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Show THE WASHOUTS ON THE U. & N. [Utah & Northern Railroad]<br><br> It is now about three weeks since the public of this valley began to experience inconvenience on account of an occasional stoppage of trains on the U. & N. [Utah & Northern], which, of course, stopped on the arrival of mail and express matter and freight. During that time there have been as many as three or four consecutive days in which no mail has reached Logan from the outside world. Then trains would run again for a few days, only to stop again. It is generally understood that the trouble is caused by washouts on the road, but we have met no person who has not been on the spot, who could give any details as to the precise nature or extent of the damage to the road best.<br><br> Aware that there was a good deal of grumbling on the part of the public about delays in the arrival of mails, express matter and freight, and that the magnitude of the trouble was not understood, we resolved upon a visit to the scene in person, in order to be able to present our readers with a description of the present condition of things in the vicinity of the washouts.<br><br> The writer took the mid-day freight from Logan on Tuesday, the 10th inst., and arrived at about 7 p.m. at Oneida or Aramo, as it is now called. Here he spent Tuesday night, during which a heavy rain, followed by about two inches of snow fell. Wednesday morning was rainy and cold, but at an early hour the gravel train, with a gang of from 50 to 60 men rolled out a distance of about five miles to the bed from which gravel was being obtained to repair breaks with. This train was under the direction of Roadmaster Wm. [William] Toombs, with Mr. R. C. Bowden of Brigham City as foreman of the men. In one hour and twenty minutes twenty one cars were fully loaded with a first rate quality of gravel, when the train pushed on to the point where the gravel was most urgently needed, a point some six miles south of Portneuf Station. The writer accompanied the train, and as it passed over pieces of road that had been washed out but since made passable, he was simply amazed at the magnitude of the damage that had been done, and as he, in the afternoon, passed over nearly the whole of such portions of the road as had been injured, partly on a gravel train and partly in the superintendent's car. In company with that official, his astonishment was greatly increased.<br><br> The damaged portions of road bed occur at more or less frequent intervals all the way from Oneida to Pocatello, a distance of about 30 miles. For the first half of this distance the road bed runs along the bottom of a narrow valley, which varies from a few rods to a mile or two in width, and along which also runs Marsh creek. This is an inconsiderable stream in summer, but is now swollen to the magnitude of a large river. The first of the recent washouts, all of which were south of the confluence of Marsh creek and Port Neuf river, were caused by the tremendously swollen waters of the first named stream. For many miles beyond the junction of the two streams, Portneuf river continues in the same valley, and the road bed along side of it. The grade along this narrow valley consists of a soft loam which, when saturated with water, assumes a mushy consistency, and, if exposed to a current, dissolves and washes away; or if submerged in still water, it becomes so soft as to allow the ties and rails to sink out of sight by their own weight. Not to attempt to locate even the worst places, suffice it to say that of the thirty miles of track between Oneida and Pocatello, an agregate [aggregate] of from six to eight miles, in pieces long and short have been submerged, and in many places and for considerable distances, the grade literally melted away from under the rails. The worst place of this kind was near the confluence of Marsh creek and Portneuf river. Here the agregation [aggregation] of waters inundated the track for a long distance, and washed out from under the rails the grade for several hundred yards. When men were sent to repair it, it was a question how it could be done. The track lay under from one to four feet of water, and the men had simply to wade in, feel with their hands for the spikes, draw them, raise the rails and build what is called "crib work" in lieu of a grade above the surface of the water, and lay the rails on the crib work which was then filled with gravel, making a reasonably solid road bed. Day after day gangs of men have been kept at this work in water from knee to neck deep and some times getting over their heads. When it is remembered that the water is fresh from melting snows, and almost ice cold the trying nature of such work can be imagined. Lengths of track, agregating [aggregating] miles, have had to be lifted up out of the water, blocked up with timbers, plank, &c., and filled under with gravel to admit of the passage of trains at all. After the breaks this side of Portneuf had been repaired so far as to admit of the passage of trains, on Tuesday, the 5th inst., Portneuf river began to rise rapidly, and by Friday it had inundated a mile and a half of track, commencing six miles beyond Portneuf station. It became absolutely necessary to push a passenger train over this piece of road. The superintendent was present, and caused flat cars to be attached to the train, onto which he required the passengers to go, they being less liable to upset. The train then literally plunged into the water, and the next few hundred yards was a frightful ride. The water was up to the draw-heads, and the track sunk, slid and swayed under the train, but the passage to terra firma was made in safety.<br><br> Did space permit we would bestow adequate praise upon Roadmasters Toombs and Payne, who, with the men under their direction have worked night and day with unabating zeal, to keep the track passable. Supt. Thatcher, too, has done all that was in the power of man to do to keep the road open. He has been on the scene nearly all the time, and day and night has found him on hand to give directions, to supervise the work in person, to attend to dispatches, and, in short, to perform a thousand and one duties, together with any act that would hasten the placing of the road in running order.<br><br> About 150 men have been kept busy at the scene of the washouts, and an average of something like 1,000 tons of gravel per day has been transported from six to eighteen miles and put in where needed, during nearly three weeks.<br><br> On Tuesday, the 10th inst., passenger trains resumed running on time, and on Monday next, it is expected that freight trains will commence running. There are 300 loaded freight cars awaiting transportation north. There is some loss of perishable freight though not very extensive.<br><br> We wish to express our obligations towards Supt. Thatcher for courtesies shown and information communicated, and also towards Roadmaster Toombs for similar favors.<br><br> We cannot close without saying that, had the public been aware of the vastness of the damage to the road they would have wondered less why it was not sooner put in running order, and would have been less prone to affix blame to the management. |