Columbia and Cowlitz Railway
Encyclopedia
The Columbia and Cowlitz Railway , is a wholly owned subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Company, and is headquartered in Longview, Washington
; the railroad serves an 8.5 miles (13.7 km) route from the Weyerhaeuser Company mill in Longview to the junction just outside the city limits of Kelso
. From there, traffic is either switched to the Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad where it is transported to Weyerhaeuser's Green Mountain Sawmill at Toutle
or it is switched to the BNSF
/Union Pacific
joint main line for movement to either Portland, Oregon
, or Seattle.
CLC was incorporated on April 9, 1925 and the line was constructed between 1926-1928. The railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Company. The railway owns a fleet of 500 freight cars including a mix of boxcar
s, centerbeam lumber cars, and flat cars. A fleet of three EMD GP20
diesel locomotive
s, which are numbered 700-702, provide road power for the CLC. One caboose
, numbered 6, provides tail end coverage of trains because CLC does not employ flashing rear end devices (FREDs).
The railroad employs thirteen people and hauls around 12,000 carloads a year.
All CLC freight cars are painted a navy blue color with white lettering, although some have worn a mineral red color, and the CLC's locomotives are painted navy blue with white lettering and white pinstripes across the top quarter of the bodies and across the frame sill. However, in times past, some of the locomotives also wore Weyerhaeuser
's color scheme of yellow and black. The lone caboose is painted safety yellow with black lettering, Weyerhaeuser colors, and seems to be one of Weyerhaeuser's old cabooses, most likely either #1 or #2. A signature safety feature of CLC's locomotives is the blue strobe light
on the roof of the locomotives. CLC chooses blue as their safety light color because of the large number of yellow and red flashing safety lights around the Weyerhaeuser mill in Longview.
On 2 August 2010, Weyerhaeuser announced that along with the rest of the railroads it owns, the CLC was to be sold to Patriot Rail by the end of the year.
Longview, Washington
Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census and is the largest city in Cowlitz County...
; the railroad serves an 8.5 miles (13.7 km) route from the Weyerhaeuser Company mill in Longview to the junction just outside the city limits of Kelso
Kelso, Washington
Kelso is a city in southwest Washington State, United States, and is the county seat of Cowlitz County. At the 2010 census, the population was 11,925. Kelso is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 102,410. Kelso shares its long western border...
. From there, traffic is either switched to the Weyerhaeuser Woods Railroad where it is transported to Weyerhaeuser's Green Mountain Sawmill at Toutle
Toutle, Washington
Toutle is an unincorporated community in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. Toutle is located approximately ten miles east on SR 504 from exit 49 of I-5. Toutle is not very far from the well-known Mount St. Helens...
or it is switched to the BNSF
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
/Union Pacific
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
joint main line for movement to either Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, or Seattle.
CLC was incorporated on April 9, 1925 and the line was constructed between 1926-1928. The railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Company. The railway owns a fleet of 500 freight cars including a mix of boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
s, centerbeam lumber cars, and flat cars. A fleet of three EMD GP20
EMD GP20
An EMD GP20 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between November 1959 and April 1962. Power was provided by an EMD 567D2 16-cylinder turbocharged engine which generated 2000 horsepower...
diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s, which are numbered 700-702, provide road power for the CLC. One caboose
Caboose
A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...
, numbered 6, provides tail end coverage of trains because CLC does not employ flashing rear end devices (FREDs).
The railroad employs thirteen people and hauls around 12,000 carloads a year.
All CLC freight cars are painted a navy blue color with white lettering, although some have worn a mineral red color, and the CLC's locomotives are painted navy blue with white lettering and white pinstripes across the top quarter of the bodies and across the frame sill. However, in times past, some of the locomotives also wore Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world. It is the world's largest private sector owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner of United States timberland, behind Plum Creek Timber...
's color scheme of yellow and black. The lone caboose is painted safety yellow with black lettering, Weyerhaeuser colors, and seems to be one of Weyerhaeuser's old cabooses, most likely either #1 or #2. A signature safety feature of CLC's locomotives is the blue strobe light
Strobe light
A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...
on the roof of the locomotives. CLC chooses blue as their safety light color because of the large number of yellow and red flashing safety lights around the Weyerhaeuser mill in Longview.
On 2 August 2010, Weyerhaeuser announced that along with the rest of the railroads it owns, the CLC was to be sold to Patriot Rail by the end of the year.