The Columbia Southern Railway built a

rail line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

extending from Biggs (on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

) south to Shaniko, Oregon, U.S. The company was incorporated on March 5, 1897, and intended to continue beyond Shaniko to

Prineville Prineville is a city in and the seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census. History Prineville was founded in 187 ...

, with a branch to Canyon City. Operations began October 6, 1897, on from Biggs to

Wasco Wasco is the name of four places in the United States: Places United States * Wasco, California, a city in California ** Wasco State Prison, located in Wasco, California * Wasco, Illinois, a former hamlet (unincorporated town) in Illinois, now pa ...

, and the line was extended to Moro on January 13, 1899,

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

on March 27, 1900, and Shaniko on May 13, 1900. The

Union Pacific Railroad 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 ...

(UP), owner of the

Oregon 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 ...

(OR&N), which followed the Columbia River through Biggs, gained control of the Columbia Southern in 1905, and leased it to the OR&N on June 30, 1906. The properties of the OR&N and Columbia Southern Railway were conveyed to new UP subsidiary

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 ...

on December 23, 1910. A railway timetable for September 9, 1900, listed station stops for Biggs, Gibsons, Wasco, Klondyke, Summit, Hay Canyon Junction, McDonalds, DeMoss, Moro,

Erskineville Erskineville is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 6 kilometres south west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Erskinevill ...

, Grass Valley, Bourbon,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Wilcox, and Shaniko. The morning (northbound) train was to leave Shaniko at 8 a.m. and to arrive in Biggs at 11:25 a.m. The southbound train was scheduled to leave Biggs at 1:34 p.m. and to arrive in Shaniko at 5:20 p.m. No extension was ever built beyond Shaniko, but UP subsidiary

Des Chutes Railroad Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), sever ...

built a line to the west along the

Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to: *Deschutes River (Oregon) The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many ...

, reaching Bend in 1911; Prineville built its own railroad, the

City of Prineville Railway The City of Prineville Railway is an class III shortline railroad connecting the U.S. cities of Prineville, Oregon, Prineville and Redmond, Oregon, Redmond, Oregon. Trains can connect with the BNSF and UPRR at Prineville Jct. 3 miles north of R ...

, to a connection with this line in 1917 and 1918. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

authorized abandonment of the old Columbia Southern Railway from Shaniko to Kent in 1943, and of the remainder between Kent and Biggs in 1967.

, Finance Docket No. 23761, 1967 Columbia Southern Railroad depot - Wasco Oregon

The 1898 Columbia Southern Railway Passenger Station and Freight Warehouse in Wasco and the 1902 Columbia Southern Hotel in Shaniko have been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia Southern Railway 1897 establishments in Oregon 1910 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct Oregon railroads Predecessors of the Union Pacific Railroad Railway companies disestablished in 1910 Railway companies established in 1897

See also

References