The Oregon Portage Railroad was the first railroad in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It originally ran for , with an accompanying of telegraph line, and was later extended to a length of . The railroad was located on the south bank of the Cascades canal of 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 ...

. It ran from Tanner Creek (near where Bonneville Dam was later built) to the

Cascade Locks Cascade Locks is a city in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. The city took its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the l ...

, which were under construction in the later years of the railroad's operation. Although the Oregon Portage was the first railroad in Oregon, it was not the first along the Columbia River. Francis A. Chenoweth operated a rail line on the river's north bank in present-day

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 ...

in 1851.

History

In 1861, John W. Brazee of the Oregon Portage Company started to build a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

railroad out of a mule-and-wagon road that had been constructed by Col. Joseph S. Ruckle and Harrison Olmstead in 1856 but had been out of service since around 1858. Brazee's conversion of the road cost $50,000 USD (), and the line opened on 20 May 1861, still relying on mule power. After one more year, the portage company acquired the

Oregon Pony The ''Oregon Pony'' was the first steam locomotive to be built on the Pacific Coast and the first to be used in the Oregon Territory. The locomotive, a geared steam 5' gauge locomotive with 9"X18" cylinders and 34" drivers, was used in the earl ...

, which became the first locomotive in the Pacific Northwest,Strack, Don (13 December 2009)
"Oregon Steam Navigation Co. (OSN): Lower Portage (the Cascades)"
UtahRails.Net. Retrieved 12 January 2011. debuting for the railroad on 10 May 1862. Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol

The Oregon Portage Railroad was operated by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which sold the railroad for $155,000 around the year 1880 () as part of the company's sale to the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. Restoration of the railroad in 1891, including a

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to the narrow gauge, was a result of demands from steamboat captains and delays in the construction of the Cascades Locks and Canal. Steamboat captains had voiced concerns because they needed to transport goods and passengers past the

Cascades Rapids The Cascades Rapids (sometimes called Cascade Falls or Cascades of the Columbia) were an area of rapids along North America's Columbia River, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Through a stretch approximately wide, the river ...

and were disappointed with the quality of the Cascades Railroad. Once the locks were completed in 1896, however, demand for the Oregon Portage Railroad decreased.

References

{{coord, 45.6507, -121.9126, format=dms, type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:googlemaps_dim:80, display=title 1858 establishments in Oregon Territory 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Columbia River Gorge Defunct Oregon railroads Portages in the United States Railway lines opened in 1858 5 ft gauge railways in the United States Transportation in Hood River County, Oregon Transportation in Multnomah County, Oregon 1896 disestablishments in Oregon

History

See also

References