48 



RAILROAD REPORT ROUTE WEST OF CASCADE RANGE. 



sheet No. 2, and those upon the proposed railroad line, on profile No. 2, sheet No. 2, and in 

 Appendix F, they will not, as a general thing, he repeated in this report. 



For ahout 150 miles after leaving the Columbia river, the route lies in the Willamette valley. 

 This region is admirably adapted to the construction of a railroad. The surface is level, or 

 gently undulating, the streams, although numerous, are small, and the settled character of the 

 country would render it easy to obtain supplies of every kind for the working parties. An 

 average grade of about ten feet per mile would be required, and it is thought that the maximum 

 grade would not exceed fifty feet per mile. Two routes from Oregon City to Eugene City were 

 examined: Lieut. Williamson followed the hill road, upon the eastern side of the valley ; I took 

 the most direct road from Oregon City to Salem, and after crossing the Willamette at that 

 point, passed up its western side. Although it would be perfectly practicable to construct a 

 railroad in the immediate vicinity of either of these routes, a better location could, without 

 doubt, be found between them on the eastern bank of the river. 



The following tables give an approximate idea of the amount of bridging necessary upon each 

 of the surveyed lines. 



Table of water-courses in the Willamette Valley, upon Lieutenant Abbot s route. 



