Common Carrier Railroads of Oregon
Common Carrier Railroads.
Dayton, Sheridan & Grand Ronde Railway.
36in Gauge. Organized in 1877 by farmers from Bellevue, Dallas, Perrydale, Sheridan, and Willamina to build a railroad that would serve their towns. The railroad constructed twenty miles of tracks on the Yamhill and South Yamhill rivers between Sheridan in the west and Dayton to the east before entering recievership. The line and it's debt was purchased by a group of Scottish capitalists to become part of the Oregonian Railway.
Dayton to Sheridan, Yamhill County. 1877 - 1879
Oregonian Railway.
36in Gauge. William Reid and a group of Scottish capitalists formed the Oregonian Railway Company Ltd. after purchasing the bankrupt Dayton, Sheridan & Grande Ronde railroad in 1879. Henry Villard of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. was granted a long-term lease to operate the line in 1881. In 1884 Villard left the OR&N and the company terminated the lease, forcing the Oregonian into receivership. The Southern Pacific Railroad gained control in 1890 and standard gauged the line by 1893.
Ray's Landing to Coburg. Polk, Yahmill and Washington Counties. 1879 - 1893
Oregon Portage Railway.
36in Gauge. Originally constructed as a broad gauge railway. It later became part of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. in 1880. In 1891 the line was reconstructed by the Oregon Portage Commissioners to meet the demand of riverboat traffic halted at Cascade during the construction of Cascade Locks. 36" gauge was selected to match the Army Corps of Engineers construction railroad.
Cascade Rapids, Hood River County. 1891 - 1896