Existing comment:
Next to the Big Fill was the Big Trestle. "Lacking time to fill the ravine before you, Union Pacific crews built the bridge shown in the photo. [Not mine!] One reporter said that nothing he could write 'would convey the idea of the flimsy character of that structure.' You can still see the abutments, and across the canyon, the bedrock shelves where the log uprights were placed. The trestle, about 400 feet long and 85 feet high took 38 days to build. It was completed on May 5, 1869 and used for about 6 months. Afterwards, the Big Fill, just up the canyon, was used for the permanent route." |