(Volume 26, No. 7)
Presidents Soapbox
Summer is finally here in all its glory, complete with those hot summer days which make Model Railroading all the more reason to retreat to a cool layout room. There are plenty of things to do and all one needs is to ask for an assignment. The scenery crew is making progress, but the installation of two new bridges is delaying the track crew as well as the shortage of good turnouts in good working order. Leo built one bridge for the north Butte cutoff (my railroader friend says they are trestles) over the Snake River and Ryan Lee is building a smaller bridge for a location between Roberts and Dubois. The installation of these bridges will allow the scenery and track crews to proceed. JD Hobbies has the turnouts on order to complete track as far as Lima. It was decided by those present June 20th to limit this construction phase to Lima in order to have it as complete as possible before the Fall Show. Although we are pleased with the progress made to date, it is quite apparent that we cannot complete the entire project before the show date.
The next major aspect of track design is contingent on the elevation and track arrangement for Armstead which will be the next station beyond Monida, Lima gets moved north out of sequence due to space limitations. The location and roadbed for the G&P is also contingent on the elevation and layout of Armstead. Since I am going to the SP&S-GN Historical Society Conventions in Portland in mid July, I will try to get this established so that the scenery and track crews can proceed in my absence. One thing has become increasingly clear, that is to say that we are all in a learning curve, starting with the frame bench-work construction, to spline roadbed construction, to track design to scenery development. Regardless of our experience level, some of the ideas we try simply are not always viable and the plan is changed to fit the circumstances. One of the areas we critically need help is building construction. The Creamery Module is badly in need of the assigned industry intended to be placed there, other opportunities exist as well. All the new town-site locations will need some structures, perhaps some of the existing buildings we have can be adapted or are already suitable. Monida’s buildings are very basic, definitely not new and still standing for reference. Thornton Waite’s book on the Montana Sub has some very good pictures. Pictures and design suggestions are available for the asking.
Let’s all have a safe Holiday and summer, and solicit more help on the layout.
Happy Modeling.
Leo Harker
Timetable
· July 4 Settler's Fair
· July 4 Holiday, No Meeting
· July 11 Work Night
· July 18 Work Night
· July 25 Work Night
· August 1 Business Meeting
Because we have taken down the modular section of the layout, all meetings will be work nights until further notice.
Lost shipments
I couldn’t help but notice the boxcar which derailed south of Firth because of a broken wheel and which lay there on its side for nearly three months. It has now been placed on good trucks and is on the siding in Firth, probably awaiting a check for roadworthiness. In another incident in Illinois, a load of paper required that the car be turned to allow for unloading the opposite side. The car had to be moved some 30 miles in a local to be turned on a wye; because it was returning in a consist with other empties, the car was assumed empty by a clerk, subsequently rerouted and was 400 miles away before the error was discovered. Travel north to Montana and on the siding at Snowline there are several cars which have been there for at least two years.
On one of the Yahoo e-group railroad lists, there was some discussion about the abandonment of Milwaukee trackage in the eighties and a rumor was started that some loaded boxcars were on an obscure spur when the mainline was removed and simply forgotten about. This did not prove to be true and was refuted by readers familiar with Washington operations but one can’t help thinking that it is a real time possibility.
I was discussing such a scenario with a UP trainman acquaintance and he told me that losing cars in the system happens more often than is widely known. One such incident happened when the UP was storing equipment on the Goshen Branch in the mid seventies. It seems that a shipment of two automobiles in a single boxcar was a common practice and in this incident, the autos were to go to different consignees and, after one was unloaded, the rail car was to be forwarded to the other dealer for final unloading. The new auto was found when the cars were finally moved off the branch before the rails were removed. Since the railroad's insurance paid for the car, it was put up for sale by bid and the original consignee was allowed first priority in the sale. It is reported that a wreck near Shoshone damaged a full auto-rack of new Corvettes. Rather than repair the damaged cars and place them on the market, the manufacturer allowed the railroad to bulldoze a hole and bury the entire car and load.
A book I have on the SP&S shows a picture of a hopper car that derailed on a large fill, rolled to the bottom and remained in place ever since. On the Pocatello club layout, there was reportedly a wreck on one of the members modules losing a car to the bottom of the chasm; it can happen in the model scene too.
Leo Harker
The San Francisco, Idaho and Montana Railway Company
The Wilder Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad
The San Francisco, Idaho & Montana Railway Company was a company which had grandiose ideas when it was incorporated in 1904. As indicated by its name, the company intended to build a rail line from Montana through Idaho to San Francisco, but it actually only graded 11 miles of track in Idaho, from Caldwell west to Wilder, with some additional grading performed down to the Snake River. The Oregon Short Line Railroad completed the line between Caldwell and Wilder in 1911 and then leased the line to the Caldwell Traction Company from 1916 through 1920, when it was returned to the OSL. The branch line continues to be owned by the Union Pacific Railroad and is operated by the Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad to serve the businesses along the line.
