Description
The Columbia River Gorge was formed millions of years ago, but only recently have railways bridged the wide gap which forms the major commercial route through the Cascades. The tracks are now a shining example of human engineering and a mecca for rail enthusiasts. Mount Hood, Union Pacific, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains seem to connect in a magical way with the land, blasting out of raw, rock-faced tunnels, gliding under bridges, and snaking along the edges of towns and along the big river, always rolling somewhere distant, symbolic of our national connectedness- and our restlessness. This pictorial history highlights the rails of the gorge from the first steam locomotives to the entrepreneurs who changed the landscape.
