Crooked River Oregon Trunk Railway Bridge O. Hedlund Madras Real Photo Postcard
The Oregon Trunk Railway Bridge, under construction over the Crooked River in Central Oregon, represented a significant early 20th-century engineering feat. Its construction, initiated around 1910, was a direct consequence of the intense "railroad war" between James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway and Edward H. Harriman's Union Pacific, each vying for control over access to the timber and agricultural resources of the Deschutes River Valley.
Measuring 320 feet high and 340 feet long, this steel cantilever bridge was a critical component of the Oregon Trunk Railway, built to connect the isolated interior of Oregon with national rail networks. Its completion in 1911 facilitated the economic development and settlement of Central Oregon, marking a pivotal moment in the region's transportation history and demonstrating the ambitious infrastructure projects characteristic of the American West during the Progressive Era.
Measuring 320 feet high and 340 feet long, this steel cantilever bridge was a critical component of the Oregon Trunk Railway, built to connect the isolated interior of Oregon with national rail networks. Its completion in 1911 facilitated the economic development and settlement of Central Oregon, marking a pivotal moment in the region's transportation history and demonstrating the ambitious infrastructure projects characteristic of the American West during the Progressive Era.
