Cascade Subdivision
Encyclopedia
The Southern Pacific Railroad
’s Pengra Pass route connecting Portland, Oregon
with San Francisco, California
was completed in 1926. Hauling the trains over the Cascade Mountains would be the answer to problems with huge amounts of curvature and very steep grades dictated by the old line down the Willamette Valley
and over the Siskiyou Mountains
.
Nonetheless, a major helper operation is demanded by the 44 miles of constant grade — the longest anywhere on the former Southern Pacific system — and remember, that would include Donner Pass
.
From a prototype
railfanning standpoint, it is extremely impressive in both beauty and power. The right-of-way is surrounded by waterfall
s and crystal clear streams that work their way through a monstrous forest of towering Douglas Firs. At many locations, the SP is just barely hanging on to the sides of the canyon. For hours before ever seeing them, you can hear massive multiple unit diesels thundering up the canyon walls in their task to get their trains over the mountains. Then from the other direction, dynamic brakes are whining wildly. Along the way they will pass through some 22 tunnels, several snowsheds and multiple bridges across canyon after canyon after canyon — just barely retaining its footing on the cliffs.
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
’s Pengra Pass route connecting Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
with San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
was completed in 1926. Hauling the trains over the Cascade Mountains would be the answer to problems with huge amounts of curvature and very steep grades dictated by the old line down the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
and over the Siskiyou Mountains
Siskiyou Mountains
The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal mountain range in the northern Klamath Mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California northeast along the north side of the Klamath River into...
.
Nonetheless, a major helper operation is demanded by the 44 miles of constant grade — the longest anywhere on the former Southern Pacific system — and remember, that would include Donner Pass
Donner Pass
Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, located above Donner Lake about nine miles west of Truckee, California. It has a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west....
.
From a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
railfanning standpoint, it is extremely impressive in both beauty and power. The right-of-way is surrounded by waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s and crystal clear streams that work their way through a monstrous forest of towering Douglas Firs. At many locations, the SP is just barely hanging on to the sides of the canyon. For hours before ever seeing them, you can hear massive multiple unit diesels thundering up the canyon walls in their task to get their trains over the mountains. Then from the other direction, dynamic brakes are whining wildly. Along the way they will pass through some 22 tunnels, several snowsheds and multiple bridges across canyon after canyon after canyon — just barely retaining its footing on the cliffs.