Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-07-12
ON THE MARROW ESCAPE.
STRANGE AND PECULIAR FEAT
URES OF RAILROADING IN
OREGON.

Baldwin, "you don't want to miss
trip over the Narrow Escape rail
way that runs from an indefinite
point outside of Portland to where
ever night overtakes the train.
GA man who likes excitement
and adventure would enjoy the
ride. The road has been in the
hands of a receiver for some years,
and has fallen into a state of pict-
uresQue decay.
"NO two rails on the entire sys-
TEN are on the same level, and
there isan absence OF straight lines
and regularity that gives a charm.
ing variety and wayiness to the
perspective of the track. The cold.
Iy practical theory that the rails
shonld be supported by the ties
does not find favor with the section
men on the Narrow Escape line.
"The ties hang from the rails by
the spikeheads, but for the sake of
variety an occasional tie is permit.
ted to touch the rOadbed, which is
largely composed of loose cobbIes.
"TaIk about riding horseback for
exercise 1t doesn't compare With
railroading over the Narrow Els.
cape. You get a greater variety
and amount of motion to the mile
than you could get any where else
in the world, except on the back of
a camel with peg leg.
"Sometimes, when the track ls a
little to wavy, they run the train
of the rails and take a short cut
oyer the prairie for a quarter of
mile or so, and then run back up
on the rails when they strike a
good place on the grade. When
they coue to a trestle, and there
are several high, spider legged
structures of that sort, the engineer
slows up, leaving just enough steam
on to give headway.
"They are very careful about
crossing trestles. / have seen them
80 cautious that the engineer, con-
ductor and whole train crew would
get of and walk over and wait for
the train OH the other side. They
meyer alarm the passengers, how
ever, by saying anything to them
about getting Oft and walking.
"The line is about forty miles
long, counting the twists in the
rails, and the trains that leave the
lower end early in the morning
generally get up to one of the other
ends by night. There are two or
three upper ends to the line.
"The men who built it had a no
ton to run 1t over to the coast, but
when they get near the mountains
they changed their minds, went
back few miles and branched of
to the southwark. They changed
their minds several times, and the
result was a lot of ragged ends OF
track running out into the prairie
and stopping nowhere in particu-
lar.
"Sometimes the trains run up
one spur and sometimes up an
other-just depends on how the
section men leave the switches;
When the sea breeze draws down
through the gap in the Coast
range and blows right hard, they
don't go up the west spur at all,
but switch of to the east and scud
before the wind. You see the
prairie is so soft up the west spur
that they can't run of the rails and
tack very well.
81 remember one evening when
the train got up TO Sheridan before
dark, and the inhabitants all rush
ed over to the station to see what
was the matter. 1t turned out
that one of old man ScrogginS
hogs had wandered down the val
ley, and when the engineer saw
him on the track he just clapped
on steam and went for him.
"The Sheridan switch happened
to be open, and the train followed
the hog up the west spur and
chased him into town ahead OF
time. The engineer came pretty
near being discharged for reckless
running, but the excitement of the
chase was considered as an exten.
uatiDg circumstances.
"You ought to 90 up and have
hunt on that railroad some time.
There's some of the best grouse
shooting on the line that | ever
saw. The conductor is a good shot
and the engineer is no slonch. l
had a hunt with them a few weeks
ago.
Gas the early morning Is the best
time to find birds, the train pulled
out about an hour before the usual
time of starting. The cOductor and
| were in the baggage car with our
guns, and the engineer had a gun
in the cab.
ave had gone about mile when
the train slowed down and the con.
ductor told me to watch out. He
took one of the wide doors in the
sides of the car and took the
other. The slowing down meant
that the engineer saw birds, and in
a moment the conductor banged
away.
"The train stopped and brake
man jumped of and picked up a