Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1905-08-04
POLK'S NEW RAILROAD

Polk county is one of the few
counties in Oregon thatis experiencing
any development in the way of rail
road construction this year. Out in
the Coast Range mountains, west OF
the enterprising town Of Falls City, is
a scene of building activity not to be
found elsewhere in Western Oregon.
Slowly but surely, the track Of the
Dallas and Falls City railroad is be-
ing pushed toward the summit OF the
mountains and into the heart of one
of the finest bodies Of standing timber
in the known world. Without any
noise or bluster, a work is being
carried on that will ere many years
result 10 making Western Polk county
one of the busiest and most prosperous
communities in the Pacific Northwest
from a commercial and Industrial
standpoint The credit for this
development of the county's vast
timber resources belongs to Louis
Gerlinger,a an enterprising capitalist of
Portland, and to the people of Dallas
who enlisted his interest and cooper
alton in building the railroad from
Dallas to Falls City by their continued
agitation Of the project and their
financial assistance in carrying out
the actual construction of the line.
The improvement referred to is an
extension of the road up the Luckia
mute river, distance of four and
one-half miles, into the edge of the
great timber belt. Two and one-half
miles of this road are already com
pleted, and the right Of way has been
cleared for distance Of two miles
more. Trains are running to the
front every day, carrying ties, steel
and other material needed by the con-
struction gang. With the completion
OF this extension of the main line, it
will be an easy matter to throw out
spurs into the timber and bring logs
to Falls City, Dallas, or other points,
to be sawed into lumber.
The work being done on the new
roadbed is of the most substantial
character, and it is evident that Mr..
GerlingeI is sparing no expense in
building permanent commercial
line that will be strictly first-class in
every respect. Like the nine miles of |
road already in operation between
Dallas and Falls City, the mountain
extension, when completed, will COM
pare favorably with the roadbed on
the main lines of the o. r. ~ N. and |
Southern Pacific companies in Oregon
The new line is no mere logging road,
but is in all respects a standard, com
mercial railroad
Starting at point near the old |
Watkins planning mill in the suburbs
Of Falls City, the road plunges into
the rock-walled canyon Of the Luckia-
mute river and follows the meander
ings of that beautiful stream for a
distance of two miles. The scenery is
rugged and wild beyond description,
the river flowing swiftly between
banks densely covered with timber,
and the mountains rising to dizzy
heights on either side. Here the best
work Of the civil engineer is called
forth, and every foot of the roadbed
attests the skill of Chief Engineer
Coovert Thousands of tons of rock
and dirt have been moved in cutting
away mountain points and bringing
the road TO an easy and practicable
grade, The bridges, four in number
while consisting of only one span
each, are massively built, and the
heavy trains pass over them without
causing the slightest jar or tremble.
The heaviest work Of all is at a point
a short distance above the Palmehn
mill site, where a steep mountain
point projecting into the river makes
a combination of rock and trestle
work necessary.
The bridge carpenters are now
building the last bridge across the
Luckiamute, and will complete their
labors in few days. From this
point, the construction work will be
much easier. The road draws upward
and away from the river bank until it
strikes comparatively level stretch
of one and one-half miles to the /
mouth of Black Rock creek. Here
the road will leave the Luckiamute I
and ascend by an easy grade through {
the vast timber belt to the summit of 4
the Coast mountains. e
Engineer Covert says that the last !
OF the heavy work is nearing COM t
pletion and that the progress will be /
much more rapid from now on. The a
are following close behind L
the grading crew, but will be obliged a
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