Wishram and Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge (#0444)

On the right is the BNSF yard in Wishram, WA, but what was most interesting to me here was the rail bridge across the Columbia. It’s a very long bridge and I first saw this bridge from I-84 on the Oregon shore, and then again here from WA-14; in neither place was there a way to get closer to the bridge.

The bridge was built in 1912 for the Oregon Trunk Line of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway. The bridge is near Celilo Falls, which were submerged by the lake created by The Dalles Dam. After the dam was completed, the entire bridge was raised by 5’ and it was changed from a swing span to a vertical lift. It is still used by BNSF for their line between Wishram, WA and Bend, OR. There’s more interesting detail and pictures on Wikipedia and Bridgehunter:

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trunk_Rail_Bridge
Bridgehunter: bridgehunter.com/or/wasco/celilo