Camas Prairie Railroad Company (reporting mark CSP) was a short line railroad in northern Idaho jointly owned and operated by Northern Pacific Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. The Camas Prairie Railroad was known as the "railroad on stilts" due to the many wooden trestles. In one five-mile (8 km) stretch, there were more than a dozen trestles.
The CSP was a remnant of railroad wars in the 19th and 20th century, when Edward H. Harriman and James J. Hill were fighting over this whole inland area to see who could get the most rails into the Pacific Northwest.
The Camas Prairie Railroad was the result of that competition and in many ways, the end of the war. In the end, the railroads co-operated to build the Camas Prairie Railroad. The CSP was built to tap the rolling, fertile hills of the Camas Prairie and the timber of the forested hills and canyonlands of the Clearwater River. The Nez Perce Indian Reservation was opened to white settlement in 1895. Service to the south terminus of the second subdivision line at Grangeville commenced in December 1908, and continued for 92 years.
Parts of the railroad are now operated by the Great Northwest Railroad and the Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain Railroad (BGCM).
In addition to its wooden trestles, the railroad's second subdivision also had a sizable steel viaduct, 1,520 feet (460 m) in length with a maximum height of 280 feet (85 m). Bridge 38 spans Lawyer's Canyon, between Craigmont and Ferdinand, and is visible from U.S. Route 95.
Video Camas Prairie Railroad
Demise
The railroad was sold to North American RailNet in April 1998, and it became the subsidiary Camas Prairie RailNet, Inc. (CSPR). After less than two years, CSPR notified the U.S. government in late 1999 that the second subdivision line to Grangeville could be subject to abandonment, citing lack of profitability. It made its formal request in May, and it was approved by the Surface Transportation Board in September 2000; the last run to Fenn and Grangeville was on November 29. The tracks were to be removed shortly thereafter, but that was delayed as a new operator for the line was sought.
When BG&CM stepped in to operate the second subdivision line in December 2002, it was originally only to extend 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.
The tracks from Cottonwood to Grangeville were removed and salvaged in late 2002 and 2003. North American RailNet sold the remainder of the railroad to Watco Companies in March 2004, which renamed it the Great Northwest Railroad.
Maps Camas Prairie Railroad
Second subdivision
All locations in Idaho
Source:
Passenger service
Passenger service on the main line along the Clearwater River to Stites and on the second subdivision to Grangeville was discontinued 63 years ago in August 1955.
Popular culture
The 1975 film Breakheart Pass starring Charles Bronson was filmed on portions of the railroad, as were parts of 1999's Wild Wild West.
Video
- You Tube - Camas Prairie Railroad cab ride trailer
- You Tube - Tribute to the Camas Prairie's 2nd Sub
References
- Riegger, Hal (1986). The Camas Prairie. Pacific Fast Mail. US 86-060949.
- Railroad Retirement Board (1998). "Employer Status Determination: Camas Prairie Railroad Company" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-08-16.
External links
- Camas Prairie Rails
- Preservation Idaho - Camas Prairie Railroad
- University of Idaho Library: Digital Initiatives - Hal Riegger CPRR Collection
- American-rails.com - Camas Prairie Railroad
Source of article : Wikipedia
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