Tracking West
Endangered
While many famous rail lines all over the country have had their downfalls over the years, some examples being the SP's Modoc Line, CNW's Cowboy Line, and the MILW's Pacific Extension, a new route is possibly soon to be added to this list. With the closure of Roseburg Forest Products' mill in Weed, a good chunk of the Siskiyou Line is going with it.
The Siskiyou Line was built in the late 1800s, being the first track to connect California to the Pacific Northwest. However, this line is very unforgiving, with very sharp curves up to 14 degrees and grades as high as 4% make getting trains over this section of track very difficult. Because of this, SP was desperate for a faster and safer route to bridge the Pacific Northwest. The solution to this was the Natron Cutoff, which was built between Eugene and Black Butte. This would be completed in 1927, becoming better known as the extremely famous Shasta and Cascade routes. Meanwhile, the SP did not have plans to abandon the Siskiyou Line, it ran through cities like Medford and Roseburg, and was a very lumber heavy line. However, the Siskiyou was not the main routing for traffic anymore, as the cutoff was not only faster but also a lot less steep. This led it to being classified as a secondary, which was held all the way up until SP would get rid of the line.
Throughout the years, the Siskiyou Line became a favorite for railfans. The sound of EMD 645s would scream through the mountains as trains climb and descended grades, Mount Shasta was visible in many areas along the line's southern reaches, and due to signal installation before the cutoff was built, the line was littered with semaphores, which lasted into the 2000s. However, it also has history of the wild west, with the line holding the title to the last great train robbery. This would be when the DeAutremont brothers made a failed attempt to rob a mail train at Tunnel 13 in 1923, killing four crew members and leaving with no valuables. Besides the history under SP, the line still makes history to this day.
As SP found themselves digging a grave throughout the 70s and 80s, along with a failed merger with Santa Fe, the railroad eventually was sold to the Rio Grande. However, this did not mean the financial situation was getting any better. In 1994, SP sold the Siskiyou Line and Coos Bay Branch to Railtex, who formed the Central Oregon and Pacific (CORP). This is where the downfall of the line began to show.
CORP was only a Class II railroad at the time, and neither line was cheap to maintain, with treacherous mountain grades on Siskiyou, and extreme bridge and tunnel maintenance on the Coos Bay. In total the railroad was over 400 miles long, and as mentioned none of it was cheap to maintain. Rail America bought Railtex in 2000, and in 2007 started looking at the possibility of abandoning the Coos Bay Branch after storms collapsed several tunnels, which eventually did happen. At the same time as the abandonment was going on, the Siskiyou needed serious improvements, and the company was looking at the possibility of tearing out the southern section of the Siskiyou Line. This was due to a tunnel fire in 2008 that left the tracks over the summit out of service for about ten years. However, when Genesee and Wyoming bought Rail America things started to look good. Since it provided a through route, another interchange point with UP, and access to industries, the line would fixed, being reopened in 2015.
In the years following, traffic on this reopened section, which starts in Medford and goes to Black Butte, has not been much, with only a few customers along the 95 mile section. The main customer on this portion of the line is Roseburg Forest Products in Weed, CA, who export woodchips and veneer. While there are a few other customers, RFP is what keeps this track worth running. However, in recent times the weekly car loads have been on a steep decline, and recently Roseburg announced the closure of the Weed mill's veneer production and the company's exit of the plywood market, killing whatever regular rail traffic remained. As of December 3rd, the closure of the plant saw the majority of the 140 people working there without jobs, a huge punch to the local community. However, this also leaves the Weed crew for CORP without jobs. With the final cut of cars in the plant, it may be one last train for this section of the Siskiyou.
Originally, this train was supposed to leave on Tuesday, with only three loads, and some empty stored cars, like I said, the traffic really declined. However, with nobody at the mill to even load the cars, the train was forced to be postponed. I first had found out about this run from a friend of mine in Oregon, and we made a plan to chase it. However, we were very aware of the situation and knew it would probably be postponed. When it did, we still decided to go anyways, as there was still a slight chance it could run, but also because we had a backup plan to shoot the UP's Black Butte Sub. That morning when we met up at Weed, the engineer had already gotten there, but driving by the plant the cars didn't look to be loaded, though it was very difficult to get a good look. After a local who obviously knew the engineer went and talked to him, the guy saw us and let us know that the train would not be running, but possibly Thursday. After that, it was off to Klamath Falls. The local had a solo SD60 for power, neither of us had shot it leading yet, and every daylight road train had already passed us, so it was our only option anyways. By 1 PM, we were done for the day and split off, we both had long drives home ahead of us.
On my way back I decided it would only make sense to stop in Weed, I wanted the iconic shot of the local power sitting with Mount Shasta. There was also a crazy cloud formation near the volcano, it sort of reminded me of a funnel cloud, which you can see in the photo. With no clue if I will see the last run, I wanted to make sure I had at least one shot on this part of the line, even if there was no moving train.
As of the day I post this, there is apparently a meeting that's supposed to happen today to discuss when the last train will run, as it's still not ready to go. After this run, whenever it is, the fate of this line is very unclear, only time will tell. Personally, I don't think the track will be torn out or abandoned, UP has and continues to use it for reroutes, though if they really needed to they could also use BNSF's Gateway Sub. You also never know what will happen with the mill, maybe something will cause them to justify rail service again. As unfortunate as it is that the most scenic part of the Siskiyou Line will go silent, nothing lasts forever, and we all know that's especially true with the railroad.
Oh and one last thing before I go, that single cab two tone Ford hiding in the shadows looks real nice.
