Hmmmmm....wasnt aware of this... Funding Expected for Roseburg Rail Yard Move ROSEBURG, OR -- Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad officials anticipate being awarded funding Wednesday to pay for the moving of its Roseburg switching yard to Winchester, OR. The Oregon Transportation Commission is scheduled to meet that day to approve a list of 44 statewide projects recommended to share $104 million in funding through a program to invest in air, rail, marine and other transit infrastructure. The $7.7 million earmarked for the Roseburg rail move through the Connect Oregon program is the most for a single project anywhere in Oregon. The next two largest grants are $7.5 million to pay for a crane for the Port of Portland and an equal amount to pay for an expansion of the Redmond Municipal Airport. A committee evaluated 100 applications submitted for funding. All 44 projects that received the committee’s blessing are likely to be awarded the money Wednesday, “I would expect the list to remain intact as recommended,” said Patrick Cooney, chief spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Steve Hefley, Central Oregon & Pacific’s general manager, was out of town on business and could not be reached for comment. A second company official did not return a phone call. Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, which must put up $1.9 million of its own money to receive the grant, wants to relocate the switching yard because its existing 145-car facility is at capacity. The new yard would increase efficiency and improve connections between rail and truck freight, according to the company’s application for the grant. In the past 10 years, the number of rail car loads shipped by the railroad has increased from 32,000 per year to more than 52,000, according to Central Oregon & Pacific’s application. The existing yard is too small to “accommodate the daily demand for classification and storage of railcars,” the application said. Part of the reason automobile traffic is blocked at rail crossings in Roseburg is due to the inadequacy of the existing rail yard to handle the volume of rail cars that must be broken down for storage and delivery, the application said. The proposed new site just west of Interstate 5, near Del Rio Road, contains nearly 29 acres of land. Central Oregon & Pacific expects to use about 12 acres of the property for the rail yard and save the rest for future expansion. It would construct 11 tracks at the site, which could be used to store 294 railroad cars. A second Central & Oregon Pacific project to replace worn rail with a heavier rail did not make it on the recommendation list. The railroad sought $7.4 million of the $12.4 million it planned to spend on the upgrade from a Connect Oregon grant. Two other applications from Douglas County did not make the final list, either. They sought money to pay for a runway expansion at the Myrtle Creek airport and the installation of a new railroad switch and spur line to the Murphy Company mill property in Sutherlin. - John Sowell, The Roseburg News-Review
The Oregon Department of Transportation's "Connect Oregon Program" has given the approval to the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad's multi-million dollar funding request to build a new rail yard North of Roseburg. According to Tom Hawksworth, Marketing Director for CORP, Connect Oregon is providing about 7 Million Dollars for the rail project and that will require a 1.4 Million Dollar matching contribution from CORP. The Transportation Commission yesterday cut about $700,000 out of the project in order for the Commission to balance the books and keep all of the funding for the remaing 43 approved projects at 99 Million 500 thouand Dollars. ($500,000.00 will be used to fund the administration of the Connect Oregon Program). CORP hopes that construction of the new rail yard can start before this winter and the completion of the yard by the end of next Spring. The downtown rail yard will remain in place. The railroad is moving about 52,000 car loads this year. The new yard will take a lot of presure off the downtown yard and make it possible for CORP to handle more loads.
Dear BoxcabE50 CORP does not intend to remove the downtown yard. According to CORP's management the downtown yard will stay in place. The new yard is where they can make up trains and move the loads around and not block traffic. Downtown yard will be used as an overflow from the new yard and to set up their cars for delivery to the mills close by.
Burninbob, this is off topic, but supposedly there is a park engine somewhere in Roseburg. So far in passing through I have been unable to find it. Can you direct me to it's location so I can get some pix next time in Roseburg? Thanks.
Fitz~ steamlocomotive.com gives the following: Stewart Park W of I5, Roseburg, OR They also provide links for more info. Heres my pic: Forgot how to get there but I think driving North on I5, it was the first major Roseburg exit. Cross under freeway to the west and park should be on the North side of street somewhere?? IIRC, this view is looking basically back towards the I5 exit to give you some idea of the orientation of things. Course its been sometime....
Was just wondering. Thinking out loud. Many towns and cities have urged, or pressured the RRs to move their allegedly noisy, dirty operations. Build bypasses, etc. If that was a possibility for Roseburg. Boxcab E50
In order to get to Stewart Park where the park locomotive is, take the Downtown/Harvard/Oak Streret exit from I-5. Go west until you hit Stewart Parkway and make a right. Just passed the bridge over the Umpqua River, turn right into the park. Follow the road back 'til you see it.
Is any of this related to post 911 funding for infrastructure? Glad to see money being put toward rails in the country... John
The Central Oregon & Pacific Railroads "New rail yard application" won funding thru Oregon Department of Transportation "Connect Oregon Program". This program did not receive any post 911 funding from the Federal Governtment. Connect Oregon is a lottery-bond based initiative of 100 Million Dollars approved by the Oregon State Legislature to invest in air, rail, marine and transit infracture. Lottery bonds will be sold this October to fund the 100 million dollar program. A list of applicants that will receive this funding is available at www.odot.state.or.us and click on Connectoregon.
