Union Pacific plans to reopen railroad tunnel Monday night.Byline: The Register-Guard OAKRIDGE - Union Pacific officials plan to reopen a railroad tunnel near here Monday night that was closed Aug. 14 due to a fire in the tunnel. "We'll be reopening the tunnel at 6 p.m. Monday," spokesman John Bromley said Saturday night from company headquarters in Omaha, Neb. Crews had been successful in establishing firebreaks in the past few days that kept the blaze from advancing, Bromley said. In addition, he said, workers on Saturday knocked down some charred timbers in the 3,100-foot-long tunnel, which is 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. . UP officials estimated earlier that the blaze would keep the rail line closed until Aug. 29. Seventeen freight trains normally 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 north·bound adj. Going toward the north. northbound Adjective going towards the north Adj. 1. and southbound south·bound adj. Going toward the south. southbound Adjective going towards the south Adj. 1. Coast Starlight star·light n. The light from the stars. starlight Noun the light that comes from the stars Noun 1. . The freight trains are being rerouted through the Columbia Gorge and Bend on Burlington Northern-Santa Fe tracks, or through Salt Lake City, a 700-mile detour. Meanwhile, bus service for 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 passengers traveling between Klamath Falls and Eugene began Friday on the same schedule as the Coast Starlight. The buses travel between the two cities via the community of Chemult. Amtrak says about 1,460 people ride some portion of the Starlight between Seattle and 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. daily. Sparks from a train are believed to have started the fire, which was spotted about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14, Bromley said. Heavy smoke has spewed from both the north and south portals of the tunnel, he said. Portions of the tunnel are lined with timber rather than concrete, Bromley said. And packing material used to fill hollow spots between the concrete lining and original concrete rock wall consists of wood chips and other combustibles, he said. Heat from the fire buckled some of the track, and ceiling timbers had collapsed onto the tunnel floor, he said. |
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