HAMMOND LUMBER COMPANY ASKS FOR FRANCHISE
May 9, 1912: The Hammond Lumber company, was represented by John Ayres at the meeting of the City Council, last Monday evening. Mr. Ayres presented a petition to the council for the right of constructing a logging railroad through the City of Rainier. The petition asked for the right and privilege of the use of this right of way, for the period of twelve years, said road to be constructed on, over, under, and across Union and Water Streets.
All damages occasioned either to persons or property, or changes in streets necessitated or caused by the performance of the work incident to the foregoing, would be assumed by the Hammond Lumber Company.
HAMMOND LUMBER COMPANY BEGINS NEW RAILROAD
February 20, 1913: To tap a stand of many million feet of the finest fir in Columbia County the Hammond Lumber Company began its first immediate construction this week of an 8 mile logging road, built on main line standards, south from Rainier.
CONTRACTS LET
Contracts for trestle and other work have been let and a crew of men and equipment will be on the ground in a very short time. Operations of the logging camp that will be opened as soon as the railroad is completed will be on an extensive plan with the intention of moving the timber off as soon as possible.
STANDARD LINE PLANNED
In preparing its specifications the company has departed from the usual methods of logging road construction in that they demand grades, curvature, and rails that will permit operation of standard equipment. In the 8 mile line the road attains an average grade of 8 percent with a maximum curvature of 10 degrees. This will permit the use of standard flat cars.
PICTURESQUE COUNTRY
The construction will be costly. The road will pass through a picturesque country. There will be no tunnels. The line follows the course of Fox Creek until it reaches the summit of the divide after which it drops off into the Beaver Valley Country at its terminus.
HAMMOND LUMBER CO. WILL DOUBLE CAPACITY
June 25, 1914: The Hammond Lumber Co., are rapidly completing arrangements for doubling the output of its logging plant at this place. They now have eleven donkeys working in the timber and will soon have their new locomotive assembled and ready for the road. When this is done, two train loads of logs will be dumped into the river in the same time that one is being unloaded at present.
One locomotive will be used on the “upper end” of the road, and the other will bring the logs to the “dump”.
HAMMOND COMPANY LIFTS LAST RAIL
October 31, 1918: The Hammond Lumber Company of this place lifted the last steel rails on their logging road into Rainier today. Several men are yet busy removing the piling and ties of the road in the city limits. It will take several weeks yet to complete the job according to the wording of their franchise, which states that all of these obstructions must be removed after the company ceases operations.
The job of removing the heavy trestle work within the city limits is within itself a big job. This part of their road is its most elaborate and heavy work of any part of their system. It consists of an overhead trestle work over the S. P. & S. tracks through the city which is several hundred yards long and it will be necessary to remove all of this in addition to pulling the piling, many of which are over 30 feet in length.
A great deal of the equipment has been taken to Seaside where the company are building an extensive railroad logging system, and where they are now engaged in carrying on some of their largest logging operations in Oregon.
