| Special Feature of Active & Abandoned Railroads of the Pacific Northwest |
| Welcome to the latest page of our Active & Abandoned Railroads of the Northwest Section |
| Copyright © 2007 Brian McCamish, All Rights Reserved Note about the photos on this site: Most photos were taken by me, except for those that are otherwise indicated. I usually allow people to use my photos for personal use or websites. Simply Email me. I may not have authority to grant permission regarding some photos that were only loaned to me by others specifically for this website. Every effort has been made not to include other's photos without the proper permission and credits, however, if you see any photos which belong to you and that I don't have permission to use, I apologize. If you send me an Email, I will remove the photos immediately or give proper credit, which ever you wish. |
| Links to our Articles about Individual Abandoned Coast Range Logging Railroads |
| Kerry Timber Railroad (Columbia & Nehalem River Railroad) Major Feature Article -- 8 pages Last Update: 6-5-08 |
| Bradley-Woodard Co. (& the Oregon Timber & Lumber Co.) Major Feature Article -- 3 pages Last Update: 11-17-06 |
| Carlton & Coast Railroad (& the Flora Logging Co.) Major Feature Article -- 3 pages Last Update: 11-21-06 |
| Portland & Southwestern Railroad (& the Clark & Wilson Lumber Co.) Last Update: 6-30-06 |
| Gales Creek & Wilson River Railroad (& the Consolidated Timber Co.) Last Update: 5-6-06 |
| United Railways (& the Oregon-American Lumber Co.) Last Update: 1-2-06 |
| The Douty Lumber Company (Railroad spur & sawmill) Logging railroad off of the Southern Pacific Tillamook Branch. Last Update: 5-4-07 |
| Westport Logging Railroad Tunnel Last Update: 2-19-06 |
| Last Update: June 5, 2008 |
| Introduction The Oregon Coast Range is a range of mountains located in the far western half of Oregon, separating the Oregon Coast from the Willamette Valley and ranging from the southern Oregon border to the north Oregon border. The focus of this page and our research will be the North Oregon Coast Range. An area of the Coast Range from near Eugene, Oregon to the south, stretching to the Columbia River in the north. Steam Railroad Logging in this region of the state began as early as the late 1800s and lasted until the late 1950s. As a result, the region is lined with hundreds upon hundreds of miles of abandoned logging railroad grades. Many of these grades were later converted into logging roads, driven on my thousands of hunters and recreationalists and modern day loggers with no idea of the road's prior history. Yet, many miles of logging railroad grades were abandoned and remained untouched since the day the rails were lifted and the loggers left. It is these grades that we seek out to explore. For they offer the best insight into the challenges of those old railroaders and loggers and sometimes even offer a glimpse into history in the form of abandoned trestles, rails, spikes...and on occasion...the remains of a steam donkey or locomotive or railroad car. The below articles will show the grades that we've explored to date and what we've been able to find, sometimes as long as 100 years after the line was abandoned. Of the many dozens of logging companies that logged this region over some 70 years, information and history is sometimes hard to obtain, but we will do the best we can. Some of our articles and history will be more extensive with major players like the Kerry Timber Company, than smaller operations..some of which are as of yet unknown to us. If you can share information or insight or have historical photos related to any of these articles that you'd like share, please email me. Full credit gladly will be given and historic photos are more than appreciated. Special thanks to Martin E Hansen and Marc Reusser and others for their generous allowing of the use of many historical photos of this region of the state. Also special thanks to Matt Wolford, who has accompanied me on most of these explorations and offered much expertise from his many years of exploring abandoned railroads and especially abandoned logging railroads. Be sure to visit his website with many photos of abandoned railroads at www.TrestleWalker.com Brian McCamish Gresham, Oregon In Search of History Expeditions Homepage Active & Abandoned Railroads of the Northwest |
| Map of the Oregon Coast Range |
| A List of All Known Logging Railroads that Operated in the Oregon Coast Range Last Update: Under Construction |
| Frequently Asked Questions & Tips Regarding Hunting for Old Logging Railroad Grades Last Update: Under Construction |
| Links to Other Websites Related to the Coast Range Logging Railroads Matt Wolford's Trestle Walker Matt is my railroad grade hunting partner. He maintains his own abandoned railroad photo site Marc Reusser's Steam in the Woods Marc operates a website that displays hundreds of historic steam logging railroad photos including some from the Oregon Coast Range 4L Yahoo Group A message list that deals with logging history, including the Pacific Northwest www.vannattabros.com A personal website by a family who lives in the middle of the historical Oregon Coast Range Merv Johnson's Camp 2 Website A person website by a local Logging historian and Steam Donkey Expert |
| Mark Ruesser Photo |
