Historic Hood River
Trapped
Notes
Our copy of this image doesn’t have any notes, but the quality and the age immediately suggested this was a Carleton Watkins image. Sure enough, the Oregon Historical Society has a beautiful copy of this print, titled “Relief Train at Bridal Veil” in its collection. They’ve done a wonderful job telling the whole story of the 21 day ordeal of the passengers and crew of the “Pacific Express”, so click through that link to read the story. Also check out this view of workers clearing the track, which explains how it took 21 days to fully complete the journey.
For even more fun, check out their digitized collection of their Carleton Watkins prints, including many of the Gorge. To whet your appetite, check out this image of the blockhouse or this view of the Dalles or this view near the Cascades of the Columbia.
L. E.
An amazing story. I bet they ran out of toilet paper.
The photo of men working to clear the track looks hopeless.
Arthur Babitz
I thought the same thing LE– there’s no way all those guys with snow shovels could clear miles of track, could they? We’re used to a machine for everything, not brute force.
Arlen
I;ll bet TP was not on their minds…..an absolutely
amazing story and event, worth a stop east bound on I-80. All these folk were Tough.
Thorn
I visited Starvation Creek today, one of my favorite secret spots many locals never find. (btw, exit 55, eastbound I-84). The passengers also celebrated Christmas on the train, and the train company paid willing passengers to help dig themselves out.. Not sure what the bathroom supplies were like in 1884–firewood was probably more important than hygiene–but this event actually predates toilet paper rolls which were introduced in 1890–maybe the wily pioneers knew the wonders of thimbleberry leaves and found some in the snow. Definitely much tougher folks. Then again, I once met three survivors of the famed 1973 plane wreck that stranded an Uruguayan rugby team in the Andes for over 70 days in winter with survivors forced to unspeakable measures. So, maybe we’re still tough.