Endangered
While many famous rail lines all over the country have had their downfalls over the years, some examples being the SP's Modoc Line, CNW's Cowboy Line, and the MILW's Pacific Extension, a new route is possibly soon to be added to this list. With the closure of Roseburg Forest Products' mill in Weed, a good chunk of the Siskiyou Line is going with it.
The Siskiyou Line was built in the late 1800s, being the first track to connect California to the Pacific Northwest. However, this line is very unforgiving, with very sharp curves up to 14 degrees and grades as high as 4% make getting trains over this section of track very difficult. Because of this, SP was desperate for a faster and safer route to bridge the Pacific Northwest. The solution to this was the Natron Cutoff, which was built between Eugene and Black Butte. This would be completed in 1927, becoming better known as the extremely famous Shasta and Cascade routes. Meanwhile, the SP did not have plans to abandon the Siskiyou Line, it ran through cities like Medford and Roseburg, and was a very lumber heavy line. However, the Siskiyou was not the main routing for traffic anymore, as the cutoff was not only faster but also a lot less steep. This led it to being classified as a secondary, which was held all the way up until SP would get rid of the line.
Throughout the years, the Siskiyou Line became a favorite for railfans. The sound of EMD 645s would scream through the mountains as trains climb and descended grades, Mount Shasta was visible in many areas along the line's southern reaches, and due to signal installation before the cutoff was built, the line was littered with semaphores, which lasted into the 2000s. However, it also has history of the wild west, with the line holding the title to the last great train robbery. This would be when the DeAutremont brothers made a failed attempt to rob a mail train at Tunnel 13 in 1923, killing four crew members and leaving with no valuables. Besides the history under SP, the line still makes history to this day.
As SP found themselves digging a grave throughout the 70s and 80s, along with a failed merger with Santa Fe, the railroad eventually was sold to the Rio Grande. However, this did not mean the financial situation was getting any better. In 1994, SP sold the Siskiyou Line and Coos Bay Branch to Railtex, who formed the Central Oregon and Pacific (CORP). This is where the downfall of the line began to show.
CORP was only a Class II railroad at the time, and neither line was cheap to maintain, with treacherous mountain grades on Siskiyou, and extreme bridge and tunnel maintenance on the Coos Bay. In total the railroad was over 400 miles long, and as mentioned none of it was cheap to maintain. Rail America bought Railtex in 2000, and in 2007 started looking at the possibility of abandoning the Coos Bay Branch after storms collapsed several tunnels, which eventually did happen. At the same time as the abandonment was going on, the Siskiyou needed serious improvements, and the company was looking at the possibility of tearing out the southern section of the Siskiyou Line. This was due to a tunnel fire in 2008 that left the tracks over the summit out of service for about ten years. However, when Genesee and Wyoming bought Rail America things started to look good. Since it provided a through route, another interchange point with UP, and access to industries, the line would fixed, being reopened in 2015.
In the years following, traffic on this reopened section, which starts in Medford and goes to Black Butte, has not been much, with only a few customers along the 95 mile section. The main customer on this portion of the line is Roseburg Forest Products in Weed, CA, who export woodchips and veneer. While there are a few other customers, RFP is what keeps this track worth running. However, in recent times the weekly car loads have been on a steep decline, and recently Roseburg announced the closure of the Weed mill's veneer production and the company's exit of the plywood market, killing whatever regular rail traffic remained. As of December 3rd, the closure of the plant saw the majority of the 140 people working there without jobs, a huge punch to the local community. However, this also leaves the Weed crew for CORP without jobs. With the final cut of cars in the plant, it may be one last train for this section of the Siskiyou.
Originally, this train was supposed to leave on Tuesday, with only three loads, and some empty stored cars, like I said, the traffic really declined. However, with nobody at the mill to even load the cars, the train was forced to be postponed. I first had found out about this run from a friend of mine in Oregon, and we made a plan to chase it. However, we were very aware of the situation and knew it would probably be postponed. When it did, we still decided to go anyways, as there was still a slight chance it could run, but also because we had a backup plan to shoot the UP's Black Butte Sub. That morning when we met up at Weed, the engineer had already gotten there, but driving by the plant the cars didn't look to be loaded, though it was very difficult to get a good look. After a local who obviously knew the engineer went and talked to him, the guy saw us and let us know that the train would not be running, but possibly Thursday. After that, it was off to Klamath Falls. The local had a solo SD60 for power, neither of us had shot it leading yet, and every daylight road train had already passed us, so it was our only option anyways. By 1 PM, we were done for the day and split off, we both had long drives home ahead of us.
On my way back I decided it would only make sense to stop in Weed, I wanted the iconic shot of the local power sitting with Mount Shasta. There was also a crazy cloud formation near the volcano, it sort of reminded me of a funnel cloud, which you can see in the photo. With no clue if I will see the last run, I wanted to make sure I had at least one shot on this part of the line, even if there was no moving train.
As of the day I post this, there is apparently a meeting that's supposed to happen today to discuss when the last train will run, as it's still not ready to go. After this run, whenever it is, the fate of this line is very unclear, only time will tell. Personally, I don't think the track will be torn out or abandoned, UP has and continues to use it for reroutes, though if they really needed to they could also use BNSF's Gateway Sub. You also never know what will happen with the mill, maybe something will cause them to justify rail service again. As unfortunate as it is that the most scenic part of the Siskiyou Line will go silent, nothing lasts forever, and we all know that's especially true with the railroad.
Oh and one last thing before I go, that single cab two tone Ford hiding in the shadows looks real nice.