Cleared of fire, train tunnel opens for regular traffic.Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard Trains are rolling again through a long tunnel near Oakridge that was closed for nine days while a fire burned inside. A northbound freight train originating near Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. was the first to use the tunnel again Monday, at 11:38 a.m., Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said. Firefighters extinguished the stubborn blaze Saturday night. It had charred timbers in the 3,100-foot-long tunnel, about 33 miles east of Oakridge on the west slope of Willamette Pass Willamette Pass (el. 5128 ft.) is a mountain pass in the Cascade Mountains in the U.S. state of Oregon. The pass is traversed by Oregon Route 58. Willamette Pass ski area is located there. . Cleanup of debris and ash will continue between trains, Bromley said. The timbers weren't essential to the structural integrity of the tunnel, which was blasted through solid basalt basalt (bəsôlt`, băs`ôlt), fine-grained rock of volcanic origin, dark gray, dark green, brown, reddish, or black in color. Basalt is an igneous rock, i.e., one that has congealed from a molten state. , he said. The wood will be removed and concrete will be placed in the gaps, which should eliminate future fire danger. Officials believe that sparks from a train started the fire, first spotted about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14. The tunnel was closed that day, and railroad officials estimated that the fire would keep the line closed until Aug. 29. Seventeen freight trains usually travel the pass between Eugene and Klamath Falls Klamath Falls, city (1990 pop. 17,737), seat of Klamath co., SW Oreg., at the southern tip of Upper Klamath Lake; inc. 1905. It is the processing and distribution center of a lumber, livestock, and farm area. daily, as does Amtrak's northbound and southbound Coast Starlight star·light n. The light from the stars. starlight Noun the light that comes from the stars Noun 1. , which was expected to resume full service today. Most of the freight trains were rerouted through Salt Lake City, a detour that added two days to each trip. Union Pacific hasn't yet tallied the cost of the fire, but it won't be a huge financial burden, Bromley said, primarily because extensive repairs aren't needed. "We budget for these kinds of things," he said. "I'd say we got off pretty lucky." Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run has provided bus service for passengers between Klamath Falls and Eugene on the same schedule as the Coast Starlight. The company said about 1,460 people ride some portion of the Starlight between Seattle and Los Angeles daily. |
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