dasinfogod's video: 177 Days - NWP reconstruction 1965

Industrial film by Morrison-Knudsen Co. details the catastrophic Christmas flood of 1964 destroyed 100 miles (160 km) of the Northwestern Pacific (a subsidiary of Southern Pacific) railroad in Northern California, including three bridges over the Eel River, and permanently changed the topography of the area. The line was closed for 177 days while 850 men rebuilt the railroad through the Eel River canyon. In the years following the 1964 flood, the rail line was less reliable due to increased landsliding in the Eel River Canyon; but freight traffic remained high until the 1970s, as improvements to US Highway 101 cut hauling times, making trucking competitive with the rail line.