Against a setting sun, a Union Pacific Railroad shipment of Canadian potash is crossing the Snake River on a 3920′ long viaduct.  The Canadian Pacific Railway exchanges this and other traffic with the UPRR at the British Columbia border northeast of Spokane.  The Joso Viaduct, opened on September 15, 1914, is reported to be the last major “hot rivet” railroad bridge built in the west, although verification is elusive.  The bridge was the centerpiece of a new direct and more efficient U.P. line reaching into the Inland Empire.  The rail is 240′ above the water.  The bridge crosses the Snake near Starbuck, Washington, once an important UPRR town.                       

Building of the four notorious dams on the mighty Snake has flooded the region including some of the bridge piers.  Concrete encapsulates the four tallest piers in the river due to higher water.  This lake is the back pool of Lower Monumental Dam, about 20 miles downstream.               

I used this picture and story in my “railfan Christmas card” in 2000.  As you have seen by now, I do like sunsets and silhouettes.  This shot was taken from the Lions Ferry State Park campground, obviously one of my favorite RV stops.

About a mile upstream is a recycled steel highway bridge.  The state highway department took it apart, piece by piece, transported over a hundred miles and reassembled. That bridge and the ferry it replaced will be a subject for another day.