SVRy began the Memorial Day season opening with an improvised run-around routine due to a washout at McEwen Depot. Unusually high temperatures accerated the spring snow melt causing all the dredged ponds to rise. A culvert became plugged and water was running across the tracks. Members helped by digging a small portion and let the water erode a narrow area, otherwise a large area of the roadbed would have been eroded. Seven or eight ties and the switch stand are hanging in air about the water below. Efforts will be made to repair the breach possibly next week.

We used our small diesel on the east leg of the wye to facitate the run-around. We lost very little time on the improvised run-around (some thought it was faster than the usual method).

dan

I guess it would make sense as I think almost every single tourist RR in the entire western WA/Northern OR area has a washout somewhere along it's tracks right now...

Fortunately we were able to continue running. Efforts will be made to repair the washout this week and next week. A surge of greenish gray water passed through all the ponds in Sumpter Valley. The ground is very porous with literally a subsurface river flowing through the valley that keeps the dredge ponds filled. I left McEwen yesterday and the ponds and ditches had cleared up quite a bit and dropped some, but were still high. The washout flow had subsided considerably.

Throughout the week the Powder River was very high with the same greenish gray color I generally associate with a quick spring melt.

dan