Editing Wishram, Washington (section)

===Wishram/Fallbridge as a rail center===
The [[Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway]] was chartered in 1905 by [[James J. Hill]] for the purposes of connecting the two transcontinental railroads owned by him, the [[Northern Pacific Railway|Northern Pacific]] and [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern]], to [[Portland, Oregon]] from [[Spokane, Washington]], in order to gain a portion of the lumber trade in Oregon, a business that at the time was dominated by [[E. H. Harriman]]'s [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]] and [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific]] railroads. Construction began in 1906<ref name="greatest year">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Greatest Year for Railroad Construction: Building in Territory Tributary to Portland During 1906 Breaks All Records—City Now Strategic Point in Struggle of Giants |url=https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1907-01-01/ed-1/seq-20/ |page=20 |work=[[The Morning Oregonian]] |date=1 January 1907 |access-date=6 May 2019}}</ref> under the name Portland & Seattle Railway,<ref name="greatest year"/> proceeding eastward from [[Vancouver, Washington]].<ref name="schafer2003">{{Schafer-Classic-Railroads-3}}</ref> 1906 also saw the start of construction of the line between Vancouver and Portland.<ref name="greatest year"/> This railroad included the first bridge of any kind to be built across the lower [[Columbia River]]:<ref name="last bolt">"Finish Bridge Over Columbia; Steel Structure of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad {{sic}} Completed—Last Bolt In Yesterday". (June 26, 1908). ''[[The Oregonian|The Morning Oregonian]]'' (Portland), p. 11.</ref> the bridge now known as the [[Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6|BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6]], in Vancouver.
[[Image:OregonTrunkRailBridge1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge]]

Within a year, and despite legal challenges from Harriman, who wished to block its construction, the line had been built as far as [[Pasco, Washington]], along the Columbia River, where there was a connection with Northern Pacific lines. The first section to open was from Pasco west through Wishram to cliffs (near [[Maryhill, Washington|Maryhill]]), a length of {{convert|112|mi}}, on December 15, 1907.<ref name=history-6nov1908>[http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1908-11-06/ed-1/seq-12/ "History of North Bank Road"]. (November 6, 1908). ''The Morning Oregonian'', p. 12.</ref> Operation was extended west to [[Lyle, Washington|Lyle]], for a total of {{convert|145|mi}}, on January 15, 1908, as construction continued on the {{convert|56|mi|adj=on}} section from there to Vancouver.<ref name=history-6nov1908/>

The town of Wishram (then known as Fallbridge) was fortuitously situated at a location which made bridging the Columbia River relatively easy. It was possible to construct a bridge that had piers resting on normally exposed basalt rock above the waterfall during low water periods such that during periods of high water, when this stretch of the Columbia River became raging rapids, the piers supported a bridge spanning the entire flood. This bridge over Celilo Falls became known as the [[Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge]] or the fallbridge. The location of this bridge also allowed construction of rail through the [[Deschutes River (Oregon)|Deschutes River]] canyon, allowing access to eastern Oregon's high desert plateau and the eastern side of the [[Cascade Range]].<ref name="schafer2003" />

As a result, the SP&S was extended southward from Wishram toward [[Bend, Oregon]]. Hill and Harriman engaged in a head-to-head battle up the Deschutes grade, with intense competition for any advantageous routing. After the competition reached what has been described as ridiculous levels, Hariman died in 1909 and an agreement was reached that the extension was to be jointly operated with a [[Union Pacific]] subsidiary, the Oregon-Washington Railway & Navigation. This southern extension relied upon the Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge&nbsp;– the "fall bridge"&nbsp;– constructed just downstream of Wishram at the waterfall on the Columbia.<ref name="schafer2003"/> James J. Hill inaugurated this route, driving a golden spike in Bend in 1912. Fallbridge served as a passenger terminal, roundhouse and freight switch yard for traffic into Bend. Recognizing its central location, a 300-ton automatic coaling station was erected for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad at Fallbridge in 1920.<ref>''Iron Age'', Volume 106, p. 1716</ref>

The name was officially changed to "Wishram" in 1926.<ref name="FWP"/> However, the name of Fallbridge continues to appear in various documents. In 1931 the official schedules for the railway used "Wishram (Fallbridge)" as the designation for the stop at Wishram.<ref>''Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba'', 1931</ref> The town still appears as "Fallbridge" in 1940 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers port directories,<ref>United States. Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Port Series: Issue 32</ref> and in 1941 in standard textbooks.<ref>''Nichols' Standard Railroad Textbook'', Railroad Textbook Co., Inc., 1941</ref>

In 1931 the SP&S line to Bend was connected via [[Klamath Falls, Oregon]], to [[Bieber, California]], providing a shortcut to connect with the [[Western Pacific Railroad]] in northern California.<ref name="schafer2003"/>