East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-02-26
Hill and Hartman Lines Put
ting Forth Every Effort to
Reach Madras First.
OREGON TRUNK OvERCOMES
BIG HANDICAP WITH BOAT
Deschutes Railroad Has Big Lead
The Mouth of the Deschutes River
is the Busiest Railroad Point I'm the
Northwest-High Grades and Tres
ties, Long Tunnels and Big Bridges
Being Rushed With All Speed.
Special Correspondence.) }

Cello, Ore. Feb. 25-Perhaps the
most work of railroad construction In
Oregon, even in the northwest, is at
present at a point on the Columbia.
river between the Biggs water tank
and Cello, within a distance of six
miles. The Oregon Trunk railroad
has purchased the steamer Norma Of
the open River Transportation COM
pany to be used in connection with
a large barge to be built for trans
portation of ties. rails, engines, cars
and other construction material OF
o. T. r. r. from a point on the north
bank to the o. T. grade at the mouth
of Deschutes river. At point on the
washington side of the Columbia riv-
er opposite the mouth of Deschutes
river a station is being built and side
tracks constructed from S. P. & S. r.
r. to landing under construction on
the bank of the river.
From this point the steamer Norma
with the large barge will carry freight
across the Columbia to a landing on
the Oregon side, where the Porter
brothers construction crews are max
ing a landing and building trest1e
over the low beach lands of the Co.
lumbia river, which will join their
grade at a point where the o. T. r.
r leaves Deschutes river to build
down the south bank Of the Columbia
to Cello.
The o. T. must cross the tracks OF
the o. R. & N at a point just west
of the o. R. & n. steel bridge over the
point of completed railroad grade
from which place they will be able to
push construction of their railroad in
to central Oregon.
Construction Is Slow.
The three miles of O. T. line from
the mouth of Deschutes to Cello is
located high above the O. r.. & N.
tracks between them and the cliffs,
the work of construction being very
heavy and slow through one cut of
solid rock and tunnel of about 1000
feet through a very high cliff. This
piece of construction is very slow on
account of contractors not being able
to put in heavy blasts in shooting the
cliffs. from the danger of covering
the main line of the o. R. & N. with
heavy rock, thereby delaying traffic
or shooting a passenger train. Many
big fills are to be made on this piece
of grade and at one place where cut
has been made through the sand, a
slide of about 1000 yards has already
taken place upon the grade caused
by recent rains and melting snow.
Porter Bros. have AT present one
Staap1 shovel WORKING upan tha grad
in the cuts and will soon have a sec
ond shovel in making terminal yards
for the storage of construction
material at the mouth of the Des-
chutes river.
Race Is Exciting.
AS it will require about one year
to bore the tunnel and one year and
a half to construct the steel bridge at
Cello across the Columbia, the o. r
R. r. must depend upon present tenn
porary arrangements for construction
of their railroad into the central part
of the state. The race of the con-
struction work between the Deschutes
railroad and the Oregon Trunk rail-
road to be the first to enter Madras
with rails will become exciting from
now on. The o. T. has been greatly
handicapped in securing material. but
their present plans will overcome this
handicap. The Deschutes railroad,
however, has six miles of steel laid
with construction trains running over
the track to the first high trestle,
which is about half completed. After
Continued on mage SO