Railway Completion Forces Steamboats Off Routes
See also: Oregon Portage RailroadIn April, 1881, O.R.& N. completed railways on the south side of the river from Celilo to Wallula, and, in October 1882, from Portland to The Dalles. This left the middle Columbia expensive to navigate because of the need to surmount two portages on the way upriver. O.R.& N. started bringing its boats down to the lower river from the middle and upper stages, with the strategy of forcing patrons to use its railroads rather than its steamboats. Harvest Queen was taken over Celilo Falls in 1881 from the upper to the middle river under the command of captain Troup. Troup brought D.S. Baker over Celilo in 1888. and in 1893, over the Cascades.
Villard, in control of O.R. & N then made one of his biggest mistakes when he brought from the east coast two enormous iron-hulled vessels, Olympian and Alaskan, and placed them on routes on the Columbia and Puget Sound. The huge size and expense of these vessels precluded them from ever making a profit.
Opposition to O.R.& N. began to arise in 1881 on the lower and middle Columbia. Captain U.B. Scott formed a concern with L.B. Seely and E.W. Creighton to put Fleetwood, a propeller boat, on the run up to the Cascades. Gold Dust was hauled over the Cascades to compete on the middle river. This competition lowered fares down to 50 cents from Portland to The Dalles. Another competitor which arose in about 1880 was the Shaver Transportation Company.
As the railroads were building on the south bank of the Columbia neared competition, O.R.& N. withdrew its boats from the middle and upper river. This was done by running the boats over the Cascades and Celilo Falls, generally at high water. In 1881, Captain James W. Troup took Harvest Queen from the upper river over Celilo Falls into the middle river. In 1890 Captain Troup took her over the Cascades into the lower river. Troup brought D.S. Baker over Celilo Falls in 1888, and then over the Cascades in 1893.
In one famous incident, on May 26, 1888, Troup brought Hassalo over the Cascades at close to 60 miles (97 km) an hour as 3,000 people watched. By 1893, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company had completed a route all along the south side of the river. As a result, steamboating virtually ended on the Columbia and Snake Rivers above the Dalles, at least until November 1896, when the Cascade Locks and Canal were completed, allowing open river navigation all the way from Portland to The Dalles.
Read more about this topic: Steamboats Of The Columbia River
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