Historic Hood River
One Mile Fill
12-7-2016
Notes
Earl Conser describes this as “One mile fill in course of construction four miles east of Mosier September 1900”
Each of those specks is a man or a man with a team of horses and a wagon. It is hard to imagine a project of this magnitude constructed entirely by human and horse power. I don’t see any sign of a steam engine, let alone a tracked earth mover.
Charlott
Isn’t it hard to imagine building all that with just horses and wagons. They were an entirely different breed of men than we see now, with all their modern equipment.
Another thing I don’t think some of us ever really thought about. These horses had to be provided for with hay and some sort of place for them at night. I would imagine that they would have had to pay attention to their shoes, so possibly there would be a black smith involved in this. Who really knows what all went into building this railroad.
Rick
Would they contract with local farmers with horses for work like this? It looks like they’re loosening up the soil in strips and running it up. Is that some more work being done in that dust cloud in the distance?
Kenn
Looking east from the present Memaloose Park while the previous photo is looking west from Memaloose.
Often horses and men were obtained locally by RR contractors, extra employment for man and beast.
L.E.
This herculean task seems impossible. Wouldn’t a rock crusher have to involved?
As we zoom up and down I-84, we are negligent of the intensive labor involved in building a wagon road, a railroad and a highway. The wagon road was fairly non-intrusive, but after that, big changes happened to the landscape.
Now days, people will complain about the railroad. Some complaints are for a good reason, but the railroad is what made the town of Hood River, and the work that went into making that railroad possible, just boggles my mind.
Looking at this photo, it appears a lot of bottom ground was filled in. I doubt that would be allowed today.
Arlen Sheldrake
These pictures continue to WOW….to add to the wonder factor….I would suggest that at least the majority of these workers are independent contractors hired from the local population…..how in the world did they keep track of who worked when and with what equipment…..laborer, horse, cart, etc. And while these independent contractors were working on a temporary basis to build the RR, who was tending the farm…..And yes, Charlott, all those horses needed to be fed, watered, and bedded…..When looking at the pictures of some of the old combine operations and those fleets of horses pulling them, I think of that also. What jewels these are Arthur.
L.E.
From the September 5, 1900 The Dalles Daily Chronicle:
Some 400 men are at work for the O.R.&N. Co. in the neighborhood of Mosier, strengthening the road bed and making other improvements, and it is expected that at least three times that number will be employed there before the snow flies. The improvements contemplated are said to include a tunnel between Hood River and Mosier about a mile long. When all the improvements completed it is expected that trains will make the run from The Dalles to Portland in two hours. Mosier will be a lively place for the next six months. Foley Bros. & Larsen have opened a commissary store near the depot, with a stock of some $10,000 worth of general merchandise.