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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1910)
THE MORXIXG OREGOXIAX, SATUUDAY, JANUARY i, 1910. n penes REGON VAST .HAY EM PI BU SI MX EA "w r? - j:t V1 V' i- W 'VVS 0 TRUNK Wl Lb OWM 5 J ';' "vl S , . .'- V UE AND LD THROUGH bIN 9, Ill ST. AND SQUTl APPROXIMATELY Ji.000.000 is the amount of the initial expend!-, ture to be made by James J. Hill and his associates in constructing -the Great Northern extension Into Cen tral Oregon, known as the Oregon Trunk Line. The greater part . of this $5,000,000 m ill be expended in reaching simply, the outskirts of the--great territory, that lies practically undeveloped In Central Oregon. TJie Incorporation articles of the Hill road authorize an extension -to Klamath Kails hut- when cost of con struction Is considered and knowledge is obtained of the tonnage, that will be available off the main line of road des ignated in the Incorporation, papers no one can believe that the Oregon Trunk Line will cease construction work with a railway from its North Bank connec tion until an extension is hiade south to the California line. In Central Oregon there are men whose interests ite In that country who assert they know absolutely that engi neers for the Hill road are now work ing In the Malheur canyon, the one good route out of Interior Oregon to- r ward the East. Purchases of large property Interests In the vicinity of Lake View have been made by men In timately connected with the construc tion of the Oregon Trunk Line. Predic tion is made, founded on actual indi-' cations as well as on logical argument, that the Oregon Trunk Line will be ex tended to Lake View and will also build eastward across the state, tapping the high plains, then through the Burns country, down the Malheur River and a.cross Idaho to a connection with the Burlington. The lumber tonnage of Interior Ore gon, it Is argued, will demand a line to the EasW The yellow and sugar pine of unlimited quantities which exists on the east slope of the Cascades is par ticularly adapted for competition with Southern and Northern pine in the Middle West markets. It is about 25 per cent lighter than Jlr and In haul ing it East the railways will not so seriously be affected in rate making by water competition. Interior Oregon timber holders admit that their market Is toward the East and not toward the West which is already supplied with Its own fir forests. From Bend, running southeasterly. Is a dry river bod, flanked on the south FEATURES OP" OREGON TRCNK I.IXE. IT n d e r construction contracts 109 miles, Celilo to Madras. T e f I n 1 tely located Celilo to Crooked River. 140 miles. ' Probable Oregon Terminus Klamath Falls, with California extension and branches to Iake view and extension to Ontario on Eastern Oregon border. Approximate cost Celilo to Madras J5. 000,000. Number of men at work 2600. t Maximum working grade Six tenths of one per cent. Maximum curvatures Six de grees. Character of construction Rock and grave ballast, 85 to 90 pound steel: standard North Bank construction. Estimated time limit for com pletion to Madras Latter part of 110. by the Paulina Mountains and on the north by the Pine Mountains and Bear Creek Buttes. This draw Is known as Mllligan Gap and It is believed to be the Intention of the Oregon Trunk Line to branch off through Mllligan Gap to the Burns Country, while from a point 50, or 60 miles southeast of Bend on the Burns line will branch due south the Lake View extension skirting a heavy timber belt on the eastern shore of Summer Lake and the great borax de posits of that region. The Klamath I.akp extension will, it Is predicted, run on duo south from Bend and skirt the west shore of I-pper Klamath Lake. The Southern Pacific Natron extension Is occupying the east shore. Indica tions point to the Lake View line as the through California-route, inasmuch as by extending down the Pitt River Into the Sacramento Valley a through route between San Francisco and Port land can be secured on water grades between mountain ranges. It Is claimed for such a route that the type of en gine that pulls a train of cars out of Sacramento could haul the same train, without assistance, the entire distance Into Portland. While prospective extensions of the Oregon Trunk Line beyond Bend have Hot yet been authoritatively announccd. the entry of the road to Interior Ore gon is assured. Approximately 2600 men are engaged in construction work between Celilo and Crooked River and surveyors are working as far south as llosland. SO miles beyond Bend. The Oregon Trunk Line begins with bridge across the Columbia River, one mile west of Celilo. thereby form ing a connection with the North Bank railroad to Portland. Celilo is Just 100 miles east of Portland. There