Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway

Preserved SP&S "Northern" locomotive No. 700 in 2008

SP&S operated the Ocean Shore Limited, shown here at Seaside, Oregon

The railroad was chartered in 1905 by James J. Hill to connect the two transcontinental railroads owned by him, the Northern Pacific (NP) and Great Northern (GN), to Portland, Oregon from Spokane, Washington,[1] to gain a portion of the lumber trade in Oregon, a business then dominated by E.H. Harriman's Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. Construction began in 1906[2] under the name Portland & Seattle Railway,[2][3] proceeding to the east and south from Vancouver, Washington.[4] The work included construction of three major bridges over the Columbia River, the Oregon Slough, and the Willamette River.[2] The northernmost of these was the first bridge of any kind to be built across the lower Columbia River.[5]

Despite legal challenges from Harriman, within a year the line had been built as far as Pasco along the Columbia River, where it connected with NP. The first section to open was from Pasco west to Cliffs (near Maryhill), a length of 112 miles (180 km), on December 15, 1907.[6] Operation was extended west to Lyle, 33 miles (53 km) further west, on January 15, 1908, as construction continued on the 221-mile (356 km) section from Pasco to Vancouver.[6]

In January 1908 "Spokane" was added to the railroad's name, making it the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway.[7][8] A "golden spike" ceremony was held on March 11, 1908 at Sheridan's Point to commerate the completion of the railroad along the Columbia. SP&S freight and passenger service (from Pasco) to Portland was inaugurated in November 1908. (First & Second Subdivisions) [9] By 1909 the railroad had completed construction of its line up to Spokane along the Snake River (Third Subdivision).

In 1910 SP&S gained control of the Oregon Electric interurban railway, which James J. Hill and the Great Northern had acquired two years before. Under the control of the SP&S (Ninth, Tenth, & Eleventh Subdivision) , the railroad was extended southward to Eugene by 1912.[10] The line was extended from Albany into Lebanon, Oregon and Sweet Home, Oregon in 1931. The Dollar branch was completed from Sweet Home to Dollar, Oregon later that same year.[11]

SP&S also operated a second subsidiary railroad, which James J. Hill purchased in 1907 for 5 million dollars, in northwestern Oregon. This was previously the Astoria and Columbia River Railroad, which created a route in 1898 along the south bank of the Columbia River,[12] from Portland through to Astoria and Seaside.[3] This portion of the SP&S (Sixth & Seventh Subdivision) was known as the "Astoria" or "A" line. [13]

A third route on which the SP&S operated extended southward from Wishram, Washington, to Bend, Oregon, was the Oregon Trunk Railway Company (Fifth Subdivision). Edward Harriman's Oregon & Washington Railway & Navigation Company also was building a railroad south from the Columbia River to Bend resulting in a "railroad war" across opposite sides of the Deschutes River in which each railroad attempted to sabotage the other. In the end, the railroad opened using mostly the track of the Oregon Trunk, with a short portion of the Oregon & Washington Railway & Navigation Company track, and both railroads used the route (an arrangement that still exists with BNSF owning the majority of the line and UP having trackage rights).[4]. Building this railroad included construction in 1912 of another railroad bridge across the Columbia River, the Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge, at Wishram, Washington. [14]

The 41 mile branch to Goldendale, (Fourth Subdivision) the only branch line in Washington State, began at Lyle Washington.[15] This railroad was originally completed in 1903 as the Columbia River & Northern Railway and was quickly acquired by the SP&S after the 1908 completion along the north bank of the Columbia River.[16] This branch was shut down in 1992.

United Railways later became a branch line of the SP&S (Eighth Subdivision) . The finished United Railways line went north from Wilkesboro through Banks, Manning, Buxton and Vernonia, Oregon. At this location, the line turned west, eventually reaching the town of Keasey, and continued on to the county line between Clatsop and Columbia Counties. Several logging companies started operation in the area, and used the United Railways to some extent. However, Oregon American traffic continued to be the largest user of the line. In 1944, the United Railways was dissolved and taken over completely by the Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway. In 1953, the line was sold to Long-Bell Lumber Company and in 1956 Long-Bell was sold to International Paper. International Paper had different plans for the region, and by September of 1957 the rail traffic was gone. The line from Vernonia westward was abandoned in 1958. [17]

