Historic Hood River
North Bank Railroad
8-25-2014
Notes
Here’s a Monday mystery: This stereocard view shows the construction of the railroad on what it says is the north bank of the Columbia. Can you identify the location?
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
charlott
I think it is along there by what is called Cape Horn.
OrMtnMaid
Definitely Cape Horn East entrance.
Buzz
Arthur, can you tell if they have electricity running to the face of the tunnel. I wonder if they used some kind of electric jack hammers or boring machines? Maybe Arlen knows what they used as a power source in construction of the tunnels.
nels
Arthur, I continually notice the age damage you deal with on the photos,
How do you get pictures ‘unstuck’ without major damage?
Arthur
Nels, Matt is the archiving expert so maybe he’ll weigh in. The basic rule is "don’t touch" unless you have the equipment and expertise to really repair. We almost never do anything other than put the object on the scanner, and then I do all the magic in software. This image is a half of a stereo pair. Both halves were very dirty, scratched, and torn, so I chose the best one and cleaned it up a little digitally. With this image I just cleaned spots in the water or sky, but I didn’t touch anything near the tunnel or tracks where readers are likely to be studying it carefully.
Matt
Nels, Arthur’s right, the idea is to handle the object as little as possible. We come across photographs which have been stored under poor temperature and humidity conditions, photos with light damage, photos that have been written on, as well as photos with paper clips, sticky notes and masking tape. Some photos have been stained, which is why we normally scan in color, to expose the imperfections. Arthur and I recently separated two glass plates where the emulsion layer’s had bonded with a piece of paper; in fact, I believe Arthur posted a blog entry on that particular experiment.
Arlen Sheldrake
I would suggest that these are telegraph wires as I don’t think there was electricity in the area.
Arlen Sheldrake
I think you guys should publish your preservation procedures and get them out to other librarys and history organizations. The information is GOLDEN.
Matt
Arlen, done and done. Check out the Oregon Heritage Commission’s "Heritage Bulletins" 21-23.
Scott Cook
Yup, Cape Horn East entrance. Those would be telegraph lines, and I imagine this photo to be from late 1905/mid 1906.
James Harris
Where is this picture from? There are 5 Cape Horns and the North Cape Horn is in Washington across from Roster Rock, so is this where this picture from?
Kenn
Yes, Jim, across from Rooster Rock looking west, this is the east end of the tunnel. Notice 3′ narrow guage track used during construction, later replaced by the standard 4′ 81/2 ".