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Re: Railroads That were never Built
Author: redlynx
Date: 07-04-2008 - 09:23
In Washington State
1910 Railroad Commission Map shows a proposed North Coast Railroad (UP) line up the Tieton River and over Cowlitz Pass (just north of White Pass) and apparently connecting at Morton to the MILW branch for a Tacoma connection and a southerly brach on to Portland. That would have had some real interesting grades, especially on the west slope of the Cascades.
NP at one time proposed, had right of way and surveyed a line extending the Moxee branch across the Columbia and east to what is now BNSF Lakeview sub.
I've been told -- this might be just local legend -- that the original plan for the branch out to White Swan was to go over the Cascades and into Portland, but the construction of SP&S made this unnecessary.
More recently, the NP and MILW went to court over building a branch to Mattawa to tap the Waluke slope area. NP won, they graded, but never laid rail on the western end of the proposed line. Portions of the grade can still be seen from the highway between Vernita and Othello.
I suspect that many railroad lines projected, but never built a century ago were local puffing and/or the result of posturing between UP and NP/GN interests. At that time, it seems every hamlet dreamed of being a major rail center...
Projects that we might someday see include a line to connect Alaska and the Yukon to the main North American network.
1910 Railroad Commission Map shows a proposed North Coast Railroad (UP) line up the Tieton River and over Cowlitz Pass (just north of White Pass) and apparently connecting at Morton to the MILW branch for a Tacoma connection and a southerly brach on to Portland. That would have had some real interesting grades, especially on the west slope of the Cascades.
NP at one time proposed, had right of way and surveyed a line extending the Moxee branch across the Columbia and east to what is now BNSF Lakeview sub.
I've been told -- this might be just local legend -- that the original plan for the branch out to White Swan was to go over the Cascades and into Portland, but the construction of SP&S made this unnecessary.
More recently, the NP and MILW went to court over building a branch to Mattawa to tap the Waluke slope area. NP won, they graded, but never laid rail on the western end of the proposed line. Portions of the grade can still be seen from the highway between Vernita and Othello.
I suspect that many railroad lines projected, but never built a century ago were local puffing and/or the result of posturing between UP and NP/GN interests. At that time, it seems every hamlet dreamed of being a major rail center...
Projects that we might someday see include a line to connect Alaska and the Yukon to the main North American network.
