Reflected in a placid stretch of the Clearwater River, the Orofino turn rolls westward near Peck, Idaho, on the afternoon of October 15, 1992. Fifty cars--10 loads of "commercials" (finished lumber) and 40 loads of lots separate the locomotives and caboose
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 Camas Prairie Railroad |
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century, the railroad descendants of Henry Villard's Northern Pacific and E. H.
Harriman's Union Pacific operated an extensive short line network high atop the rolling
hills and deep in the forests of northern Idaho's Panhandle. The nearly-300 mile long
Camas Prairie Railroad Company was a curious mix of wheat field granger and Northwest
logger--a railroad serving farmers of the rich Camas Prairie as well as the timber barons
of the Clearwater River and its tributaries. It lasted intact into the era of railroad
deregulation, its traffic base overwhelmingly dependent upon the appetite of the giant
timber and paper mill of Potlatch, Inc., at Lewiston. While jointly operated, both UP and
NP (and later BN) solicited Potlatch's inbound and outbound traffic separately--this
competitive aspect to the Lewiston traffic no doubt ensured the railroad's joint operation
long after both railroads had begun to retrench from branch line operations in eastern
Washington in the early 1970s. The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe merger in 1996 brought new
priorities for the former BN, and time ran out for the joint operation on April 18, 1998,
when Camas Prairie RailNet assumed operation of 227 miles of trackage east of Riparia,
Washington. Part of North American RailNet, which operates about 1500 miles of shortlines
throughout North America, Camas Prairie now interchanges with both railroads at Ayer
Junction, on Union Pacific's Spokane subdivision, over trackage rights from Riparia.
In recent years, RailNet has sought to abandon much of the Camas Prairie
east of Lewiston. I spent quite a bit of my time during a stint in Spokane, Washington, from 1991-1994 photographing the Camas Prairie. The crews were friendly, the operations predictable, and the scenery some of the most amazing to see steel rails--not just in Washington or the Pacific Northwest, but anywhere in North America. I'm thankful I had the opportunity to ride the trains and hike the canyon miles to see this railroad, still a pure UP-BN operation, in its final years of Class One control.
Shortly after 1030am on June 28, 1991, the Friday-only Grangeville Turn climbs Lapwai Canyon on the Second Subdivison above Nucrag behind three Union Pacific units. |
click on photo below to be magically whisked to these pages. . .
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The Second
Subdivision, railroading atop the prairie The Camas Prairie Railroad was synonymous with its Second Subdivision, 66 miles from a connection at Spalding to Grangeville. In between was the incredible three percent Lapwai Canyon climb, one of North America's most amazing mountain railroads, through tunnels and across audacious wooden trestles. |
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East of Lewiston,
the woods railroad The Camas Prairie follows the Clearwater River 65 miles to Kamiah; this is the home of most of the railroad's timber-related traffic, from the First Subdivision to Kamiah and the Fourth Subdivision into the woods to Jaype. |
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Vintage Camas
Prairie, from Hank Griffiths Jr. Nearly a half-century ago, Union Pacific and Northern Pacific 2-8-2 steam locomotives provided the power for freight trains, and gas-electric "Doodlebugs" handled passenger chores. Idaho native Hank Griffiths, Jr. was one of the few who photographed the line in this era with color film. |
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Links, etc. Resources, references, and a few links to other sites of interest on the internet to Camas Prairie fans. |
Blair's World Camas Prairie Home Milltown Second Subdivision Woods Railroad Vintage Links, etc.
All photographs Copyright 2002 by Blair E. Kooistra, except as noted. Duplication, reproduction and use of images without permission of photographer is prohibited