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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 10, 2003 Crews end tunnel fire, but cleanup continues ASHLAND — Fire in a mountain railroad tunnel is out, but it remained unknown Tuesday when the tunnel would reopen to trains. Crews continued to remove earth and debris from Tunnel 13 after a fire was started last month inside the Siskiyou Mountain passage. Burning creosote-coated wooden supports, the fire caused the collapse of a 300-to-400-foot section of the tunnel, officials said. Investigators said they believe transients or trespassers sparked the Nov. 17 blaze. Crews didn’t declare the fire officially out until Monday because portions would start to smolder as air flowed through the tunnel, said Mark Wohlers, administrative affairs manager for the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad Co. The railroad company planned to remove the burned timbers, replacing them with steel joists. Sections of railroad track also must be repaired because they buckled and expanded during the fire, officials said. An average of two freight trains, mainly carrying timber products, used the tunnel each day before the fire, Wohlers said. Until the railroad reopens the tunnel — near the summit of Interstate 5 just north of the California state line — trains are being routed through Eugene and Weed, he said. Tunnel 13 made history on Oct. 11, 1923, when 23-year-old twins Ray and Roy D’Autremont and their teenage brother Hugh attempted to rob a Southern Pacific Railroad train near the tunnel’s south entrance. The brothers killed four people but left empty-handed. They were caught in 1927 following a worldwide manhunt. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times