Additionally, with one or two other railroads to compete with, the railroads were struggling to earn return on the many lines they had built. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. First St, Emmett, Idaho 83617 - email: Gem County Museum - Phone: 208-365-9530 Home Historical Society Museum Events & Projects Local History Photo Album Links What's New THE NEW RAILROAD REACHES EMMETT Please endeavor to complete both TIGER Review and the Abandoned section (updating status in tables). Lumber production rose and fell during the early 20th century. Many of the train stations remaining today have been converted into museums, which means this trip is educational and perfect for the whole family as well – and it’ll take you all Today’s state is smaller, but Idaho is still as large as all six New England states combined with New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. MacGillis-Gibbs Lumber Company:  Operated a mill in the Clark Fork region with 4 miles of track from 1911 to 1913. Jams on the flume could be very dangerous and costly to fix, especially if the flumes broke. With the permission of Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS), who owns the original photo that is from the Clifford Peake collect, the Adams County Historical is able to offer this beautiful photo of the depot for sale. With the completion of the Intermountain Railway, the Boise Payette Company saw a huge boost in profits and remained profitable throughout the 1920s. Cowger & Sons:  Located in the Southwick area, with 14 miles of railroad in service from 1934-1943. To read their entire article and visit their website please click here. The railroad began service circa 1907. Smith Lumber Company:  Located near Kilgore it owned 10 miles of trackage operating from 1951-1953. 814 Published 1903 Boundary County Surnames: Lena Mervin, E. E It owned a subsidiary, the Winchester & Craig Junction Railroad. The Clearwater River Log Drive began a year later and ran from 1928 to 1971. We recognize the critical need many of our partners have in funding the They would also share revenue based on which railroad received the business beyond the operating company. Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway (WI&M) The Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway was created in 1905 by the Potlatch Lumber Company, which itself had been created only two years earlier with the purpose of logging over 100,000 acres of timber in northern Idaho. Motorized metal boats were later used as bateaus. Hutchins Brothers Lumber Company:   This company had a mill near Pierce and operated a 12-mile network. Mecham Lumber Company:  Located in the Soda Springs area with 4 miles of track and 1 locomotive. Milwaukee Lumber Company:  This large operation was located in the St. Maries area with 36 miles of track. Bilger, Harry Edward. History of Valley County. Kootenai Logging & Railroad Company:  Located near Harrison with 5 miles of track and 1 geared locomotive, operating from 1908 to 1916. To solve this problem, some creative attorneys figured out a way to consolidate these farms in order to make a commercial forest products industry around Boise. In 1890 John P. Vollmer was instrumental in extending the Spokane & Palouse Railway (later the Northern Pacific) to Huff's Gulch from Moscow … Sawmills were considered an economic asset to the Boise community, even before the end of the mining era (lumber was required for sluice boxes, flumes, and mine support). Lumber companies soon realized that commercial lumbering couldn’t develop in the Boise forests without adequate rail transportation. Rawson-Works Lumber Company:  Its operations were located near Kamiah and owned 3 miles of track with 1 geared locomotive. Construction on Barber Dam and Sawmill began in 1904 and was completed in 1905. Hey Matt, Looks like you're making some progress on the blog. While no railroad ever connected Idaho north and south, at the turn of the century, the plaintive whistle of steam locomotives could be heard all through the timbered mountains of central Idaho. These were made by creating grooves in snow, ice or dirt; logs were placed in the grooves for smoother transportation (especially helpful if at a slight decline). How about on the layout? Today, 15 to 20 percent of the county workforce is employed by sawmills and other forestry jobs. Another obstacle for the Barber Lumber Company came when the company attempted to buy more forest acreage to supplement the land they already owned. The first motorized saws entered the logging world in the 1940s but these machines were heavy and less efficient than the crosscut. The Clearwater Timber Company built a massive sawmill just east of Lewiston in the mid 1920's, and needed a substantial amount of saw logs to supply the mill. The Intermountain Railway service was suspended in the 30s as well and later was replaced by Highway 21 (Boise to Idaho City). Its last known year of service was 1953. Historical Photos of Sandpoint, Idaho and Surrounding Areas Bonner County History Museum - (208) 263-2344. The portion of Idaho County appears to have been in the Salmon River drainage. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. For inland harvesting, horses and oxen were used to haul lumber, dragging logs through the woods. Rapid Lightning Road (Sandpoint) was one of the former railroad beds used by Humbird. These workers would have to jump onto log jams to split them up. Boise via the Boise Valley Railway Company. Visitors to Sandpoint could tell immediately that it was a timber town. Another method used to transport logs from the hills to the nearest waterway, were log flumes. Idaho has a Rich and Fascinating History When Congress created Idaho Territory in 1863, the new territory sprawled across an area one-quarter larger than Texas. Although not in continuous service it operated from 1904 to 1930 and was originally narrow-gauge before its later conversion to 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches. The NP built a branch line from a junction point near Lewiston, up the Clearwater River 76 miles to Stites. Idaho Railroad History (GC1V82F) was created by bunkerdave on 6/27/2009. Russell & Pugh Lumber Company:  This logger was located near Harrison with 6 miles of railroad and 1 geared locomotive. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). The NP was well under way, and in the process of building its line up the famed Lapwai Creek canyon, when the O-WR&N announced its plan to also build a line to the Camas Prairie. History: Began operation of the former Camas Prairie RailNet under Watco ownership as Great Northwest Railroad on March 4, 2004. They also had to look out for pitch seams on the tree; pitch would dull the saw and slow down the felling process dramatically. Today’s state is smaller, but Idaho is still as large as all six New England states combined with New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. Beardmore:  Located in the Priest River region with operations beginning circa 1918. The area has rich soil and is one of the great grain growing areas of the United States. These 640 acres were supposed to last a generation, with new growth for the next generation. According to the CPR’s history, a 999-year agreement between the UP and NP, signed in September 1909, ended years of fighting about railroad rights in Idaho’s heartland. