No doubt there were locals out of La Grande years ago before INPR and WURR. In the last eight years I don't recall there being any UP local based out of La Grande. The Huntington local took care of the cement plant outside Durkee and worked to La Grande at least a couple times a week. I'm not sure what job switches Ontario and that area. It might be something based around there or maybe the Huntington.

After the mill and reload closed at Baker, the mill at North Powder never reopened and is now gutted, the only other customer is a propane dealer west of Baker. UP kept a standard cab SD60 the last couple years around La Grande that was available for whatever and would run the propane with an extra crew turning on the wye at Baker.

I lived in the Boise area in the 1990s. There were a ton of locals in the region. Emmett had a switch job, there was the Cascade local, the Council local plus all their power would be gathered up and come over the hill on Sunday as the XNANA for servicing and rotation at Nampa. There was the Wilder local, the Boise local plus I think at least one switch job plus the beet trains in season. La Grande had the Joseph local plus another job and whatever worked Durkee and Ontario/Nyssa area. There just isn't that much local traffic left.

Wallula has at least one UP job that makes a couple trips to the Pasco area during the day. Hinkle has the Castle local that switches Boardman M-F, and I've seent he same power working Irrigon and Umatilla during the day. There used to be some kind of job that switched Hinkle to Pendleton because I saw a SD40-2 switching in Pendleton a couple years ago, plus you would have had a daily local on the Pilot Rock and Condon branches at one time. I think there used to be a couple jobs at Walla Walla before it was sold.

I think the La Grande local is now taking care of everything from Hinkle to La Grande. La Grande is still a home crew base for now - I don't know if crews are still working from Nampa and Hinkle this way but if so I guess UP could try to make LG an away terminal.

This is a very different place than what it was 25 or even 5 years ago.