With the potential for the development of southwestern Idaho due to the land reclamation projects, the San Francisco, Idaho and Montana Railway Company was incorporated in Idaho December 1, 1904. The purpose of the new company was to build a line approximately 1000 miles long from San Francisco, California in a northeasterly direction through California through Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana to Butte. It was to pass through Boise and have a branch line from Mason in Paradise Valley, Nevada to Winnemucca. Additional branch lines would be built as necessary. William Peyton Mason of Minneapolis was president, the secretary was G.L. Proffer of Boise, and W.E. Foran of Boise was the treasurer. Directors included Proffer, Foran, and J.A. McGinty. The capital stock was authorized at $50,000,000 at $100 per share, with 200,000 shares being Preferred Stock and the remaining 300,000 shares being Common Stock.
The Canyon Construction Company was the company which actually performed the grading for the SFI&M. The articles of incorporation for this company were filed with the State of Idaho on February 6, 1907. The company was intended to grade and build railroads and telegraph lines, own land to plat into townsites, and perform other General Contract business, with its headquarters in Caldwell. W.H. Place was president, F.H. Richardson was vice-president, Henry Olsen was secretary, E.R. Place was treasurer, and L.H. Place (uncle of Colonel Place) was director, and they were all of Caldwell. The capital stock was authorized at $200,000, in shares of $10 each. E. R. Place and Company had subscribed to 2000 of the shares.
On February 8, 1907 a contract was awarded to the Canyon Construction Company for 105 miles of line, with the SFI&M to reimburse the company for all costs incurred. In the event the SFI&M failed to pay the Canyon Construction Company, the material and rail line constructed would become the property of the Canyon Construction Company.
After grading 16.2 miles of line west from Caldwell and down to the Snake River the SFI&M defaulted and on June 16, 1909 the SFI&M property was transferred to the Canyon Construction Company. On the same date the Canyon Construction Company transferred the property to the Oregon Short Line. The charter of the Canyon Construction Company was forfeited 12/1/12 due to failure of payment of the annual license fee.
Although the Oregon Short Line took over the SFI&M property in 1909, it was not until 1911 that the railroad actually laid rails. They started laying track west from Caldwell on June 16, 1911 and finished the work on July 27, 1911. This work did not take long since the grading had been done and much of the bridging across the canals and laterals had already been completed by the Canyon Construction Company.
The SFI&M line was never built beyond Wilder. The Oregon Short Line built the Homedale branch from Nyssa, Oregon between the years 1911 and 1913 on the south side of the Snake River. The line was extended to Erb, Idaho in 1922 and projected to be the “South Side Branch” and connect with the Oregon Short Line again at Buhl. No further construction beyond Erb was ever performed.
The Caldwell Traction Company was formed to bring in materials for the dams at Lake Lowell (also known as the Deerflat Reservoir) and after the line dam was completed it was improved and extended in the hope that the area would become a resort destination. A pavilion and a park were laid out next to the line at the reservoir, but there was not enough business to make the line profitable. The line was also used to transport out the agricultural products raised in the Deerflat country.
On July 1, 1916 the Wilder line was leased by the Oregon Short Line to the Caldwell Traction Company for 50 years. In October, 1918 the Caldwell Traction Company petitioned the Public Utilities Commission of Idaho for permission to abandon the line to Lake Lowell from the McNeil Branch, a line approximately 1-1/2 miles long, alleging there was insufficient business to the park and resort area. They planned to use the overhead wires to help electrify the line to Wilder, which had been operated as a steam road. This was allowed by the PUC. When the line was electrified to Wilder there were up to 5 trips a day for passengers and one a day for freight. However, in 1916 Golden Gate Highway District was organized and better roads and cars and trucks began to take away much of the business along the line. In 1919 the company petitioned for, and received approval, to raise fares on their line. Unfortunately, the higher fares were not sufficient to keep the company solvent, and a receiver was appointed on July 13, 1920 shortly after the lease with the Oregon Short Line was canceled and the line returned to the OSL. The OSL resumed operations of the line to Wilder on May 17, 1920 and increased the frequency of trains, a mixed train on Saturdays only, to a daily except Sunday mixed train.
Today the Union Pacific Railroad designates the Wilder Branch as the Wilder Industrial Lead out of Caldwell, although train service is provided by the Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad, a short line which services several of the Union Pacific branch lines in the Boise area. They are running trains as necessary on the line, working out of their Nampa yard. Their primary customer is a J.S. Simplot plant near Caldwell. The official length of the line is 11.0 miles, and the maximum speed is 20 mph. There are business tracks at South Caldwell, Simplot, Hop, Doles, Greenlead, Allendale, and Wilder. The major switching is performed at Simplot, where there ware several tracks used to ship fresh fruits and vegetables. It is not unusual to see the cryogenic refrigerator cars at the Simplot sidings, since frozen french fries are prepared here as well. Sugar beets are no longer shipped from the Wilder Branch to the sugar factory at Fischer, near Nampa, since trucks are used today.
Thornton Waite
Material Needed
If you have material for a future Eagle Tracks, please send it to the Editor. We need to have more of a selection for future issues. It would be really nice to have an excess of material to choose from. Keep those articles and pictures coming! Hopefully we will be able to exchange articles with the Twin Falls club shortly.