As the railroad was built here, the forest became a busy work site where trees were felled for ties and rock was blasted for ballast. In February 1927, forest ranger G. C. Blake reported finding 20 men with the work train laying steel in upper Silvies Valley, with 8 men behind the train adjusting track and 3 men ahead of the track-laying crew placing ties; 2400 feet of track seemed very close to an average for one day. Not far from here, a major engineering feat took shape in a tunnel 475 feet long. Work began in May 1925, and progress was swift: by late September 270 feet had been excavated and timbered, and by November the tunnel was complete. The Harney County News judged it one of the best pieces of construction work in its line, but after the railroad was abandoned the untreated timbers deteriorated, and for safety the last remaining timbers were dynamited in 1999.