Union Pacific Northwest
A Revise and Expanded History of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company
Union Pacific Railroad and its predecessors have been involved in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 150 years. Beginning in 1862 when the first steam powered portage railroad was built around the Cascades, the Columbia River and the UP Main Line have been the major pathways from Portland to the interior farmlands of Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho.
The Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, under German entrepreneur Henry Villard, bought the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and proceeded to build rail lines along the south bank of the Columbia River, connecting with Union Pacific’s Oregon Short Line at Huntington in 1884. From that crucial connection, UP has expanded over the years into a complex and successful railroad serving all parts of the Northwest. In 1910, UP consolidated its Northwest subsidiaries into the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company, the operating railroad that carried UP into the modern era.
First published in 1991 by Pacific Fast Mail, the author has greatly revised and expanded the book for this new edition, adding 150 pages and many more photographs and maps.
The last chapter of this revised edition is completely new, discussing all the changes that have taken place in UP’s operations since the first edition was published The demise of the Milwaukee Railroad is covered in great detail, as is the abandonment of many of UP’s branch lines. But it was not all negative in the last twenty years. Expansion of Puget Sound and Portland ocean carrier facilities has brought much new business to UP. Regional and short line carriers have taken over many former UP operations, breathing new life into these lines.
This book will be a timely addition to the story of UP’s rail network in the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon, Washington, and Northern Idaho. Even historians who have the original edition will find this expanded version adds much to their understanding of this fascinating far corner of the country.
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By Jeff Asay.
Well illustrated with mostly b&w photos (some in color), maps and historic reproductions.
Revised & expanded edition, Union Pacific Historical Society, 2014 (original eddition publisheb by Pacific Fast Mail, 1991).
Copyright Jeff Asay, 2014.
8.5″ x 11″ hardbound with dustjacket.
ISBN: 978-1-932704-32-7