the Trunk Line engineers have selected a natural bridse site. At Celilo the mighty volume of the Columbia n!ver divides Into several channels and plunges through narrow gorges among basaltic rock Islands. Five spans, the longest of which will be 320 feet, will complete the bridge and every pier will be constructed on solid rock above the surface of the water. To reach one of these islands the railroad engineers liave had to construct an aerial tram way and now carry their instruments over a gorge of foaming water by means of a small car ''running ' on a single strand of wire cable. - The bridge will., give the Oregon Trunk line an overhead crossing of the O. R. & N. ' main line and a road way S3 feet above the Celilo Canal. From the Oregon sideof the bridge to the mouth of the Deschutes River the distance is four miles, and, the railway grade gradually climbs along the face of rock cliffs and.'curves into the Des chutes Canyon through a twnnel cut in solid rock. ' The railroad must clear the bottom of theDeschutes ..Canyon 150 feet In order to get over the Moody power dam site, located three" miles above the mouth, and for seven miles there will be an up grade-Beyond the Moody dam the road will continue at some elevation above the water's edge, for it Is necessary t clear the Govern ment dam site 24 -miles above the mouth of the Deschutes. The Government dam is to be 100 feet high, and the original survey of the railroad was located so that - it just cleared the proposed structure. After thousands of dollars had been expended In construction work, the Government required the railroad to go still ten feet higher, and 12 miles of road have been relocated, and the work already done In those 12 miles has been aban doned. About 40 miles frem the mouth of the Deschutes the first conflict oc curs with the Deschutes Railrded Com pany's line. The Oregon Trunk line for 75 miles loilows the west side of the rier without crossing. The rival road follows the . ear t bank for 40 miles, and then, to avoid heavy con struction and tunnel work through a projecting cii ff, 1 bridges the river, fol lows the west bank about Ave miles, and then crosses back to the east side. . To grasp the situation, one should understand that in the Deschutes Can yon there are few, if any, places where precipices have been formed on sides of, the river opposite each other. A great wall of perpendicular rock may be washed at the base by the river, but invariably the opposite sideslopes to towering, rounded hills. On the cliff side, railway construction is costly and difficult: on the other side is com paratively easy. The -cliffs alternate from one slore to the other, and al most always where the Hill line Is finding easy work, the Harriman road is blasting a roadbed through solid rock, and vice versa. To avoid one of IfvPSlt , , , , "tig: the frowning clins where rock tunnel work would be- necessary, the Oregon Trunk line jumps, the-river 73' miles from the mouth, and again there Is a conflict with the Harriman survey. This conflict exists for 12 miles, and to a point near the mouth of Trout" Creek, where the Deschutes line leaves the Deschutes to follow other canyons to the plains. The Oregon Trunk line con tinues on up the Deschutes 12 miles farther, and then turns up . "Willow Creek. . - - : On the 12 miles of conflict, the Oregon irunk line has construction crews at work, but the Harriman road is await ing a court decTsioti before proceeding further in that territory. For ten miles up Willow Creek the Ovearon Trunk line will be. working" in solid rock.- In that ten miles there will be six tunnels, and the cost of con struction will "approximate J150.000 a mile. Camps for construction work In "Willow Creek Canyon were established X 3 i L i , 4 " - A' 'by the Oregon Trunk line about one month ago at Madras, and soon 2000 men will be employed In building that portion of the road. . . , 'The next camp south established by the Oregon Trunk line is at the cross ing of Crooked River. 20 miles beyond Madras. . There grading is under way . oc- each side of the" river, and ap- . proaches are being blasted in the rock for what will be one of the most re markable bridges in the United States. Crocked , River cuts a meandering gash through what is in that . vicinity a level plain covered by juniper trees. One . hundred -yards, from the canyon the strange traveling through the country might look across it and not know that'the canyon existed. Across this chasm the distance at the bridere ; site is about. 