During World War II the SP&S carried war materials to the Pacific Theatre; new industries located along the Columbia River, taking advantage of cheap electricity from hydroelectric dams on the river, including the Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, and the McNary Dam . New industries served by the SP&S included aluminum plants, sawmills, chemical factories and grain elevators.[18]

In 1954, a SP&S train derailed after hitting a rockslide on the route to Bend, Oregon, killing all crew members. Part of the train landed in the Deschutes River, including a boxcar, which landed in a rapid that was later named "Boxcar Rapids" after the incident.[19]

In March 1970, the SP&S was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). The BN was the product of the merger of four major railroads: the Great Northern Railway (GN), the Northern Pacific Railway (NP), the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S) and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q).

The history of the railroad is chronicled and preserved by the SP&S Historical Society. [20]

Dining car of the
North Bank Limited

The SP&S's passenger operations mostly involved hosting connections with parents' trains, such as the Empire Builder and North Coast Limited, which were combined to form the Streamliner (No. 1/No. 2). Oriental Limited, Mainstreeter, and Western Star connected with (No. 3/No. 4). [21] However, some of these SP&S trains were named. The Inland Empire Express (daytime) and North Bank Limited (overnight) provided daily, through service between Portland and Spokane.[22] The Columbia River Express (No. 5/No. 6) operated between Portland and Pasco, connecting at Pasco with Northern Pacific No. 5/No. 6 for service to/from Spokane.[23] From 1908 until the 1920s, the SP&S used the North Bank Depot as its Portland Terminus. After the 1920s, it used Portland (Union Station) for their passenger station arrivals and departures.

The only surviving SP&S Business car, the No. 99 or "The Ruth M." is in operating condition and being further restored. It was built in 1915 by Barney and Smith and reconfigured by the railroad in 1927. It resides at the Chehalis–Centralia Railroad. The car will be used as "premier seating", and during dinner trains can host a private party of up to eight in its lounge and dining room. As of 2023, the car has been repainted, and is in need of further cosmetic and mechanical repairs. The SP&S Historical Society is assisting with the efforts.

Two surviving SP&S Sleeper/Lounge cars are housed at museums, located at both ends of the reach of the railroad. These were built by the Pullman Standard Manufacturing Co. of Chicago and delivered to the railroad in 1950 at a cost of about $250,000. These cars ran in the Empire Builder service (Trains No. 1/No. 2) between Portland and Spokane. Weighing 131,000 pounds and seating up to 37 (with seating for 22 in the lounge),[24] these lounge cars allowed passengers to buy food and drinks to enjoy with comfortable seating. The Mt. St. Helens No. 601 is at the Inland NW Rail Museum near Spokane.[25] The Mt. Hood No. 600 is owned by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society [26] and is housed at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland. These cars had a full-length antenna on the car roof. Of special note in the lounge was the push-button Farnsworth AM radio. The cars contained six single-person roomettes and three large 2-person compartments, two of them can be opened to provide a 4-person room.

Preserved steam locomotives:

• Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 - A 1938 E-1 "Northern" 4-8-4 preserved and operational in Portland, Oregon.
• Spokane, Portland and Seattle 539 - A 1917 O-3 "Mikado" 2-8-2 preserved on static display in Kalama, Washington.

Preserved diesel locomotives:

• Spokane, Portland and Seattle 804 - A 1953-built EMD F7A, now preserved and to be moved to and restored at the Inland NW Rail Museum in Reardan, Washington.[27] As of 2023, a fund-raising effort is underway to complete the restoration.

• North Bank Depot Buildings – Portland terminal for SP&S service, 1908–1920s
• Vanport, Oregon
• Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad Warehouse
• Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Roster

• Gaertner, John T. (1990). North Bank Road. Washington State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87422-070-4.
• L. C. Gilman (1923). "Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad Company". Washington Historical Quarterly. 14 (1): 14–20. JSTOR 40474682.
• Grande, Walt (1992). The Northwest's Own Railway, Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway and its Subsidiaries Vol. 1. Grande Press. ISBN 0-9634128-0-9.
• Grande, Walt (1997). The Northwest's Own Railway, Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway and its Subsidiaries Vol. 2. Grande Press. ISBN 0-9634128-1-7.
• Austin, Ed (1996). The Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway. Pacific Fast Mail Press. ISBN 0-915713-30-6.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.

• Spokane Portland and Seattle Railway Historical Society