Around The Railroad

UP Crews & Contractors Accomplish 'Herculean Task'

Service Restored Following Massive Oregon Mudslide

May 6, 2008 | 09:15 a.m. CDT

Persistently moving 19 million cubic feet of mud for 105 days, UP crews restored all rail service along Oregon's Cascade Subdivision following a massive mudslide Jan. 19.

Wiping out 3,000 feet of track in three different areas, near Frazier, Ore., UP employees and contractors worked around-the-clock removing debris and unsuitable material from the site, restoring and rebuilding the mountain.

"Our folks did an incredible job. They rolled up their sleeves and made the impossible, possible," said Bill Van Trump, assistant vice president-Engineering and Maintenance, who led the clean-up efforts. "This was an extraordinary event, which required an extraordinary effort. Not only did we put a mountain back together, we did it safely without any injuries."

Although rail service has been restored, crews will continue clean-up efforts throughout the next month. The area will be continuously monitored to ensure the tracks are safe for rail traffic until a slide fence, which activates a warning if there's a subsequent slide, is constructed in early June.

By the Numbers:

1 million tons: Amount of unsuitable material removed from the site – equivalent to the weight of 25 super carrier Naval ships. Most of the slide was a very fine silt unfit to rebuild the mountain.
700,000 tons:  Amount of rock it took to restabilize the mountain.
660,000 board feet of timber: Total number of timber salvaged from the site – enough to build approximately 66 three-bedroom houses.
200:  Number of workers at the site during the peak of construction.
150:  Number of construction equipment at the site.
42–76 hours:  Typical customer delay due to the mudslide.
30: Daily average of UP work trains making round trips to haul material in and out of the site.
15: Number of daily trains that had to be rerouted via Bend, Ore., and Salt Lake City.
1: Helicopter used to remove timber.
0: Number of available hotel rooms in Oakridge, Ore., eight miles northwest of the slide, during the construction.

An article about all the employees and contractors involved in the heroic clean-up efforts is coming soon.