Oregon Portage Railroad
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Overview | |
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Locale | South bank of the Cascades canal near the Columbia River, from near Bonneville Dam and Tanner Creek to Cascade Locks |
Dates of operation | 1858–1896 |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm)[1] |
Previous gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm)[1] |
Length | 4.5 mi (7.2 km) Later extended to 15 mi (24 km) |
The Oregon Portage Railroad was the first railroad in the U.S. state of Oregon.[2] It was located on the south bank of the Cascades canal of the Columbia River.[3]
The railroad originally ran 4.5 miles (7.2 km)[4][5] from Tanner Creek (near where Bonneville Dam was later built) to the Cascade Locks, which were under construction in the later years of the railroad's operation.[6][7][8] It was later extended to a length of 15 miles (24 km).[9]
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 in 1851.[10][11]
History
In 1861, John W. Brazee of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Oregon_Historical_Quarterly_Vol._25_p._262.jpg/220px-Oregon_Historical_Quarterly_Vol._25_p._262.jpg)
The Oregon Portage Railroad was operated by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which sold the railroad for $155,000 around the year 1880 (equivalent to $4,893,724 in 2023) as part of the company's sale to the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company.[1][6]
Restoration of the railroad in 1891, including a
See also
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References
- ^ ISBN 0-8047-1731-1.
- ISBN 1-60354-036-9.
- ISBN 0-8032-5218-8.
- ^ Topinka, Lyn. "Railroads, Trains and Tracks, etc". The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ Tucker, Kathy. "Oregon Pony". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Portland State University. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ a b Laubaugh, Glenn. McCoy, Ron (ed.). "The Oregon Steam Navigation Company and its Related Portage Tramways". National Railway Historical Society, Pacific Northwest Chapter. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ Strack, Don (13 December 2009). "Oregon Steam Navigation Co. (OSN): the Oregon Ponies". UtahRails.Net. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Oregon History: Emerging Economies". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-87004-254-8.
- ASIN B003W03I4U.
- ^ Terry, John (27 May 2007). "A Little Engine That Couldn't Beat Time". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. C04.
- JSTOR 20610279.
- ^ a b Strack, Don (13 December 2009). "Oregon Steam Navigation Co. (OSN): Lower Portage (the Cascades)". UtahRails.Net. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ Sullivan, Ann (7 December 1987). "Tiny Steam Engine Tugs at Old Memories". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. D15. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ Barber, Katrine. "Celilo Falls". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Portland State University. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- "Oregon's First Railway", Oregon Historical Quarterly, Volume 25, retrieved 12 November 2023
The full text of Oregon's First Railway at Wikisource