1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

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Limey
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by Limey » April 4th, 2013, 8:41 am

Hi Tom, thanks for the reply. We don't have the topo maps so sure would appreciate the link. The railroad shows up on various maps but it appears to be incomplete on most of them. We also went online for the book after reading it, whew, who knew it would be so expensive. Not in my budget. Love the picture, thanks. I guess we'll have to climb the butte now and see if we can get a better perspective. Its hard to identify anything just driving up Lolo Pass road. I do know from reading the book that the railroad was discontinued in 1941 as it was more cost effective to use log trucks. The rails were taken up and the steel went toward the war effort. So, we wont be running across any old rails.
Thanks again for the picture and in advance for the topo link.


Marilyn

Happy researching!

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Splintercat
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by Splintercat » April 4th, 2013, 7:02 pm

Marilyn, it's not a topo map, but the 1939 map that Cheryl posted in this forum also includes the logging railroad -- shown exactly the same as the topo version (which I'm sure this map was traced from). I can't say that I've tried to follow the old railroad, but I do think I've identified a couple of sections in this part of the corridor, in particular:

Image

The switchback above "Old Camp" on the map is plainly visible (I think) from the Lost Lake Highway, just beyond the bridge over the West Fork, where you can see cliffs across the canyon. I've drawn the switchback grade on this photo:

Image

You should be able to get there from further up Lolo Pass Road, where logging spurs follow the east bank of the river -- possibly along the old RR grade, not sure.

Meanwhile, a bit further south, toward Lolo Pass, the paved road follows what I'm sure was a section of the railroad grade -- this section crosses a large talus field, so is easy to spot:

Image

I actually think the paved Lolo Pass Road follows the old grade from northeast of the Road 16 junction to well beyond where it leaves the powerline corridor to the south -- but that's just a theory!

I haven't tried to follow the whole thing, but using the Oregon lidar map tool is a HUGE help in trying to figure out old road cuts:

http://www.oregongeology.org/dogamilidarviewer/

But be careful... it's addictive!

-Tom :)

Limey
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by Limey » April 5th, 2013, 8:53 am

Tom, thanks for the feedback. We also found the camp/switchback that you show. The following photo was taken from the same spot that yours was. Trestle remains.
I'm having trouble trying to resize my photos, they come out too small. Click on the photo and when it comes up, click on it again to enlarge. Sorry.
Trestle 3 resize.jpg
We did drive up the logging road on the east side before we spotted the trestle remains. Ran into large boulders blocking the road. Beyond that, a slide has turned the road into a trail for a little ways. Since I have acrophobia, especially in exposed places, that was a HELL NO! decision for me. Gonna have to tackle it from the back side. I also refused to be in the rig while hubby turned it around on that narrow road. Anyway it is an ongoing fascinating project. Thanks for the warning but I think the ship has sailed on addiction.



Marilyn

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Splintercat
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by Splintercat » April 5th, 2013, 2:19 pm

That's cool, Marilyn -- some nice remains still up there! Don't forget to post your progress, too -- I'd love to see whatever discoveries you make!

Tom :)

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BrianEdwards
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by BrianEdwards » April 9th, 2013, 10:21 pm

Finding trestle remains that haven't burned is a MAJOR accomplishment in the search of old railroad grades. Superior find. Railroad grades can yield some very cool artifacts at times, good luck on your project. The metal race for the war erased alot of railroad history, all well. I'd be most interested to see pictures of your explorations. Finding documentation, maps, stories, etc of old logging railroad operations online is many times a futile effort. Best bet is to get out the boots and walk em!

Good luck
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.

Limey
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by Limey » April 10th, 2013, 6:34 pm

Thanks Brian. That particular railroad is especially difficult to locate because of all the logging roads that have wiped it out. Not to mention Lolo Pass road and the powerlines. Will post more as we find it. This is a must check out close up. It is above the trestle parts that we found.
Trestle G.jpg
click to enlarge.
Wish I knew who G was.



Marilyn

SonOfTamarack
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Re: 1923 Map of Hood River Valley: I need your help!

Post by SonOfTamarack » May 3rd, 2013, 10:25 pm

Yes I recall as a youngin' having the trestles along the hillside pointed out to me while on a trip to Lost Lake. You could still see them crossing a very steep cliffy section then (1970s). So they must have fallen apart since.

Speaking of trestles, there's the remains of some irrigation ditches that drew off Pollalie Creek and crossed roughly parallel to the Cooper Spur road down towards Parkdale. There are remains of a trestle where the ditch crossed Tilly Jane creek, just SW of the road near the "Cooper Spur Jct 1/4 mile." Again, in the 1970s you could actually walk on it a bit. The ditch stopped being used in the 40s or 50s, I think, the spring at Crystal Springs was more reliable.

*edit*
here's more on this:
Historic Context of the Two Glacier Ditches
Historically, two Glacier ditches existed in the Hood River Valley, one on the north and one on the east sides of Mt. Hood. The Glacier Ditch on Mt. Hood’s east flank was first used in 1907, and extended for seven miles from Sand Creek (Polallie Creek) to upper valley orchards; this irrigation system was officially incorporated asthe Glacier Ditch Company in 1910 (See Appendix A). According to long-time Hood River Valley resident Kate McCarthy, locals called the project the “ditch and sons of ditches” because of the difficulty and frequency of repairs. The Glacier Ditch Company dissolved about 1956, and was absorbed by the Middle Fork Irrigation District (formally the Middle Fork Irrigating Company, established in 1896).


“Supplemental Findings of Fact and Order of Hood River and its Tributaries” by James E. Sexson
Glacier Irrigating Company (or the Glacier Ditch Company)
The Glacier Irrigating Company was allowed a total of 3,165 acres to be irrigated from Sand Creek (Polallie Creek), with a priority date of March 15, 1906. The Glacier Irrigating Company last used Sand Creek as a source of water in the summer of 1949.

(source: http://boundless.uoregon.edu/cdm4/item_ ... OX=1&REC=8)

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