177 Days - NWP reconstruction 1965

Industrial film by Morrison-Knudsen Co. details the catastrophic Christmas flood of 1964 destroyed 100 miles (160 km) of the Northwestern Pacific (a subsidiary of Southern Pacific) railroad in Northern California, including three bridges over the Eel River, and permanently changed the topography of the area. The line was closed for 177 days while 850 men rebuilt the railroad through the Eel River canyon. In the years following the 1964 flood, the rail line was less reliable due to increased landsliding in the Eel River Canyon; but freight traffic remained high until the 1970s, as improvements to US Highway 101 cut hauling times, making trucking competitive with the rail line.

[@MotoBaumVirginia]

I think I was two years old when they did that that’s crazy. Cool video.😊

[@brucecochran8297]

I lived close by and remembered those days well!

[@djtdub1]

If on a lesser scale. Similar to what happened at SP Salmonberry Oregon in more recent years.

[@2quintly]

Those were the days. Yes, politics have ruined it all.

[@terrystewart2070]

This how the USA got real stuff done 60 years ago. Now, this whole job would have been tied up in legal challenges for years until the job would have been given up. There is still some validity to having a rail line north to the port at Eureka, but time and nature have shown that the Eel River canyon is not geologically suited for this purpose.

[@farmerdave7965]

And that line is still closed.

[@grantthomas5501]

Sad that the line is slated to become a bike trail if certain politicians get their way

[@MrSouthwestplumber]

theres not much left of that part

[@frg_1234]

It's been closed since 1998. Not much of the railroad exists today. Most of it has washed away due to landslides or heavy rains.