After battling a tunnel fire that began Nov. 17, then removing huge timbers and tons of rock and dirt from the collapsed sections, construction crews expect to reopen Central Oregon & Pacific's Ashland tunnel early next month.

They are shoring up the tunnel and laying new rail lines in some areas to replace those that twisted and buckled in the fire.

The 3,100-foot tunnel connects the Rogue Valley and Northern California.

"Removing the debris and everything that collapsed from the fire has been very time-consuming," said John Bullion, area railroad trainmaster. "We had to make sure the ground is safe before anyone could go in there with a machine. Hauling it all out with a loader or dump truck, four or five yards at a time, has been quite a job."

The fire is believed to have been sparked by transients or other trespassers, but no one has been charged. It continued to smolder into February. The heavy snow that fell this past winter delayed the repair work, Bullion said. About four feet of snow covered the ground outside the tunnel's north entrance in January.

The site is about 4,100 feet above sea level. Built in the 1880s under the Siskiyou Summit, the tunnel made history Oct. 11, 1923, when 23-year-old twins Ray and Roy D'Autremont and their teenage brother Hugh attempted to rob a Southern Pacific Railroad train near the south entrance.
The brothers killed four people but left empty-handed. They were caught in 1927 after a worldwide manhunt.

The incident is known as the "last great train robbery in the West."

Although it was once used to provide passenger service, the route is now used only by freight trains. An average of two freight trains, mainly carrying timber products, used the tunnel each day before the fire.

Deliveries had to be rerouted between Weed, Calif., and Eugene. About 20 companies use the local rails to move their lumber.

Trains have been rerouted north to Eugene, then south to Klamath Falls, taking 10 to 13 days for products to reach California destinations, instead of five.

The tunnel's closure reduced the freight revenue for the Yreka Western Railroad by more than 60 percent, according to company spokeswoman Karla Killion.

Dan Lovelady, general manager of the Central Oregon and Pacific, has predicted its losses will be $5 million, including the cost of tunnel work and rerouting the trains.