Lake Washington Ship Canal begun in 1906, and work began in earnest five years later. The delays in canal planning and construction resulted in the U.S. Navy building the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, which is located across the Sound from Seattle. For centuries, people had been dragging boats between the lakes, giving names like "carry a canoe" "sxWátSadweehL" to the crossing points. In 1854 Seattle pioneer Thomas Mercer proposed canals connecting Lake Union and Lake Washington to Puget Sound in a speech at the first Independence Day celebration of the Seattle area's first permanent white settlement, shortly after its founding. Mercer
Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad through on these unit trains to Grays Harbor, Washington for unloading. These run through trains are operated by PSAP crews. The PSAP hauled around 80,000 carloads in 2011. Elma Subdivision The Elma Subdivision is the primary mainline for the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad and is approximately 70 miles in length. The Elma Sub starts in Centralia, Washington, Milepost 5, and ends in Hoquiam, Washington, Milepost 75. This subdivision handles traffic to and from the Port of Grays Harbor including grain, autos, soda ash, soybean, garbage, manifest, and local trains. Shelton Subdivision The Shelton Subdivision stretches from Elma, Washington to