320 feet. I-'rom either side one. can drop a stone straight down into Crooked River 382 feet below. One steel arched span will leap this chasm. When the traveler journeying to Cen. OeGOAr wzwr jssss 4 4 "S to" "toA. s-z&sss jLwa: ti-al Oregon over the Oregon Trunk line leaves the Columbia River and enters the mouth of the Deschutes he will be in bare and unproductive canyons while the train speeds over 100 miles of track. He will gain no inkling of the extent of the rolling fields of grain that lie on the plains of Sherman and Wasco counties 2000 feet above him. The train will emerge from Willow Creek Canyon with startling .sudden ness through a gap In a wall of rim rock that forms the western edge of the saucer-like basin in which Madr.-s is situated. . The -train will come from or" wild and rorkfcanyon as if from a tunnel,, onto the cultivated fields of Central Oregon. From there south ward the Oregon Trunk line travels through grain fields, irrigated lands or timber, all of which will contribute to its tonnage. It has been a b4g undertaking alone to get the . construction . work of the Oregon Trunk line under way. Con struction equipment must be taken Into the canyon either over roads that wind down the sides of the canyon or via the mouth, and thence up a wagon road constructed by the railroad for 40 miles along the shore of the river. Dis tributing depots have been established at Dufur, on the Great Southern Rail way, at The Dalles and at Shaniko. The construction - camps are reached from The Dalles via the Free bridge wagon 'road, with, a haul of about 22 miles: from Dufur the distance by wagon road to Hill's ranch, where the railroad has constructed a new road into the canyon, the distance is 17 miles, i Sherar's bridge, 40 miles' up stream from the mouth. Is reached from Dufur after a wagon haul of about 20 miles. From Shanfko the zqjvttj.s'?- s&cst&, rvruzar&j V 1 "Wft. stvc sis Crz..o haul to the camps varies from 20 to 45 miles. Much of the energy of the contractors during the first few months after work started was In the construction of wagon roads. Railway construction work progressed, however, in the meantime, and the entire work to Madras is r.ow under contract, sub contract or let to station men. Miles of grade have been completed, inter spersed with uncompleted links where the construction work will be slow and tedious or by tunnels where the men are now drilling and blasting. It is promised that Oregon Trunk line trains will be running into Central Oregon before the close of 1910. T eiiio Lanai is Great Project Pint Sec Won of Improvement to Cost 98.000,000 Nearly Iteadr. T HE portion of the Celilo canal now under construction will be com pleted, according to present pros pects, six or eight months within the time limit set by the Government. The contractors now ' are endeavoring to have the work finished by May, 1910, and with this done the canal will be about one-sixth completed, so far as the expenditure of money is concerned. The contracts under way, for which tl.000.000 has been appropriated, cover about three miles of the work. The length of the canal will be eight and one-half miles, extending from Celilo west to Big Eddy. . Efforts are to'be made' by the Con gressional delegations interested to se II MHIll A3Z. jjoivvv. cure continuing appropriations until the canal is completed, and the ad ditional cost, it Is estimated, will be from 5, 000, 000 to J6.000.000. The purpose of the canal is to form a waterway around Celilo falls, about 100 miles east of Portland, making; possible through river transportation for vessels of six feet draft to Wallula, Pasco and up the Snake River to Lew Iston, Idaho. The canal plans call for five locks, one of which has been completed.'' Two of these locks will be at Big Eddy, arranged tandem plan and similar io construction, although much smaller, to those to be constructed on the Pan ama canal. The two contracting firms having the present work in hand, are Smith & Jones, of Portland, and Coughren, Win ters. Smith & Co.. of Spokane. About 350 men are now engaged in the work, which progresses night and day. The canal is being cut through ba saltic rock and huge blasts of dynamite are set off to break up this rock, so that -it can be lifted by steam shovels into dump cars. An electric light plant supplies Illumination so that the trains of dump cars and the steam shovels need not cease work when darkness comes. Frank E. Leefe is the Government engineer in local charge. The upper end of trre Celilo Canal is just four miles west of the mouth of the Deschutes River, up which the Hill and Harriman railroads are now press ing. The canal is on the south side of -the. Columbia River, and is passed in close proximity by the main line of the O. R. & N. Across It, about one mile below the upper end, the Oregon Trunk Line plans to build the bridge that will span the Columbia River and make Its connection with the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway . on the north' bank of the Columbia,