Oregon Short Line Railroad

The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. states of Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

and 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 line was as organized the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railway. Union Pacific intended the line to be the shortest route ("the short line") from Wyoming to Oregon. In 1889 the line merged with the Utah and Northern Railway

Utah and Northern Railway

The Utah and Northern Railway is a defunct railroad that was operated in the Utah Territory and later in the Idaho Territory and Montana Territory in the western United States during the 1870s and 1880s. It was the first railroad in Idaho and in Montana....

and a handful of smaller railroads to become the
Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway. Following the bankruptcy of Union Pacific, the line was taken into receivership and reorganized as the Oregon Short Line Railroad.

Oregon Short Line Railway

The Oregon Short Line Railway was organized on April 14, 1881. The line started from the Union Pacific main line in Granger, Wyoming

Granger, Wyoming

Granger is a town in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 146 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Granger is located at ....

and reached Montpelier, Idaho

Montpelier, Idaho

Montpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,785 at the 2000 census. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border...

on August 5, 1882 and then to McCammon, Idaho

McCammon, Idaho

McCammon is a city in Bannock County, Idaho, United States. It is part of the 'Pocatello, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 805 at the 2000 census.-Geography:McCammon is located at ....

in fall of 1882. Between McCammon and Pocatello

Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...

the line was shared with fellow Union Pacific subsidiary Utah and Northern's grade by adding a third rail to accommodate the standard gauge cars. The line from Pocatello to Huntington, Oregon

Huntington, Oregon

Huntington is a city in Baker County, on the eastern border of Oregon, United States. It is located on the Snake River and along Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. The population was 515 at the 2000 census.- History:...

was completed in late 1884. Access to 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...

was leased from the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

The line was essential because the Union Pacific main line ended in Utah

Utah

with the Central Pacific Railroad

Central Pacific Railroad

The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...

which by that time was part of the Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

. Southern Pacific tracks reached El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas

El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

, and would in, 1883, become a transcontinental railroad in its own right. The Southern Pacific then started routing traffic to the southern line, cutting off Union Pacific. The Oregon Short Line also was meant to halt OR&N continued eastward expansion at the Idaho-Oregon border.

Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway

In 1889, the Oregon Short Line Railway merged with Utah & Northern Railway and 6 other smaller railroads to form the Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway. In 1890 the company finished converting the original Utah & Northern line to standard gauge, a process that U&N had started as early as 1885. On October 13, 1893 the OSL&UN went into receivership with the rest of the Union Pacific holdings. The Oregon Short Line Railroad was incorporated in February 1897 and purchased the property of the OSL&UN later that month. On March 15 the OSL took possession of the line and started operating.

The OSL was independent for a short period of time until October 1898 when the newly reformed Union Pacific Railroad took control of a majority of the board of directors. During the early part of the 20th century the railroad publicized tours of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

by way of a spur constructed from Idaho Falls, Idaho

Idaho Falls, Idaho

Idaho Falls is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813, with a metro population of 130,374....

to West Yellowstone, Montana

West Yellowstone, Montana

West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,177 at the 2000 census. The town is served by Yellowstone Airport...

. In 1938, Union Pacific began consolidating operations and leased for operation a number of its subsidiaries including the Oregon Short Line. The railroad operated under the lease until December 30, 1987 when the OSL was fully merged into the Union Pacific Railroad.

Oregon Short Line Railway

Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway

Oregon Short Line Railroad

See also