Historic Hood River
Racing Upstream
9-24-2014
Notes
These two steamers seem to be racing for the locks at the Cascades of the Columbia. They’re burning lots of wood to beat the current.
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
l.e.
Are the locks completed? Shouldn’t there be a gate at this end?
I’m also wondering about the two boats tied together. Looks like they both have power.
You can see evidence of the Yacolt burn in this photo also.
arlen sheldrake
Makes me tired thinking of working all that slab wood to create those busy paddle wheels; think I need to hit the Baldwin Saloon for lunch and a brew and await their arrival….This picture sure tells the reason for the locks.
Arthur
The second pair of gates are open and flush against the walls of the canal. It’s very hard to see them, but they open upriver at the stepdown in the canal wall.
Jill
ANY excuse to go to the Baldwin Saloon is a good one! I was just there on Saturday – and I live in Sisters!
longshot
It is my understanding that the boats worked their way upstream along the north shore where the current was slower before crossing the river to enter the locks.
l.e.
Thanks Arthur. I forgot that the exchange of water would not be as dramatic as with a dam.
Wikipedia has some good photos of paddlewheels going through the locks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Locks_and_Canal
I found this comment interesting:
"he North Bank railroad was also completed along the Columbia, which took more business away from the boats. As a result, the Regulator Line, which had been running Dalles City, Regulator, and Bailey Gatzert on the lower Columbia, and, through the locks, on the middle Columbia, sold out to James J. Hill, owner of the Great Northern and other railroads. Not long later, in 1912, the Panama Canal Act made it illegal for a railroad to be owned in common with a competing steamboat line, so in 1915, Great Northern sold its boats."
Charlott
Lots of people cut and sold their wood along the Columbia to provide it to the boats plying up and down the river. I am sure it was a good business, as they used so much.
James J. Hill was the father-in-law of Sam Hill of Columbus/Maryhill who married James’s daughter Mary, thus getting very wealthy in the transaction. It is figured that he married her for the money, as their marriage wasn’t much and she refused to remain in Washington and went home to her family.