Western Railroad Discussion > A Hallowed Passage for Commerce

Curtains of rain and mist shroud the walls of the Columbia River Gorge as a westbound BNSF coal train makes it's way along the wooded path laid out more than a 100 years before. Mr James J. Hill, a man who commanded the well earned respect of his contemporaries, stood before a crowd at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland and decreed that a railroad shall be built down the north bank of the Columbia River to Portland in the footsteps of those early explorers. Asked why the chosen route went through the difficult Columbia Gorge, where hard, basalt cliffs shouldered right to the water's edge, Hill answered, "Nature made the pass. Water follows the line of least resistance, and so does commerce"
Such as it came to pass that now grain, coal and oil flow down this vital artery much like the waters of the river itself.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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I have railfanned all over the U.S. and Canada. If I had to put together a list where I ranked the most beautiful places, I can think of of several candidates that could make an argument for #2. But as far as I'm concerned, the Columbia Gorge is hands-down #1, and pictures like this one only reinforce that.

Neeto Keeno Ted!

BB