P&W Railroad project enters its final phase Published: May 3, 2007 By LAURENT L.N. BONCZIJK For the News-Register Thanks to a public-private partnership, an obsolete railroad line is getting replaced on an 18-mile stretch of Portland & Western track. State Sen. Gary George, Willamina Mayor Curtis Grubbs and Oregon Department of Transportation officials are expected to help drive in the ceremonial golden rail spike to celebrate the start of the final phase of the major railroad upgrade. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the intersection of DeJong and Ballston roads in Ballston, just south of the Yamhill-Polk County line. The $3.5 million project, expected to be completed by mid-June, is aimed at replacing worn-out tracks more than century old, said Josh Fleming of Portland & Western Railroad. Funding comes primarily from three sources: $2 million from the Connect Oregon Initiative, $700,000 in federal money and $815,000 from the railroad. The work crews will replace rails that were laid in 33-foot sections held together with railroad spikes. Those rails weighed 75 pounds per yard and have become inadequate for today's 256,000-pound railroad cars, Fleming said. The new rails will weigh 113 pounds per yard and the different sections will be welded together so as to provide trains one smooth ride the whole way. Those new sturdier rails will enable trains to haul their goods at 25 miles per hour instead of the current speed of 10 miles per hour on the 10 miles of tracks that will be upgraded. Eight miles of tracks have already been upgraded and the completion of this phase will finish the project. One of benefits of the track upgrade will be seen by motorists as trains will now be able to travel faster, taking less time crossing intersections, Fleming said. The company's main customer is Hampton Lumber Mill, which uses the rail line to transport lumber products. Fleming made a point that rail is more energy efficient for moving goods than trucks and that it can play a major role in diverting traffic away from Oregon's crowded highways. The repair work will take place during morning hours and regular traffic will go through in the afternoons. The new tracks have a life expectancy of at least 25 years, he said. Fleming said that such projects were important in keeping freight moving along Oregon's tracks and providing a cost effective way for businesses to ship goods.
Deep in the back of my mind, I seem to recall back in the 1990's, or perhaps late 1980's, talk of this line being abandoned? Whether or not my memory is correct, it's good news. Boxcab E50
I am glad to see the newspaper fixed it. In an earlier version, they called the railroad the Pacific and Western. Rails west from the edge of the Pacific would require substantial trestlework or some of the most futuristic plexi-glass tunnels ever seen. More than that, I am glad that my state is reinvesting in some rail transportation infrastructure.
Boxcab, The line you're thinking about that went out of service is the Wilamina & Grande Ronde, which ran west from Wilamina to serve the Fort Hill Lumber Co. lumber mill about 5 or so miles away. The tracks are still in place, or were when I was out there this winter, and the mill, now closed, is rumored to re-open. The line in Wiliamina is admittedly in rough shape- small stick rail all over the place. Main customer (well, almost the only customer) is the mill on the west side of town that is still running. For further info on the area, go here to a part of Brian McCamish's awesome website. It served as a guide for me when I was railfanning the Willamette Valley.
Bob- No. Not thinking of the W&GR line. What I had pictured, incorrectly, in mind, was an ex-SP branch, that served a lumber mill. Much further south. Alpine Jct-Dallas. Boxcab E50
Hmm........there IS a PNWR branch that heads off the Westside (ex-SP) and goes west to Dallas- IIRC, it's still intact. Another railroad in the area was the Valley & Sielitz that split off the SP at Independence and went into the Coast Range to a sawmill & company town- both are completely gone, no trace of buildings anywhere. Only 1/4 of a mile of the original line exists in INdependence, along with what used to be the last enginehouse. That's owned by George Lavacot, and is where I shot the ex-SP SD9 4443 and that funky-looking tank car (which was used as a fuel car for oil-burning steamers, not as a water car as I erroneously mentioned earlier).
There were over the years the following SP branches (or connecting shortlines) from the Valley to either the Coast Range or the Pacific Ocean: Tillamook Branch (Pacific Railway & Navigation Company) - now the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad. Includes the original POTB from Tillamook to the former Naval Air Station, which was originally a Navy railroad. At times several logging railroads branched off this line, none exist. Willamette Valley & Coast Railroad - from Gaston to Cherry Grove, abandoned in the 1930s. Carlton & Coast Railroad - Carlton to Tillamook Gate, a common-carrier logging line. Abandoned in the '30s/'40s. Willamina Branch (built as the Oregonian Railway's Sheridan Branch, extended by SP funded Sheridan & Willamina Railroad after standard-gauging). Connecting line Willamina & Grande Ronde Railroad, another common-carrier logging line. SP had wanted to sell the Willamina Branch to the W&GR since the 1980s, but it was included in the W&P package. W&GR was purchased by the Root Brothers in the early 1980s, and the line was abandoned west of Fort Hill shortly after. The Roots formed the new Willamette Valley Railroad taking over the "eastside" branches the same day (02/22/1993) the W&P was former, and the W&GR was sold to Hampton Lumber Sales (then owner of Fort Hill Lumber, and is the owner of Willamina Lumber). HLSC was formed, but operated by W&P. A new owner has taken over the Fort Hill mill; not sure who actually owns the railroad, but P&W is serving the new mill. Dallas Branch (Salem, Falls City & Western Railroad, later Black Rock, then Falls City Banch). Today exists only between Gerlinger (short distance of track to the east of the Westside, and about five miles into Dallas). Everything west or east abandoned; until recently about a mile of track in West Salem; today only the track on the Willamette River Bridge, now owned by City of Salem. Toledo Branch. Other than the Toledo-Yaquina section having been long abandoned, still pretty much the same. Dawson Branches (now referred to as the Bailey District, which includes the "lower Westside" south of Corvallis). Still operated much the same way. Still no runaround siding, P&W must still use a caboose on this train for the reverse move. Coos Bay Branch - now part of Central Oregon & Pacific.
