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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1887)
AVALANCHES AND SNOW SHEDS. SNOW slides are among the dangers track and carried it down the mountain, to l-e encountered in operating rail- across the valley and up the other side, roads through high mountain pass- opposite its former position, and there e. Early in its history, the Central Pa- the disjointed track was found when the rifle road learned that it would be im- snow melted in the spring. One can im- jwhilile to keep its line open for traffic agine the fate of a train which might in th winter season, unless it were pro- unfortunately stand in the pathway of Wted from avalanches, which either such a 6nowy giant Snow sheds are so wept it away entirely, or buried it be- constructed that the one-sided roof will neath a rna9 of enow, timber and rocks, slant upwards at the same angle as the wLich required much time, labor and mountain, to which it is firmly secured. einw to remove. Long stretches of By this means, the avalanche is guided snow constructed of heavy tim- on its way, so that it passes over the Unsecured together by iron bolts, were track and down into the valley without built at the most eipoeed places, over a doing any damage whatever. In order stretch of forty miles of track, the sheds to withstand the shock and bear up the citing an average of 810,000.00 per enormous weight of snow, these sheds rm e Happily, the Northern Pacific must be as strong as wood and iron can and Oregon Short Line have but a small make them. To construct one mile of portum of their lines exposed to these shed, requires more than six million feet deductive avalanches. The Canadian of timbers, siity-two thousand bolts, I lanmi f thousand spikes, ten inches in length, ".r and tr ftrackMr totheir 1 the engraving on another page.The HleT erect 7 haS & a graphic pic Je o one rroWtioJ 6hed8 ofthese tremendous slides, as it is car- t b tu f nble ught 40 irS train. Thanks to these staunch prc- UV. until Zibg ltTZ rsot danger A l It dite W y at Z flT7 T4 Th086 Bering , arul vo, JZ" J exposed to snow slides, until, at l4,t, it rushes nW. IT cleMed of the 8now falls and V -Uity, cis lth the 6hed8 the plows, at great ithiUndcrnCgutXD ch are kept open through . in th mountain. DoWn into ""J1 e mountains during the winters, only it ruahe. roM it up on tWi? ; g blockaded for a few ud Mtil iu fore U spent i hen 801116 storm more than or- irt on li 7 one dinary Verity defies the greatest ef- two kund fwt d tain a clear passageway for