Lake Washington steamboats and ferries the floating bridge, the last ferry route was retired, and the boat was sold to the Washington State Ferries, which had taken over the Puget Sound Navigation Company in 1951. Lake Washington steamboats and ferries Lake Washington steamboats and ferries operated from about 1875 to 1951, transporting passengers, vehicles and freight across Lake Washington, a large lake to the east of Seattle, Washington. Before modern highways and bridges were built, the only means of crossing the lake, other than the traditional canoe, was by steamboat, and, later, by ferry. While there was no easily navigable connection to Puget Sound, the
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