Spring Thaw Halts Great Northern Rail Traffic
A washout on Ninemile Creek forces an emergency transfer of passengers and freight, testing the resilience of the local rail infrastructure.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The first washout on the S. & B. C. division of the Great Northern resulting from the spring thaw occurred Monday evening near the Sawdon ranch on Ninemile Creek. The freight due from the east that evening was the first train held up and it was forced back onto the siding at Mt. Hull to spend the night. The passenger came as far as the washout Monday evening and was met there by the train running on the division west of Oroville; passengers, express, and mail were transferred and brought to town on that train. The same procedure was necessary for passengers bound east next morning. Assistant Superintendent J. M. Doyle and Road Master C. A. Moriarity were both at this end of the road at the time the washout occurred and soon had a material train on the way to the scene of the trouble. The road was repaired Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday’s passenger from the east got in without trouble.
“The first washout on the S. & B. C. division of the Great Northern resulting from the spring thaw occurred Monday evening near the Sawdon ranch on Ninemile Creek.”
Spring thaws and runoff continue to be a significant vulnerability for transit infrastructure in the Okanogan region. This 1909 event highlights how reliant early Oroville was on the single rail artery for its connectivity.
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