Wednesday, March 26, 2014

WTCX Trip: Ostrander Tunnel

Continued from Headquarters.

The Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad features a tunnel. We passed through the tunnel on the way up as well, but I got pictures of it on the way back. The Ostrander Tunnel is approximately 875 feet long and is located at about milepost 9.75, approximately halfway between the Longview mill and the landfill.

Ostrander Tunnel on the Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad (WTCX) on May 17, 2005
The train entering the tunnel on the return trip.

In both directions, diesel exhaust is so thick in the tunnel that we were warned to close all the windows when the train went through the tunnel. Notice that the tunnel is straight and not particularly long; you can see clear through it. Also note that the tunnel was originally simply dug without any kind of concrete liner or portals. 

Ostrander Tunnel on the Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad (WTCX) on May 17, 2005
The train emerging from the tunnel.

The tunnel did originally have a timber liner, and some remnants are visible here.  The inside of the tunnel has caught fire more than once in the past, and today the inside of the tunnel has been sprayed with a fire proof reinforcing coating to provide a nonflammable liner.

Continue Southbound

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