For the uninitiated, the line over the Siskiyou
Mountains is a very impressive piece of mountain railroading. Sustained
grades of over 3% rule on both sides of the mountain. Shorter sections
of rail have a grade of up to 3.7%. A GP-38 is rated at only 475
tons over the hill and a GP-40 is good for only 500 tons. Drawbar
limit is 3500 tons for a train without helpers -- that's less then 35 loaded
cars. CORP experimented with helpers, but found, after some difficulty,
that limiting train lengths to around 30 loads worked best.
It
takes 7 GP-38's and GP-40's to power a 30 car train over the Siskiyous.
Here's a typical power set.
The Montague Hauler departing Medford in July, 1995.
It will swap trains at Montague with the one which the Weed Switcher will
bring up from Black Butte. The two tank cars behind the engines are
water cars and will spray water along the roadbed in the dry forests of
Southern Oregon and Northern California.
"New" power for the run over the Siskiyous included
several GP-40's from the Norfolk Southern. These units have high
hoods, dual controls and due to the lack of toilets are banned from leading
a train in Oregon.
I was fortunate to be able to ride with one of the
CORP Montague Haulers in November, 1995. This is looking back at
6 locomotives and twenty-some cars pulling out of the Medford Yard.
Over an hour from Medford, and well into the mountains, we encounter Tunel
15. This is one of three tunnels on the hill. The next one,
Tunnel 15 is 1.4 mile ahead and though outwardly similar to this one, features
a nearly 180 degree curve inside. But tunnels are only one freature
of the difficult terrain the railroad faces on its way up to Sikiyou Summit.
This is Wall Creek Viaduct over a spectacular and scenic ravine which trains
must cross. Many similar crossings were filled, but Wall Creek viaduct
stands as a reminder of what this line was like over 100 years ago.
This
is Siskiyou at the top of the climb over the hill. All that's left
now is a few old maintainence building taken over by vandals and the elements.
At one time, however, there was quite a settlement here including houses
and a turntable. The track on the right is a 4588 siding and the
one on the left is a maintainence spur. As the tracks curve to the
right, they switch down to a single line which promptly pops into Tunnel
13.
Our
train is about to pass through the north portal of Tunnel 13. At
the very top of the entrance a wreath can just barely be seen. It
is in memory of the trainmen who died at the far end of this tunnel on
October 11, 1923 at the hands of the DeAutremont brothers in Oregon's most
famous train robbery. We are 4122 feet above sea level at the very
crest of the grade.
Our
descent of the Siskiyous continues into California as we head down Baily
Hill. On this 3.1% grade the engineer has made a set with the air
brakes and is making full use of dynamic braking to hold the train back
to the posted 20 miles per hour speed. That's Interstate 5 under
the lumber loads.
The
steep grades of the Siskiyous are behind us now as we roll through the
Klamath River valley. The last unit of our train has just come across
the new Klamath River bridge. This modern structure (the only modern
bridge on the Siskiyou Line) was built in the 80's to replace the through
truss destroyed in a derailment.
Nearing
Montague, California, we pass through rolling fields less than 25 miles
from the forests of Oregon. Even on this relatively tame section
of the railroad, grades can still approach 2%.