Sounds like the south end of the main line is going to be shut down for a while. Big slide. A contact on the ground says they're talking possibly 30 days. Detours via the old Inside Gateway. Boxcab E50
Latest news was positioning of crews to attack this from both ends. R-O-W appears intact. Speculation of cause is so far pointing at a logging clearcut above. At present, Amtrak is offering to bus travelers past the effected area. Boxcab E50
Pics and Stories of Same http://www.katu.com/news/local/13949372.html Little progress made in clearing Ore. slide or determining cause - NewsFlash - OregonLive.com
Big project coming. That whole hillside above the slide must be removed. Then they need to find a way to stabilize it all. Word this morning is the Amtrak bus detour may have been dumped due to expenses. Boxcab E50
We really can't get a break. Hopefully, this just means we're getting this all out of our system now and maybe we'll have no problems for the next couple decades. I can hope, right?
Well, Mt. Hood is due, and doesn't the area around the 3 sisters rise like a foot a year? I feel like the cascades have been on borrowed time for a while now.
WOW Well, at least I don't see a train poking out of either end! :tb-confused: :tb-confused: :tb-confused: :tb-confused:
Don't forget the honk-o huge quake we are supposedly headed for, the one that could happen in 15 seconds, 20 years, or 150 years. The press about this line isn't sounding great. I can't shake the feeling the UP is trying to think of reasons to NOT repair this line, but it may just be paranoid seeing as how we've had all sorts of embargoed lines and slide disasters over the last year.
that loks big enouf to make a tunnel and plus they are gound to remove the stuff avove it so mabie there will be a tunnel i hope
Well, if we could get an accurate picture of their business from northern CA, to WA, and OR. How would that be effected? Running via the ISG would slow down their movements to Portland by how much? Sending stuff east, then back north from SLC? Or, would a "regional" line now be in the picture... With it's tunnel woes? It is going to cost a bunch of money, to get the rest of that hillside down, then stabilized as much as possible. If possible. This will be interesting to follow. Boxcab E50
Cant say I disagree with you, but they do rehab the Feather River Canyon every time it washes out, has rock slides on it. And the FRC is "redundant" to Donner Pass now for Cross Country Traffic. Then again the UP seems to be having a difficult time moving frieght and passengers across colorado and they still keep Tennesse Pass off line.
Didn't BNSF revitalize the Inside Gateway exactly because if the amount of traffic from the PacificNW to California? Unless something drastic has changed in the last 8 years, I can't imagine they're really looking to close the cascade line down. Especially with CORP wanting to shut down the Siskyou line, you'd go from 3 Oregon/California crossings to 1. That seems really unlikely. Maybe in an ironic move they'll shut down the natron cut off and go back to the Siskyou line.
News from a friend there, the work is continuing. From photos, it's quite a chore. Must be about the same as hacking out a new r-o-w from raw forest and mountains. Boxcab E50
From what I've heard, it maybe April before UP gets that line open. The Siskiyou line has a lot of restrictions on it and UP will probably not try and use it. The Gateway sub on the BNSF has been mentioned but that's about it. UP will open that line up if anything to keep stride with the BNSF. The Feather River Canyon won't be redundant till double stacks can run on Donner. UP won't give up the Feather River to the BNSF either. The detour traffic is the only reason traffic picked up over Donner, before the slide we were in the process of cutting turns, putting engineers back on the ground and furloughing trainmen. Greg
Latest word- They've cleared enough away, that it appears the slide also took the entire right of way down the hill. Originally it was hoped that was not the case. Boxcab E50
Further word. From the scene- The hillside above continues to slide, slide, slide. Until they can stop that from happening, other than clearing it away each incident, little progress can be made. Boxcab E50
Latest update- Hopes are to re-open the line, to very limited service, this week. A lot of the hillside must still be removed. So traffic will be limited by the work in progress. Boxcab E50
Got to see this area yesterday and today. Wow! What a huge area! The slide covered/removed the ROW at Fraizer and Wicopee. Access roads were damaged. Most of them were closed. You have to see it in person to get the scope of it. Wow!
