The BG&CM Railroad or Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain Railroad is a Class III shortline

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

located in

North Central Idaho North Central Idaho is an area which spans the central part of the state of Idaho and borders Oregon, Montana, and Washington. It is the southern half of the Idaho Panhandle region and is rich in agriculture and natural resources. Lewis and Clar ...

Summary

The BG&CM operated a line between Spalding and Cottonwood, along the former Second Subdivision of the

Camas Prairie Railroad Camas Prairie Railroad Company was a short line railroad in northern Idaho jointly owned and operated by Northern Pacific Railway and Union Pacific. The Camas Prairie Railroad was known as the "railroad on stilts" due to the many wooden trestle ...

. Spalding is located about east of Lewiston, which is at Idaho's western border with

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. BGCM connects with Great Northwest Railroad at Spalding. BGCM also operates the portion of the former Camas Prairie Railroad which runs from Spalding to Orofino, then to Kooskia along the river grade of the Clearwater River. BGCM's route consists of the former Camas Prairie Railroad's Second Subdivision line, which was in length from Spalding to Grangeville. As of 2005, only the between Spalding and Cottonwood were operated; the last of track between Cottonwood and Grangeville were removed in late 2002 and 2003. When BG&CM stepped in to operate the second subdivision line in December 2002, it was originally planning to operate the from Spalding to Craigmont, but a few weeks later decided to continue south, across Lawyer's Canyon to Cottonwood, stopping the salvage crews from going further north. In 2005,

Watco Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) is a transportation company based in Pittsburg, Kansas, formed in 1983 by Charles R. Webb. Watco was composed of four divisions: transportation, mechanical, terminal and port services, and compliance. Watco is th ...

, owner of the BGCM's Spalding connection Great Northwest Railroad (GRNW), leased to BGCM the entire GRNW route east of Lewiston of mainline track, including the railroad from Orofino to Konkolville. The BGCM route had been acquired from Camas Prairie RailNet (CSPR) in December 2002, a subsidiary of

North American RailNet North American RailNet, Inc., based in Bedford, Texas, was a holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produ ...

, which had acquired the entire Camas Prairie line in April 1998 from the line's previous (and original) co-owners,

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

and

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

. CSPR received permission from the

Surface Transportation Board The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Intersta ...

to abandon the Grangeville Branch in September 2000 and made its last run on that line in late November. Watco had acquired the remainder of the Camas Prairie RailNet in March 2004. As of April, 2013, the second sub is used for storage of empty flatcars between

Lapwai Lapwai is a city in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States, in Nez Perce County, Idaho, Nez Perce County, Idaho. Its population was 1,137 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and it is the seat of government of the Nez Pe ...

and Culdesac. The grade crossing of

US 95 US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast. US 95 begins in San Luis, ...

south of Craigmont has been removed and the crossings in that town are graveled over. Also, one of the wooden trestles—Bridge 21.3—near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

was lost in a forest fire on September 7, 2011. All that remains of the trestle is a single rail suspended precariously across the chasm, as well as ashes and bits of metal beneath. A fire also destroyed the original elevators at Craigmont, beginning on May 12, 2013. The fire smoldered for nearly three weeks.

History

The Camas Prairie Railroad was formed in 1909, and was jointly owned and operated by the former

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

(later Burlington Northern Santa Fe), and the former

Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...

(later Union Pacific). The two railroads were competitors throughout the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, battling to capture railroad traffic in timber, minerals, and agricultural products. Camas Prairie Railroad was sold by co-owners UP and BNSF to

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 46,979 at the 2010 census. Bedford is part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedf ...

in April 1998 and it became Camas Prairie RailNet, Inc. After six years it was sold to Watco and became Great Northwest Railroad in March 2004. There were about of track in the transaction: from Riparia, Washington, east to Lewiston; from Lewiston east to Kooskia; and from Orofino northeast to near Jaype. The Orofino to Jaype segment was out of service. BGCM is owned by Midwest Pacific Rail Net & Logistics of

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. MPRL also owns: * Boot Hill and Western Railway (Out of Service) *

Dakota Southern Railway The Dakota Southern Railway is a railroad that until late May 2021 ran between Kadoka, South Dakota, and Mitchell, South Dakota, and which continues to service the approximately of remaining active track of the Napa Junction–Platte Line in ...

* Fremont Northern Railway *

Iowa River Railroad The Iowa River Railroad (IARR) operates freight service from Ackley, Iowa to end of track 1.4 miles south of U.S. Highway 20, north of Steamboat Rock, Iowa, for a distance of about 9 miles. With its office located in Steamboat Rock, Iowa, IARR car ...

Nevada Northern Railway The Nevada Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Nevada, built primarily to reach a major copper producing area in White Pine County, Nevada. The railway, constructed in 1905–06, extended northward about from Ely to connections ...

McCloud River Railroad The McCloud Railway was a class III railroad operated around Mount Shasta, California. It began operations on July 1, 1992, when it took over operations from the McCloud River Railroad. The MCR was Incorporation (business), incorporated on April ...

(Out of Service) *

Ozark Valley Railroad The Ozark Valley Railroad is a 27-mile shortline railroad connecting Mexico, Missouri, and Fulton, Missouri. Connection The Kansas City Southern Railway links to the Ozark Valley Railroad at Mexico, Missouri. Motive Power * EMD GP7 The E ...

* St. Maries River Railroad *

Washington and Idaho Railway The Washington and Idaho Railway was a shortline railroad that operated in the area south of Spokane, Washington, connecting the BNSF Railway at Marshall to Palouse, Washington, Harvard, Idaho, and Moscow, Idaho. It began operations in 2006 on ex ...

In 2009, BGCM's owner attempted to purchase a portion of the

Arizona and California Railroad The Arizona and California Railroad is a class III short line railroad that was a subdivision of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). The ARZC began operations on May 9, 1991, when David Parkinson of the ParkSierra RailGroup purchas ...

, running between

Rice, California Rice, formerly named Blythe Junction, is a former town in the Rice Valley and the southern tip of the Mojave Desert, and within unincorporated San Bernardino County, southern California. Although it is still on many maps, the only things remain ...

and

Ripley, California Ripley is a census-designated place community in east Riverside County, California, Riverside County. It is located along California State Route 78, State Route 78 (SR78) between Palo Verde, California, Palo Verde and Blythe, California, Blythe. Th ...

through

Blythe, California Blythe is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximatel ...

from

RailAmerica RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, was a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada. In 2007, RailAmerica was acquired by Fortress Investment Group. Before that, it t ...

then-recently granted for abandonment, but failed to succeed an offer of financial assistance process.

Connection

Great Northwest Railroad (GRNW) at Spalding, Idaho. GRNW is a WATCO company, which owns 35 shortline railroads nationwide.

Motive Power

BGCM operates an ex-

ATSF The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

GP30, numbered as BGCM 2404 ( EMD 27191, 7622-5, April 1962; ex-BNSF 2404; ex-ATSF 2704:2; ex-ATSF 3204; née-ATSF 1204), as well as an

EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded the GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen-cylind ...

u, numbered as BGCM 1639.

References

External links

TrainWeb.org Rosters

North Central Idaho News, February 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bgcm Railroad Idaho railroads Switching and terminal railroads