We named our company Iron Goat Networks in tribute to one of the great engineering feats of the nineteenth century. The corporate symbol of the Great Northern Railway which connected St.Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington by way of Stevens Pass in 1893. The nickname "iron goat" was applied to Great Northern locomotives climbing the mountainous rail line in the Rockies and Cascade mountains.

The Iron Goat Trail follows a portion of the line built in the Cascades in 1882. The train was carried over the summit on a series of switchbacks with a maximum elevation of 4,059 feet above sea level. In 1900 a tunnel 2.63 miles in length was completed, which reduced the summit elevation to 3,383 feet and enabled the train to bypass the switchbacks.

Several snowsheds were added for safety but winter conditions still presented serious hazards and trains were often delayed for days in winter storms. This prompted more improvements. As rail traffic increased a new Cascade Tunnel was completed in 1929. This eight mile tunnel is still in use today. The opening of the new tunnel made the old grade obsolete and it was abandoned completely. This abandoned stretch comprises the Iron Goat Trail today.

Connecting the east to the west over the Cascades was no easy feat, but was necessary for expansion. It is with this spirit we are bringing broadband to areas others have determined are too difficult. Iron Goat Networks is proud to serve the needs of Sky Valley and, like the engineers who cleared the way over the mountains, will continue looking for ways to bring broadband and IT services to the entire valley.

For more information on the Iron Goat Trail and the history of the Great Northern Railway, please visit their respective sites.

The Iron Goat Trail
Great Northern Railway Historical Society