Great Southern Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Great Southern Railroad was a 41-mile short-line which connected to the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, later the Oregon-Washington Railway and Navigation Company (OWR&N), in The Dalles
, Oregon
, United States
, and ran south along Fifteen Mile Creek through Boyd
to Dufur
, and on to the small community of Friend
. Besides the railhead junction with OWR&N, the Great Southern also had connections the Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Co., and the Open River Transportation Co. The two connections were steamship lines, which operated on the Columbia River
.
The railroad was formed by John G. Heimrich, a late 19th Century entrepreneur of German ancestry. Construction of the railroad was started on April 8, 1904, and was completed on July 1, 1913 with the establishment of regular train service from The Dalles to Friend. The Great Southern served agricultural and timber interests on the Columbia Plateau
south of The Dalles and eastern slopes of Mount Hood
. The general offices for the Great Southern were located in The Dalles
, Oregon
. The General Officers of the company, listed in 1925, were as follows:
The Great Southern's revenues reached a peak in 1910, but leveled off into the early 1920s. With the introduction of regular bus service, and an increase in automobile and truck traffic between The Dalles and Dufur, revenues began to decline after 1921. Regular train service came to an end on January 5, 1928 with the closing of the depots at Dufur and Friend. Attempts to resurrect the line as The Dalles and Southern failed in 1933. The line was officially abandoned on September 30, 1935. Very little of the Great Southern remains to this day. The Dalles depot, which was moved from its original location to its current site at the base of Brewery Grade, is the most visible relic of this short-lived Oregon railroad.
, Seufert, Petersburg, Fairbanks
, Fulton, Brookhouse, Freebridge, Neabeck, Emerson, Wrentham, Rice
, Boyd, Dufur, Annalore, Three Spring, Friend
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and ran south along Fifteen Mile Creek through Boyd
Boyd, Oregon
Boyd was a town in Wasco County, Oregon, United States, disincorporated in 1955, and now vacant except for a few abandoned homes, weathered outbuildings, and a derelict wooden grain elevator surrounded by the wheat fields, which still produce the grain that used to fill it. The site of the former...
to Dufur
Dufur, Oregon
Dufur is a city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 588 at the 2000 census. It is a farming community, with wheat being an important crop, along with tree fruit and grapes....
, and on to the small community of Friend
Friend, Oregon
Friend is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. Considered a ghost town, little remains of the community except the Friend Store, a one-room schoolhouse, and a cemetery....
. Besides the railhead junction with OWR&N, the Great Southern also had connections the Dalles, Portland & Astoria Navigation Co., and the Open River Transportation Co. The two connections were steamship lines, which operated on the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
.
The railroad was formed by John G. Heimrich, a late 19th Century entrepreneur of German ancestry. Construction of the railroad was started on April 8, 1904, and was completed on July 1, 1913 with the establishment of regular train service from The Dalles to Friend. The Great Southern served agricultural and timber interests on the Columbia Plateau
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
south of The Dalles and eastern slopes of Mount Hood
Mount Hood
Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...
. The general offices for the Great Southern were located in The Dalles
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The General Officers of the company, listed in 1925, were as follows:
- President: John G. Heimrich
- Vice-President: Julius L. Meier
- 2nd Vice-President: S.A. Hull
- Secretary: George W. JosephGeorge W. JosephGeorge W. P. Joseph was an attorney and Republican politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of California, his family relocated to Oregon when he was young. There he would practice law and serve in the Oregon State Senate....
- Treasurer General: John G. Heimrich
- Manager and Purchasing Agent: John G. Heimrich
- Auditor: A. Froembling
The Great Southern's revenues reached a peak in 1910, but leveled off into the early 1920s. With the introduction of regular bus service, and an increase in automobile and truck traffic between The Dalles and Dufur, revenues began to decline after 1921. Regular train service came to an end on January 5, 1928 with the closing of the depots at Dufur and Friend. Attempts to resurrect the line as The Dalles and Southern failed in 1933. The line was officially abandoned on September 30, 1935. Very little of the Great Southern remains to this day. The Dalles depot, which was moved from its original location to its current site at the base of Brewery Grade, is the most visible relic of this short-lived Oregon railroad.
Great Southern motive power
- #1 Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive WorksThe Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
2-6-02-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul...
(ex Richmond, Fredericksburg and PotomacRichmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac RailroadThe Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system....
) - #2 1893 Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive WorksThe Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
4-6-04-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...
(ex Western New York and Pennsylvania)
- #4 1930 Plymouth Locomotive WorksPlymouth Locomotive WorksPlymouth Locomotive Works was a US builder of small railroad locomotives. All Plymouth locomotives were built in a plant in Plymouth, Ohio until 1997 when the company was purchased by Ohio Locomotive Crane and production moved to Bucyrus, Ohio in 1999...
two-axle diesel switcher http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00012084+OP-12084
The Dalles and Southern motive power
- #2 1908 Lima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
2-8-02-8-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
(ex P.R. Lewis Construction Co.)
Great Southern rolling stock
According to the 1925 Official Railway Equipment Register, the Great Southern owned a total of twenty-four freight cars, made up of three classes- Nine 36' Flat Cars - Series 111-115 (2 Odd Numbers), Series 121-133 (7 Odd Numbers)
- Twelve 36' Box Cars - Series 200-208 (5 Even Numbers), Series 210-222 (7 Even Numbers)
- Three 36' Stock Cars - Series 303,304,11677
Station stops
The DallesThe Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
, Seufert, Petersburg, Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Oregon
Fairbanks is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. It is about east of The Dalles, just south of U.S. Route 30/Interstate 84, near Fifteenmile Creek....
, Fulton, Brookhouse, Freebridge, Neabeck, Emerson, Wrentham, Rice
Rice, Oregon
Rice is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States.Rice was named for Horace Rice, who settled on upper Fifteenmile Creek in the 1860s and who planted the first crop of wheat in upland Wasco County. When the Great Southern Railroad established a line into the area in 1905,...
, Boyd, Dufur, Annalore, Three Spring, Friend
Friend, Oregon
Friend is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. Considered a ghost town, little remains of the community except the Friend Store, a one-room schoolhouse, and a cemetery....