UP/W&P Bailey Branch, OR...

Working On The Railroad: UP Asked To Donate Troubled Bailey Branch
CORVALLIS, OR -- Union Pacific is weighing an unusual request from Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio. He wants the railroad to give away about 15 miles of track.
It’s the latest twist in the saga of the Bailey Branch, a neglected shortline that serves a handful of shippers south of Corvallis, including the Western Pulp Products factory, the Hull-Oakes Lumber Mill and a number of farming operations. Sometimes called the Lower West Side Branch, the line is operated by the Willamette & Pacific Railroad, which leases the track from Union Pacific.
The shippers have tried for years to get the W&P to improve service and upgrade the line, where derailments are not uncommon and rotting ties and light-gauge rail limit speeds to as little as 5 mph in some spots. The railroad argues there’s not enough business to justify the repairs, which it estimates would cost at least $5 million.
In a letter dated Oct10, DeFazio asked UP President Jim Young to consider donating the Bailey Branch to Benton County, the state or “another interested public entity.”
“We’re reviewing it now, and we’ll be putting together a response,” said Mark Davis, a Union Pacific spokesman.
The long-simmering dispute between the south Benton County shippers and the railroads threatened to boil over last year when the Union Pacific said it would seek federal permission to halt service on the line. So far, however, the railroad has not filed a formal abandonment request with the Surface Transportation Board.
Since then, several potential operators — including the shippers — have expressed interest in taking over the Bailey Branch. Union Pacific has offered to sell the line, but no one has stepped forward with the $2.1 million asking price.
DeFazio said a donation may be the only way to keep the troubled freight line running.
“It needs so much work that it would be hard for the county or anybody else to justify buying it and then having to invest all this money in fixing it,” he said.
But with all that baggage, the Bailey Branch may turn out to be a present nobody wants.
“We’re not ready to operate a railroad, but we are concerned with keeping that line open for the people who use it,” said Jay Dixon, chairman of the Benton County Board of Commissioners. “We would look to the state or someone else to actually provide the operating capital.”
“The state is not in the rail business, per se,” said Bob Melbo, a rail planner with the Oregon Department of Transportation and former president of the Willamette & Pacific Railroad. “Benton County would probably be the right entity to take ownership if there was going to be a donation.”
ODOT’s rail division, however, has no cash reserves for track repairs or operating funds. Money to upgrade the branch line, Melbo said, would have to come from the Legislature. And nobody, so far, is saying who would provide the trains.
If Union Pacific does decide to donate the Bailey Branch, the W&P will work with the south county shippers to get their goods onto the UP mainline, said Willamette & Pacific President Bruce Carswell. If not, though, the shortline operator might have to go back to pushing for the abandonment option.
“At last count there was about 600 carloads (of freight) that was moving on an annual basis over that line. That’s been slowly declining over the years,” Carswell said. “Right now that rail line is not returning adequate revenues to maintain it.”
All the more reason to donate it, counters Wayne Giesy, a former partner in Hull-Oakes Lumber who has worked doggedly to keep the 15-mile rail spur open. “It’d make a hell of a lot more sense for them to take a tax credit and keep the business than it would for them to tear the line out,” Giesy said. “If you and I were running the Union Pacific, we could create a lot more business on that line, just by trying.” - Bennett Hall, The Corvallis Gazette-Times

 

John,

On a related note the UP continues to show its true color (dirty yellow)

The group I belong to is trying to lease the ex SP line from Ione to Galt, Ca. to perserve and operate speeders over it. The president of our group made a request of the UP to talk about a lease. The responce from UP was " we don not talk to rail fans about perservation of a rail line." What's a preservation group to do??

Shannon

 

Hey Shannon,
That is extremely ignorant on UPs part. They could easily let you guys lease it and upkeep it. Then if they decide they need it again in the future, it'll still be there.
It is my understanding that the ex Amador Central further up the line from Ione to Martell is currently being leased by a 'preservation group' to run speeders.

 

John,

That is the group I was talking about and I am proud to say I volinteer with them. We also lease the line from the ST&E from Stockton to Linden, Ca. The group is RRC or Recreational Railroad Coalition, Inc. I think I am the only central Calif member.

We are also in talks to lease the ex Chester Lumber Co. line from Chester to just West of Westwood, Ca (north eastern part of the state by Mt Lassen) and the Monterey branch from just south of Castroville to Seaside, Ca. If it all works out we will have 4 railroads to run speeders on.

Shannon

 

This "Chester Lumber Co" railroad you mention is the Almanor RR is it not?? Been awhile since I've been up that way.

 

John,

You may be correct. I don't remember if it is or not. When the group talks about it they call it the Chrester Lumber Co. railroad.

I ran the line on a speeder in the early 1990's with a friend of mine. It is a wonderful place for a speeder run.

Shannon