Portland and Southwestern Railroad Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Portland and Southwestern Railroad Tunnel near Scappoose, Oregon
, United States, was driven by the Portland and Southwestern Railroad, whose chief business was logging
. Unusually for a logging railroad, the Portland and Southwestern built tunnels. In order to reach the far side of the Nehalem divide in the Northern Oregon Coast Range
, the railroad undertook a 1712 feet (521.8 m) tunnel. Some work was started in 1910, but most work began in 1918 and was completed in 1919. Since the tunnel was not through solid rock, the tunnel was lined with timber. The tunnel was used until 1945, when it was replaced by a truck road over the divide.
While portions of the tunnel roof have collapsed, the tunnel is still open from end to end.
The west portal is located at 45.83236°N 123.05044°W; the east portal is at 45.83243°N 123.04051°W.
Scappoose, Oregon
Scappoose is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for a nearby stream, which drains the southern part of the county...
, United States, was driven by the Portland and Southwestern Railroad, whose chief business was logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
. Unusually for a logging railroad, the Portland and Southwestern built tunnels. In order to reach the far side of the Nehalem divide in the Northern Oregon Coast Range
Northern Oregon Coast Range
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...
, the railroad undertook a 1712 feet (521.8 m) tunnel. Some work was started in 1910, but most work began in 1918 and was completed in 1919. Since the tunnel was not through solid rock, the tunnel was lined with timber. The tunnel was used until 1945, when it was replaced by a truck road over the divide.
While portions of the tunnel roof have collapsed, the tunnel is still open from end to end.
The west portal is located at 45.83236°N 123.05044°W; the east portal is at 45.83243°N 123.04051°W.
External links
- Portland & Southwestern Railroad and the Nehalem Divide Tunnel
- Portland & Southwestern Railroad Tunnel, Willamette Meridian, Chapman vicinity, Columbia County, OR: 17 photos, 15 data pages, 2 photo caption pages, at Historic American Engineering Record
- Portland & Southwestern Railroad (Nehalem Divide) Tunnel Photos