Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
.
In 1970, it was leased to the Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
(BN), the consolidation of the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
. Due to outstanding bonds, the SP&S was not merged into the BN until November 1, 1979. The Burlington Northern continued to operate it until 1987, when it announced intention to vacate the right-of-way between Snake River Junction (near Ice Harbor Dam) and Cheney
Cheney, Washington
Cheney is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full time resident population was 10,590 as of 2010 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney, and its population grows to approximately 17,600 people on a temporary basis when classes at Eastern Washington...
. The segment between Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and Pasco
Pasco, Washington
Pasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...
continues to serve successor BNSF and enjoys heavy traffic due to its low-grade and slight curvature crossing of the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
.
In 1991, the Washington State Parks system acquired the right-of-way and established the Columbia Plateau Trail State Park
Columbia Plateau Trail
The Columbia Plateau Trail is a -long -wide corridor in eastern Washington State along the abandoned right-of-way of the former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. It runs between Cheney, Washington and Pasco at the confluence of the Snake River and Columbia River. It passes through parts of...
This park is a 4109 acres (16.6 km²), 130 miles (209.2 km)-long rail-bed trail that traces that portion of the 1908 route of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad between Cheney
Cheney, Washington
Cheney is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full time resident population was 10,590 as of 2010 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney, and its population grows to approximately 17,600 people on a temporary basis when classes at Eastern Washington...
and Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
.
History
The railroad was chartered in 1905 by James J. HillJames J. Hill
James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
for the purposes of connecting the two transcontinental railroads owned by him, the Northern Pacific
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
and Great Northern, to Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
from Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, Washington, in order to gain a portion of the lumber trade in Oregon, a business that at the time was dominated by E.H. Harriman's Union Pacific
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and Southern Pacific railroads. Construction began in 1906 under the name Portland & Seattle Railway, proceeding eastward from Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
. 1906 also saw the start of construction of the line between Vancouver and Portland, including work on three major new bridges, crossing the Columbia River
Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6
Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6 or BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6, also known as the Columbia River Railroad Bridge, is through truss railway bridge across the Columbia River, between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, owned and operated by BNSF Railway...
, the Oregon Slough
Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge
The Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge, also known as the BNSF Railway Bridge 8.8, is a swing-span, through truss bridge in Portland, Oregon, United States. Currently owned and operated by BNSF Railway, it crosses a distributary of the Columbia River known as North Portland Harbor and historically as...
and the Willamette River
Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1
The Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1 or BNSF Railway Bridge 5.1, also known as the St. Johns Railroad Bridge or the Willamette River Railroad Bridge, is a through truss railway bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States...
. The northernmost of these was the first bridge of any kind to be built across the lower Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
.
Within a year, and despite legal challenges from Harriman, who wished to block its construction, the line had been built as far as Pasco, Washington
Pasco, Washington
Pasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...
along the Columbia River, where there was a connection with Northern Pacific lines. The first section to open was from Pasco west to Cliffs (near Maryhill), a length of 112 miles (180.2 km), on December 15, 1907. Operation was extended west to Lyle
Lyle, Washington
Lyle is a census-designated place in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. The population was 530 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, another 145 miles (233.4 km), on January 15, 1908, as construction continued on the 221 miles (355.7 km) section from there to Vancouver.
In January 1908, "Spokane" was added to the railroad's name, making it the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway. SP&S freight and passenger service (from Pasco) to Portland was inaugurated in November 1908. By 1909, the railroad had completed construction of its line up to Spokane along the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
. In 1910, SP&S gained control of the Oregon Electric
Oregon Electric Railway
The Oregon Electric Railway was an interurban railroad line in the U.S. state of Oregon that linked Portland to Eugene. Service from Portland to Salem, Oregon, began in 1907. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway purchased the system in 1910, and extended service to Eugene in 1912...
interurban railway, which the Great Northern had acquired two years before. Under the control of the SP&S, the railroad was extended southward to Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
by 1912. SP&S also operated a second subsidiary railroad in western Oregon, the Oregon Traction Company, which owned a route to Seaside, Oregon
Seaside, Oregon
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. A third route on which the SP&S operated extended southward from Wishram, Washington
Wishram, Washington
Wishram is a census-designated place in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. The population was 213 at the 2000 census. The site of the historic Celilo Falls is nearby....
to Bend, Oregon
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
was the Oregon Trunk Railroad. Edward Harriman's Oregon & Washington Railway & Navigation Company also was building a railroad south from the Columbia River to Bend resulting in a railroad war in which each railroad attempted to sabotage the other. In the end, the railroad opened using mostly the track of the Oregon Trunk, with a short portion of the Oregon & Washington Railway & Navigation Company track, and both railroads used the route (an arrangement which exists to this day with BNSF owning the majority of the line and UP having trackage rights. On route maps, the portion of the route that was actually built by the OWRR&N is still shown as owned by the Union Pacific.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the SP&S benefited from a significant increase in traffic along its lines, as war materials moved along the railroad towards the Pacific Theatre, and new industries located along the Columbia River, taking advantage of cheap electricity from hydroelectric dams on the river. New industries served by the SP&S included aluminum plants, sawmills, chemical factories and grain elevators.
In 1954, an SP&S train derailed after hitting a rockslide on the route to Bend, Oregon. Part of the train landed in the Deschutes River, including a boxcar, which landed in a rapid that was later named "Boxcar Rapids
Boxcar Rapids
The Boxcar Rapids are Class 3 rapids on the Deschutes River, located south and upriver from Maupin, Oregon, United States.-History:...
" after the incident, which killed the entire crew of the train.
Passenger trains
The SP&S's passenger operations mostly involved hosting connections with parents' trains such as the Empire BuilderEmpire Builder
The Empire Builder is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Northwestern United States. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route and busiest daily train, carrying more than 500,000 travelers annually since 2007. Overall, it is the railroad's 10th-busiest line. Before...
and North Coast Limited
North Coast Limited
The North Coast Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota...
, were combined to form the Streamliner (#1/#2). Oriental Limited
Oriental Limited
The Oriental Limited was a named passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington. The train was operated by the Great Northern Railway between St. Paul, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington, and by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between St. Paul and Chicago...
, Mainstreeter, and Western Star connected with (#3/#4).
However, some of these SP&S trains were named. The Inland Empire Express (daytime) and North Bank Limited (overnight) provided daily, through service between Portland (Union Station) and Spokane. The Columbia River Express (#5/#6) operated between Portland and Pasco, connecting at Pasco with Northern Pacific #5/#6 for service to/from Spokane.
See also
- North Bank Depot BuildingsNorth Bank Depot BuildingsThe North Bank Depot Buildings, located in central Portland, Oregon, United States, are a pair of buildings formerly used as a freight warehouse and passenger terminal for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway...
– Portland terminal for SP&S service, 1908–1920s - Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 is the only surviving example of their E-1 class 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive. Nearly identical to the A-3 class Northerns built for Northern Pacific Railway, but burning oil instead of coal....
- Spokane, Portland and Seattle Locomotive RosterSpokane, Portland and Seattle Locomotive RosterThe Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway locomotive roster was a combination of new and used locomotives. Please note that this is not a comprehensive roster.- Steam Locomotives :...