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. The Great Northern also purchased upstart independent railroad lines that were built through the area. A forwarder cuts the tree down and de-limbs it right there. The Northern Pacific had Lewiston to itself for the next several years, with no significant competition. Author Vince Posted on February 5, 2017 February 18, 2017 Categories Local History Tags Breakheart Pass, Camas Prairie Railroad, Central Idaho, Charle's Bronson, Northern Idaho, Northern Pacific Railroad, Railroad on Stilts, Union Pacific Railroad, Wild Wild West, Wooden Trestles Leave a comment on Railroad on Stilts-Camas Valley Railroad Troy was originally known as Huff's Gulch. The Wilder Branch runs from Wilder, Idaho, to Students at the College of Idaho … Locomotives known as Shays followed steep grades and rough tracks into places like the Boise Basin, logging Grimes Creek and Centerville and Idaho City. We recognize the critical need many of our partners have in funding the projects they undertake to preserve Idaho’s history and culture. The Intermountain Railway was built from just north of Boise to New Centerville, following the Boise River, Grime’s Creek, and More’s Creek. on an equal basis. C.W. Blackwell also later acquired the B.R. Burke, Idaho was famous for being built in an impossibly narrow valley for a town site. Matt, One other thing about the woodframe "freight" depot... according to Sanborn maps, it was moved about one block east from its original location in the early 1900s. Together, they give Idaho quite the railroad history! This Historical Idaho Map Collection are from original copies. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the, You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's, Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. The statute had been created to help individuals acquire family-sized farms; the general theory was that a family would have a 640-acre forest to harvest and process. However, early in the 1930s, as the market became depressed, the company started taking huge losses, which led to the closing of Barber Mill in 1934, it was never reopened. So why does the Camas Prairie Railroad exist? Even today, many of the men working in the woods are following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers. In 2019, Union Pacific donated more than $207,000 to Idaho charitable organizations, such as the Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page! T.H. The information includes original numbers, serials, and order numbers. It is a must visit! All content copyright American-Rails.com (unless otherwise noted). Logging trucks pulling two-wheel, single axle trailers loaded with logs drove through the town or stopped at the landing site where logs were loaded onto boxcars. We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. Serving the agriculturally diverse areas of Idaho Falls and Snake River area running from Buhl/Wendell to Minidoka, the EIRR carries a wide variety of products annually. Later still rubber pontoons were used to carry a cookhouse and two bunkhouses. It remained in operation from 1921-1945. Steunenberg attracted the attention of Barber Lumber Company (Wisconsin) bought 25,000 acres north of Boise, along Grime’s and More’s creeks, in 1902. A.C. White Lumber Company:  Its mill was located near Sandpoint and the company operated a 15-mile railroad with 2 geared and 1 standard locomotive. and Village Museum 501 E. First St, Emmett, Idaho 83617 - email: Gem County Museum - Phone: 208-365-9530 Ida & Washington Northern Railroad:   The I&WN began operations in 1907 and owned 113 miles of track and 14 locomotives connecting with with Coeur d'Alene. The total cost of construction was $1,037,499, equal to $24,725,261 today. In March 1903 this company merged withthe Weyerhaeuser interests to form the Potlatch Lumber Company. These trains would bring in miners and loggers searching for new ways to make a living, along with new settlers hoping for a place to call home. Humbird Lumber Company:  Its mill was near Sandpoint and owned a very large network of 42 miles with 5 geared and two standard rod locomotives. ABOUT With nearly 359 track miles, the Eastern Idaho Railroad is one of the largest single short line spinoffs in Union Pacific history. It owned two subsidiaries, the Lake Railway & Lumber Company and Boise, Nampa & Owyhee Railroad. But to be effective in preserving Idaho’s rich history requires strong partnerships. The city of Boise was founded in 1863, one and half years later (December 1864) there were two sawmills operating near Boise. In less than 4 days, we explored many historical railroad and logging sites, including dozens of abandoned tunnels and bridges in addition to logging camps and abandoned donkeys and even another abandoned "steam locomotive in the woods". The amount of information found there is quite staggering; historical backgrounds of wheel arrangements, types used by virtually every railroad, preserved and operational examples, and even those used in other countries (North America and beyond). The railroad was in service from 1927 to 1943 with operations contracted to E.C. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. In addition, Rose Lake owned the Hoo Hoo Lumber Company and its Hoo Hoo Railroad. Mountain Lumber Company:  Located in the Wallace area with 11 miles of track and 1 geared locomotive. Drives usually took place in the early spring when melting snows began filling the rivers. Railroads were important to the economy of towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries while having profound affect on the growth patterns of urban areas. The old lady has been sitting by the tracks doing the same job for 83 years. The Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad (reporting mark: INPR) is a small railroad in southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon in the United States. Branson Lumber Company:  Operated in the Mashburn area with 2 miles of trackage from 1915 to 1916. Railroad surveyors brought the Oregon Shortline to Boise in 1887. Twelve foot pike poles were used to prod and pull the logs out of snags and sometimes dynamite was used to break up jams. The Kootenai and Sandpoint Mill were connected by railroad. Modeling Lewiston, Idaho, on the Camas Prairie Railroad in the Summer of 1965. Railroad History in Bonner County The Northern Pacific, building from Spokane east, reached Bonner County in 1881-2. O-WR&N had its water level route and a better way out of the Snake River Valley. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. 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