Oregon Pacific Railroad was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in western

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States, from 1880 to 1894, when it was sold to the Oregon Central and Eastern Railroad. A substantial part of the Oregon Pacific's abandoned right-of-way is preserved as Oregon Pacific Railroad Linear Historic District. It was created and owned by Thomas Egenton Hogg. Hogg organized the Corvallis and Yaquina Bay Railroad in 1872, with the vision to build a new transcontinental line eastward from the Oregon coast and provide Corvallis with a railroad connection. At the time, the next nearest rails were the Oregon Central Railroad in St. Joseph, and the Oregon and California Railroad in Albany. Hogg reorganized the railroad as the Willamette Valley & Coast Railroad, and ground was first broken in Corvallis on May 17, 1877. The Oregon Pacific Railroad was organized on September 15, 1880, as a successor to the WV&C. Hogg originally intended to terminate the line at Seal Rock on the Oregon Coast. In anticipation of the railroad's arrival, the town was platted in 1877 with pedestrian-friendly public spaces and resort hotels that would accommodate train travelers, but the line was instead routed through Toledo to end at Yaquina, resulting in financial ruin for many who invested in Seal Rock. To the east, the line extended as far as Idanha, short of Santiam Pass before running out of money. Hogg purchased the steamship ''Yaquina City'' to provide a direct link to his railroad between Yaquina and San Francisco. ''Yaquina City'' successfully completed several voyages, until she ran aground at

Yaquina Bay Yaquina Bay ( ) is a coastal Estuary, estuarine community found in Newport, Oregon. Yaquina Bay is a semi-enclosed body of water, approximately 8 km2 (3.2 mi2) in area, with free connection to the Pacific Ocean, but also diluted with fre ...

in 1887 due to a rudder failure. Despite the ''Yaquina City'' being insured, Hogg had just lost his biggest source of income and could not immediately replace the steamer. Hogg's contract with the government stated however, that if he could establish railroad service over the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

, he could receive a massive land grant. By selling this land, enough money could be made to keep the railroad in business. To get the grant, some additional track was laid over Santiam Pass. Hogg had mules pull some cars a few times to assert right of way. Hogg Rock near Santiam Pass is named for T. Egenton Hogg for his railroad which went around the rock. Track was also laid in the canyon of the Malheur River to reserve that pass for the railroad. Caracas wreck

In 1888, Hogg purchased the

Ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

'' from the Red D Line to replace the ''Yaquina City''. She was renamed ''Yaquina Bay'' and towed to Yaquina. Before steamship service could restart however, ''Yaquina Bay'' broke free the tugboat which was hauling her on December 9, 1888, and ran aground near the wreck of the ''Yaquina City''. Like the ''Yaquina City'', the ''Yaquina Bay'' was declared a total loss. The railroad entered bankruptcy in October 1890. In 1894 it was sold to A.B. Hammond and renamed the Oregon Central and Eastern Railway, and again in 1897 was reorganized as the Corvallis and Eastern Railroad. In 1907 the C&E was sold to the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

. Some of the tracks were submerged by

Detroit Lake Detroit Lake is a reservoir impounded by the Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River southeast of Salem, Oregon, United States. The lake is adjacent to Oregon Route 22 near the city of Detroit, Oregon, Detroit. This mesotrophic lake stores water ...

in the 1950s when the Detroit Dam was completed. In 1999, the line's corridor from Idanha to the Cascade summit was designated as a historic district and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

External links

Colonel Hogg's Great Railroad to the Pacific and Other Engineering Disasters
from the

Oregon Coast Aquarium The Oregon Coast Aquarium is an aquarium in Newport, Oregon, Newport in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 1992, the facility sits on along Yaquina Bay near the Pacific Ocean. The aquarium was home to Keiko (orca), Keiko, the orca who starred ...

Historic images of Oregon Pacific Railroad
from Salem Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon Pacific Railroad 1880 1894 Defunct Oregon railroads Railway companies established in 1880 Railway companies disestablished in 1894 Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company National Register of Historic Places in Linn County, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Oregon 1880 establishments in Oregon Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon 1894 mergers and acquisitions 1894 disestablishments in Oregon