SuperBee
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 101
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
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 Posted:
Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:01 am |
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They say that every successful railroad has an interesting history. This is the story of my railroad/
The History of the Bolder Creek Western RR Co.
The Bolder Creek Western RR Co., which is head quartered in the City of Bolder Creek, Oregon, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. It was chartered in 1865 as the Bolder Creek North Western Railroad Company, by Eli Frothingham, younger brother of the mining magnet Harold “Hardrock” Frothingham, so named because he was a hardrock miner, who first discovered raw “Unobtainium” in 1837, from which refined “Imaginarium” is obtained.
The line was chartered to run from the city of Portland in northwest Oregon to the city of Bolder Creek in mid Oregon, to serve the agricultural and timber industries. Construction of the line was started in 1866 and reached Bolder Creek in 1869. The line followed the confluence of several rivers, which required the building of several tunnels and bridges. It also required several grades of 1.8% – 2.5%, that required the use of helper engines that are still required today. The line prospered well. With the success of his first railway adventure under his belt, Eli Frothingham decided to extend his railroad in a southerly direction and so in 1877 the Bolder Creek Southern was incorporated. The railroad was built in a southerly direction to eventually meet with the Southern Pacific RR at Klamath Falls, Oregon. This line also prospered. The SP eventually obtained trackage rights. Like a lot railroads of the time, the road went into receivership in 1889 and was reorganised as the Bolder Creek Western Railroad Company.
In 1923 the Great Northern RR and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle RR, took joint ownership of the line. The joint ownership was transferred to Burlington Northern after the formation of that company. The BN kept the BCW as a separate company for financial reasons and when the BNSF was formed, it was decided to carry on with the practice.
The line runs from Portland to Canby to Scotts Mills to Gates to Bolder Creek (Sweet Home) to Lowell to Oakridge to Shady Cove to Butt Falls to Klamath Falls. In 1880 a line was built from Bolder Creek to Eugene. The line was divided into three districts.
1st District – Bolder Creek to Portland – 143 miles (231km)
2nd District – Bolder Creek to Klamath Falls – 225 miles (362km)
3rd District – Bolder Creek to Eugene – 90 miles (144km)
In 1933 a line was built from Oakridge, east about 55 miles to the “Unobtainium” mine of Jack Ofall, another hard rock miner, who had rediscovered the bountiful supply of the mineral known as Unobtainium. The mine was called the “Cameda Creek Mining Company” and the line was operated by the mining company. The mine closed in 1937, due to the Great Depression and the demands of the miners for compensation for raw and injured hands, which led to the miners striking. The mine was reopened in 1951 by Charlie Simonster & Son, who in 1952, opened a factory in Bolder Creek to produce high quality refined “Imaginarium” which is a bi-product of refined “Unobtainium”. The mine is still one of the BCW’s biggest customers.
Another big customer of the BCW is RS Lumber & Mill Works, also in Bolder Creek, which owns the “Hillside Lumber & Mill Works” and is a major supplier of building timber and accessories. Also in the building industry is the construction company of “Kramer Construction” a company with several overseas branches, with its head office in Camp Douglas, Winsconsin. The company also owns a concrete batch plant. In the agricultural industry, a big customer is “Womblenz Agricultural Industries”. It owns the “Oregon Farmers Co-operative” grain elevator & milling company, as well as “Warren’s Feed & Seed Co., a major supplier to the agricultural industry. Another big source of revenue is the intermodal terminal in Bolder Creek. The intermodal business is growing at a steady rate, with about 50 000 lifts a year. Other industries served by the BCW include the plastics industry, the metal engineering industry and several warehouses. Also situated in Bolder Creek is a large paper mill of the Dye Paper Corporation, whose head quarters are in Tampa, Florida. There is also an electric utility company, which receives one to two unit trains of coal a week.
There are also several interchange points on the line,
Portland – BNSF (GN)(SP&S), UP (SP)
Canby – UP
Eugene – UP (SP)
Oakridge – UP,
Klamath Falls – UP (SP)
The line also interchanges with several short lines,
CCMC (Cameda Creek Mining Co.)
WVR (Willamette Valley Railway)
CO&P (Central Oregon & Pacific)
AERC (Albany & Eastern Railway Co.)
There is also a fledgling commuter service in operation, with one train operating north to Gates and Scotts Mills and another operating south to Lowell and Oakridge. There is also an intercity passenger service that operates twice a week from Portland to Klamath Falls and points south. All the passenger train services are operated by Amtrak. The BCW also supports the local preservation society and a local tourist train operator. A dinner train operates between Bolder Creek and Eugene over the week ends and is proving to be very popular.
This report was compiled and checked by,
Simon J.C.Busby
President & CEO
Bolder Creek Western Railroad Company. |
Last edited by SuperBee on Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:36 am; edited 1 time in total |
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JohnathaN Edwards
Site Admin
Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 184
Location: West Michigan,USA
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| Posted:
Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:29 pm |
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Nice story Simon,and quite beleiveable too. |
_________________
JohnathaN Edwards
Purrpatrator of the
North American Rail Alliance
"Question authority, especially your own!" |
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