(The following story by Kathi Downing and Susan Walter appeared on the Gazette-Times website on February 11.)
SUMMIT, Ore. — For several days recently, there was notable silence in our part of the Coast Range — no plaintive whistle, no headlight bobbing through the trees, no clacking and screeching of railroad cars swaying along the tracks.
Instead, white railroad repair trucks lined the tracks near Devitt Road and other accessible crossings. Curious as to what had transpired during that time, I called Larry Phipps, president of the Portland & Western Railroad to get the full report.
According to Phipps, a train derailment occurred at 5:15 p.m. Jan. 21 two miles from the Blodgett Store toward Summit. Fourteen Willamette & Pacific cars loaded with scrap paper bound for the Georgia Pacific mill in Toledo overturned on two 150-foot-long trestles that traverse the Marys River.
The train was traveling 18 to 19 mph on a 20-mph part of the track. This particular train was hauling 51 cars, 39 of which were loaded and weighed 46,000-pounds apiece. Cars number 15 through 29 derailed and the cause is still under investigation.
Railroad workers had a difficult time restoring regular service between Albany and Toledo due to the precarious nature of the accident. Two of the overturned cars remained on the trestle, and it took a full day to remove them.
All equipment had to be loaded on flatcars from Wren or Summit and driven to the site. The incessant rain made repair work more difficult and night work was risky. Finally, on Jan. 25, the tracks were cleared enough for normal service to resume.
It took a full week to work off all of the backup caused by the derailment. Willamette & Pacific added extra cars for the duration and has now resumed its regular service.
Since February 1993, when the company leased the line from Union Pacific, Willamette & Pacific has been making its daily 12-hour round trip run between Albany and Toledo, delivering the raw material such as chips and scrap paper to Georgia Pacific and returning with the finished product — container board.
It’s not an easy journey from the valley through the Coast Range and on to the coast. There are difficult grades, hairpin turns, multiple road crossings and many trestles. Five to six locomotives are required to haul this quantity of loaded boxcars.
For more than 100 years, the railroad has been a presence in this area of the Coast Range. Tracks follow the highway through Blodgett, on to Summit, down into Nashville and on to Eddyville, accompanying the Yaquina River to Toledo.
It’s not a straight route. As local drivers know, the tracks cross the road five times between Nashville and Eddyville and are lifted over the road in several places by trestles. They disappear from sight at times as they meander through the hills in areas known only to loggers and hunters.
Twice a day, residents near the tracks — and even those up to a mile away — hear the train whistle blast through the silence of the forests and valleys. Some of us feel our houses shake as the train rumbles by.
Tracks to the coast
In September 1881, laying of tracks began, thanks in part to the efforts of Wallis Nash, an Englishman best known for his work in expanding Oregon Agricultural College (OSU) and for whom Nashville is named.
By March 1885, a passenger line connecting the Coast Range with the Willamette Valley and Yaquina Bay was completed. Travel via train was not easy that year; passengers to the coast reportedly had to disembark just past Summit where a tunnel had been destroyed by fire, and walk around the hill where another train awaited them.
The tunnel disaster killed a crew of Chinese laborers who had helped lay the tracks. Normally, bodies were sent home to China, but because of the large number, it was impractical to do so. They are believed to be buried up at Strout’s Cemetery, but the wooden crosses marking their graves have long disappeared.
Stores, post offices, boarding houses and depots sprang up where the train stopped in Summit, Nashville, Nortons and other Coast Range communities. Railroad workers and crew were regular guests and often boarded in local homes and hotels. Even today, temporary trailer camps housing rail workers spring up along the line when major repair work needs to be done.
With the railroad came more settlers to this area. As late as 1927, Audrey Olson, who is 97 and still lives here, moved to Summit with her husband, Charlie, their newborn baby Melvin and two suitcases. There was no passable road from Blodgett to Summit, so they took the train from Corvallis, disembarking at the Summit depot and walking the “tram” road to their property on Long Road.
The direct link to the valley and coast changed life in the Coast Range after the turn of the century. It enabled residents to send cream to the bigger markets and consequently dairy farming became an important source of income for locals.
It also allowed for travel between Coast Range communities. Some old-time residents remember traveling from Eddyville or Nortons down to Nashville to visit relatives, or riding to Albany to shop.
In those early days a turntable, water tower and pumping station for the steam engines were located in Nashville and extra engines were stored for the steep ascent up to Summit. Once, in the early ’20s, tent caterpillars covered the area and made the tracks too slippery for the train to proceed up the hill.
In the ’40s, as roads improved and autos became more ubiquitous and reliable, passenger service on the railroad was not as much in demand. Steam engines changed to diesel and the rail lines provided strictly cargo service.
Only one train a day continues to travel through these hills, but it continues to be a welcome and active presence in our lives. The “lonesome whistle” echoing in the valleys reminds us that there is another world out there. For many, it is a reminder that we are glad to be here!
Mudslinger race
One way to get through the winter is to think about the coming spring. The Mudslinger Bike Race that takes off in Blodgett is planned for April 4.
The Blodgett-Summit Community Club is looking for 20 adult volunteers to help support the bike race and keep things running smoothly. Contact Cheri Damitio at damitio@pioneer.net for more information.
The club also is sponsoring a Dime-a-Dip event on March 13. Look for more details in a couple of weeks. The Blodgett-Summit Community Club is about more than just the school.