I know it was built in 1887, was the scene of Oregon's bloodiest train heist, and is still burning. What I am wondering is does anyone know how it was constructed, how a fireblock works, what temperatures can the spray crete withstand, and are the bents treated with anything?
I was told that today RR reps and some guys from the FD will be going back into the tunnel one more time with our thermal cameras and breathing apparatus to see what the collapse / fire is doing. This will determine if the tunnel will be rebuilt. It is kind of a wierd situation. Southern Pacific owns the track and several years ago Central Pacific started to lease it. At that time SP offered to sale the track for $1. It was in poor repair, so CP didn't buy it. Since then CP has had to do maintenance so it would be serviceable, so now the track has some value, but SP isn't interested in a sale. Still would like to talk to someone that has some knowledge of tunnel construction.
