from the cars.[22] In August 1915, ex-Mayor Schmitz was involved in another Fillmore accident when the automobile in which he was riding was struck by a Fillmore car at Vallejo.[23]

Sun-softened pavement was credited with slowing a runaway car and preventing a more serious accident when it came off the rails in July 1918.[24] In November 1921, a two-story house at 2924-2926 Fillmore was jolted off its foundations after a runaway downhill Counterbalance car left the tracks at Union and smashed into the building.[25]


Counterbalance Park

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Lit retaining walls at Counterbalance Park (Feb 2009)

Counterbalance Park: An Urban Oasis is a small 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) municipal park at 700 Queen Anne Ave N., named for the Counterbalance line which ran nearby.[26] It was designed by landscape architect Robert Murase and artist Iole Alessandrini and completed in 2008, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on July 19.[27][28]

Originally, Counterbalance Park was designed by Murase with a water feature flowing over stones on the upper level; however, due to budget constraints, this was never implemented. To honor the private donor that made the largest single contribution, an "art element" was added consisting of five sculpted rocks. The implemented "art element" was criticized because the final designs were never reviewed or approved by Seattle Parks staff prior to installation, and the execution was seen as inelegant.[29]

The park, partially funded with private donations, was panned initially as unimpressive and uninviting.[30] After the lighting system designed by Alessandrini and Murase was debugged, programmable LEDs light up the north and east concrete retaining walls and under the benches from 5 PM to 2 AM nightly[31] and the site was praised as "Seattle's best after-hours park", provided that foot traffic would increase.[30]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Grades along Queen Anne range from 13.8% to 18.7%, reduced to 8–10% through intersecting streets.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kershner, Jim (April 13, 2019). "Queen Anne Counterbalance Streetcar (Seattle)". HistoryLink. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "A Cable Counterweight System for a Steep-Grade on an Electric Railway at Seattle, Wash". Engineering News. 65 (10): 282–283. March 9, 1911.
  3. ^ a b c d Herschensohn, Michael (September 15, 2011). "Counterbalance & Streetcars". Queen Anne Historical Society. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Climbing Precipitous Bluffs". Los Angeles Herald. July 4, 1896. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  5. ^ "The Counterbalance System of Operating Electric Cars on Steep Grades". Engineering News. XXIX (26): 620–621. June 29, 1893.
  6. ^ "The Kuhlmann counter-weight cable system". Engineering News. XXXII (15): 287. October 11, 1894.
  7. ^ "The Kuhlmann Counterweight System at Providence". Street Railway Review. 5 (4): 205–207. April 15, 1895.
  8. ^ "A 16% street railway grade". Engineering News. 58 (15): 380. October 10, 1907.
  9. ^ Shaw, Percy William (January 24, 1907). "Counterweight device on the Balmain Tramway, Sydney, New South Wales". Engineering News. 57 (4): 102–104.
  10. ^ a b Dorpat, Paul (February 27, 2001). "Now & Then — Queen Anne Counterbalance (Seattle)". HistoryLink. Retrieved 7 January 2022..
  11. ^ a b c Dorpat, Paul (1984). "61: The Queen Anne Counterbalance". Seattle: Now & Then (Second ed.). Tartu Publications.
  12. ^ "Route 2: West Queen Anne, Seattle Center West, Downtown Seattle, First Hill, Seattle University, Madrona Park". King County Metro. October 2, 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kershner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b "Woman is killed and many are injured in wreck on the Fillmore-Street Line". San Francisco Call. December 24, 1901. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Coroner's jury fixes the blame for Fillmore-Street accident". San Francisco Call. January 3, 1902. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Places blame on conductor". San Francisco Call. December 25, 1901. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Employees Responsible: Coroner's Jury Blames Them for the Street Car Accident". Los Angeles Herald. January 3, 1902. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Wild panic on runaway cars". Marysville Daily Appeal. October 17, 1907. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Crowded car dashes down Fillmore hill". Press Democrat. May 8, 1914. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  20. ^ "ME cars in smash". Riverside Daily Press. United Press. June 7, 1915. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Many are hurt in street car crash". Morning Press. Associated Press. June 8, 1915. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Street cars crash down incline". Morning Union. June 8, 1915. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Gene Schmitz Escapes in Auto Accident". San Francisco Call. August 24, 1915. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Soft Pavement Saves Derailed Fillmore Car". San Francisco Call. July 3, 1918. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Car plunges down Fillmore St. hill; 3 injured". San Francisco Call. November 16, 1921. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Counterbalance Park". Seattle Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  27. ^ Blankenbehler, Benjamin (September 10, 2015). "Counterbalance Park, Queen Anne Seattle". Architecture Revived. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Counterbalance Park Opening, Identifier 172712". Seattle Municipal Archives Digital Collections. July 19, 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  29. ^ Hinshaw, Mark (April 3, 2012). "Messing with a park designed by a landscape master". Crosscut. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  30. ^ a b Miller, Brian (November 26, 2008). "Counterbalance Park". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  31. ^ Miller, Brian (May 8, 2009). "Featured in our public art roundup a couple weeks back, Counterbalance Park". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Queen Anne Counterbalance.

Category:1891 establishments in Washington (state) Category:1940 disestablishments in Washington (state) Category:Cable car railways in the United States Category:Streetcars in Washington (state) Category:Transportation in Seattle Category:Tram, urban railway and trolley companies Category:San Francisco Municipal Railway Category:History of Seattle

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