Oregon Trunk Line Drawbridge at Wishram

The bridge was built in 1912 for the Oregon Trunk Line of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. The bridge is near Celilo Falls, which were... more

by Charles Robinson

Title

Oregon Trunk Line Drawbridge at Wishram

Artist

Charles Robinson

Medium

Photograph - Landscape Photograph

Description

The bridge was built in 1912 for the Oregon Trunk Line of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. The bridge is near Celilo Falls, which were submerged by the lake created by The Dalles Dam. After the dam was completed, the entire bridge was raised by 5’ and it was changed from a swing span to a vertical lift. It is still used by BNSF for their line between Wishram, WA and Bend, OR. The village of Wishram, Washington is located on a flood terrace of the Ice Age Flood. The town's claim to fame is the railroad hump yard and the draw bridge across the Columbia River. The Northern Pacific Railroad, now Burlington Northern, passes through Wishram on the Washington side of the river. The Union Pacific Railroad is on the Oregon side of the river, In the early days the two railroads were feuding and fighting for shipping traffic. The hump yard in Wishram was a compromise enabling the trains to break up and move individual cars on the Oregon Trunk Line across the draw bridge to the competing railroad, I think that there was a small switch engine that ran back and forth on the Oregon Trunk Line on the draw bridge. The vertical lift span bridge is still in use and is frequently lifted to allow barge traffic to pass beneath. The span close to the Oregon side near the Indian Village of Celilo is lifted in this photograph.

Uploaded

April 18th, 2022