The NP incorporated a new lessor subsidiary, the Northern Pacific and Puget Sound Shore Railroad, on August 23, 1884, to acquire the entire line between Meeker and Seattle. Talks dragged on, and finally, in early October 1885, the NP began repairing the damage from a year of neglect, reopening it permanently on October 26. On October 31, 1889, the property of the Puget Sound Shore Railroad was sold to the new NP subsidiary, and on April 21, 1898, the line was sold to the reorganized Northern Pacific Railway. In addition, the company in 1890 and 1891 had partially constructed a branch from Black River Junction around the east side of Lake Washington to Woodinville, which the NP completed in 1903 and 1904. (The NP's line over Stampede Pass would open in 1887, connecting near Wilkeson with the old branch and shortening the distance east from Seattle and Tacoma.)