Railroad in Woahink Traditional Cache
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Size: 
(small)
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About 1914 the railroad from Eugene to Florence was started.
During the period before the rail was built the Christensen's made money running passengers across the lakes. There were five boys to run and manage six gas boats for passenger service, one on Woahink, one on Tahkenitch and four on Siltcoos Lake. The Porter brothers had a railroad contract to haul materials. They had built a narrow gauge railroad, only about 2 feet wide, from the Siuslaw River at Glenada to the North end of Woahink Lake, where Honeyman Park is now. All the pilings, railroad timbers and supplies would arrive by rail to Woahink Lake, then the supplies were loaded on barges and towed by the Christensen's to Siltcoos Lake, then to their destination at Ada to be used in the construction of the Railroad from Eugene to Coos Bay. The Railroad passes by the East side of Siltcoos Lake.
Story in the Siuslaw News 1993, reprinted from a 1955 Siuslaw News.
"Locomotive in the Woahink"
The pioneer myth of the "locomotive in the Woahink" was thought to
have been exploded monday with the location of three gondola type
freight cars by two skin divers. The wreckage was found in
apprroximatiely 45-50 feet of water near the south side of the
lake.
The two men, Frank Suniga of Florence and Ed Webb of Coos Bay, were
equipted with Navy frogmen suits when they made the discovery after
30 minutes of searching. Frank spent many hours under water looking
for the locomotive from the first bridge on Woahink Lake, to 70 or
80 feet east of Lake Shore Mobile Court on Woahink Lake. He found
the remains of the sunken wreckage while diving by himself. The
find has probably laid to rest the story that gave the description
of the lost equiptment as either a locomotive or a donkey engine in
1909. Pioneers have long recounted the story with several different
twists.
In 1909 a large schooner was supposed to have put into the Siuslaw
harbor with the sections of a logging train. As roads were
practically unheard of in those days, it was necessary to clear a
path through the heavily wooded hills between the river and the
lake to allow for transporting of the luckless engine. It was
hauled with much effort to the shores of Woahink Lake, where it was
loaded aboard a heavy barge for this purpose.
As the story goes, the barge was swamped and lost when a heavy
storm came up suddenly as the trip was only started. The men in
charge of the operation were barely able to escape with their lives
by swimming ashore.
Monday, Suniga described the three cars as being of the coal car
type, approximately eight feet wide and 15 feet in length. The
wreckage is in approximately 45-50 feet of water and about 50 yards
from the southern shore of the lake. When he and Webb touched the
cables and chains that bound the cars to large woooden timbers, the
fastenings fell apart in their hands. The wooden sections of the
wreckage were described as in perfect condition, however
Bright sunlight Monday allowed the two men to examine the wreckage
at length, but all markings were obscured by the heavy coating of
rust on the metal parts of the cars. The wheels, the couplings and
other smaller parts were all eaten away and fell apart at a
touch
The two men plan to continue diving in the lake in an effort to
determine if there is other wreckage.
Congratulations to Sure--Loc for the FTF!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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