Railroad Bridge at Mill City
WigWam Burner At Remines
In years gone by there were rails all over Mill City, and trains too. The tracks continued east from where they now end, just east of the Franks mill, across the rail bridge and on up the canyon. From where the Eagles Lodge now stands a spur led down Cedar Street through the northwest corner of the High School grounds, crossing diagonally through the west Tennis Court by the Gymnasium, then continuing east along the north side of Fairview to the log storage pond where the old wig-wam burner still stands; a lonely remnant of that era.
Railroad Bridge at Mill City
There was a wye connecting the two rail lines. Beginning at the northwest corner of the High School grounds it ran north along 4th from Cedar to join the eastbound tracks crossing the recently refurbished rail bridge.
When the railroad was surveyed and built, there was a Hotel at the North end of South West 4th Street where the metal Machine Shop building now stands. (See: Progress) My Great Grandfather David, who built the place, strongly objected to the proximity in which the rail cars would pass by the hotel building; about 2 feet distance. So, being an independent acting sort of fellow, when the surveyors left that evening he paced the curve from switch to switch then moved the survey stakes over about 8 feet from the building. The results were ear shattering.
What Grandpa didn't know was that the radius of a railroad corner is critical because each pair of wheels are solidly mounted to a single axle. Built properly the cars will roll easily around the corner. Improperly built, one of the wheels will be forced to slide along one or other of the tracks. When the wheels slide as described, the results are two fold. The wheels and tracks wear at a tremendous rate; and, the squeal produced by the wheels sliding on the tracks is ear-splitting, even at a distance.
Poetic justice took effect as soon as the trains began to use the new tracks. Grandpa David, who had retired from his position as the Mill City Postmaster by then, never got to sleep passed the time the log trains left the log pond. About 6 am. Neither did anyone else living in the area, unless they were stone deaf.