Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad
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![]() An EMD GP38-2 leads an NRHS excursion over the Coos Bay Line in 2005. | |
Overview | |
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Headquarters | Roseburg, Oregon |
Reporting mark | CORP |
Locale | Weed, CA - Eugene, OR |
Dates of operation | 1995–present |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Length | 305 miles (491 km)[1] |
Other | |
Website | Official website |
The Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad (
The mainline of the CORP is 305 miles (491 km). Traffic is estimated at 17,000 cars per year, consisting mainly of logs, lumber products, and plywood.[1] CORP is a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming, which acquired the railroad as part of its acquisition with RailAmerica in late 2012. Until 2007, CORP also operated the 136-mile (219 km) Coos Bay branch, another line once owned by the SP.
On May 17, 2007, CORP was awarded a Silver E. H. Harriman Award in Group C for the railroad's safety record in 2006. This award marked the first time a RailAmerica-owned railroad has earned a Harriman award.[3]
Genesee & Wyoming
As of 2023, CORP holds 362 miles (583 km)—65 in
Siskiyou Pass
In December 2007, CORP announced it was cutting shipments over the Siskiyou Pass south of Ashland, Oregon beginning January 15, 2008. Shipments from Ashland and areas north of Ashland would be re-routed north to Eugene before heading south via Klamath Falls. Reduced shipments would continue over the Siskiyou Pass until April 15, 2008 on a bi-weekly basis.[5]
On March 20 2008, CORP announced plans to keep its Siskiyou line open between Medford and Weed, and to spend nearly $5 million on improvements to the line.[6]
CORP reopened the 95-mile (153 km) section between Ashland and Weed in November 2015, after repairing rails, ties, and bridges. The project was funded by $7.1 million of
Coos Bay Line
The Coos Bay Line began in 1893 as the 26-mile (42 km) Coos Bay, Roseburg & Eastern Railroad and Navigation Company (CBR&E) bringing logs and lumber from coastal forests to the seaport town of Marshfield (later renamed Coos Bay.)
On September 21, 2007, CORP elected to shut down most of the Coos Bay branch. The track was closed between Vaughn (west of Noti) and Coquille (south of Coos Bay). This action was taken after it was revealed that the nine aging tunnels on the line required repairs that were internally estimated to cost up to $7 million.[11]
On October 23, 2007, the Port of Coos Bay filed a $15 million lawsuit against CORP, in response to its closing of the Coos Bay Branch. The suit claims that CORP failed to provide the required 180 days' notice that it would shut down a leased spur to the bay's North Spit.[12]
On November 21, 2008, the
References
- ^ a b Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad (CORP), Genesee & Wyoming Inc., retrieved September 1, 2014
- ^ Surface Transportation Board, FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP LLC, ET AL.--CONTROL--FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY, LLC, September 28, 2007
- ^ "RailAmerica's Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad Wins Harriman Award" (Press release). RailAmerica. May 18, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ^ "Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad – A Genesee & Wyoming Company".
- ^ Conrad, Chris (December 15, 2007). "Freight lines at crossroads". Mail Tribune. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ^ Sowell, John (March 21, 2008). "Roseburg railroad offers to keep Siskiyou line open, but at a price". The News-Review.(subscription required)
- ^ Aleshire, Ilene (November 11, 2015). "S. Oregon railroad line operating again after 7 year closure". The Register-Guard. Eugene, OR. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ CTC Board. pp. 38–43.
- ^ Dill, Tom. "Southern Pacific's Coos Bay 'Owl'". SP Trainline. No. 28. Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society. p. 15.
- ^ "Coos Bay rail link: Traffic nearly doubles". Railfan & Railroad. March 2014. p. 25.
- ^ "Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad shuts down operations". The Oregonian. Associated Press. September 21, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ^ "archives October 22 - October 26, 2007". Today's Cargo News. Cargo Business News. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
- ^ Ross, Winston (November 21, 2008). "Coastal rail link priced for sale: Coos Bay port officials hope to make the purchase and restart the vital passage". The Register-Guard. p. B1. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
- ^ "RailAmerica restarts its engines". Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. June 2010.
Further reading
- Burkhardt, D.C. Jesse (April 1990). "Mountain Branchline". Pacific RailNews: 26–33.
- Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History. Vol. IV. OCLC 13456066.
- Stindt, Fred A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide - 5th Ed. Waukesha, WI: ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
- Walker, Mike (1997). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California and Nevada - Post Merger Ed. Faversham, Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing. ISBN 1-874745-08-0.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Unofficial CORP website
- Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad Webpage - Genesee & Wyoming Website
- Active Short Lines of the Pacific Northwest: Central Oregon and Pacific from Abandoned & Active Historical Railroads of the Pacific Northwest