Western Railroad Discussion > Oakridge, OR - former customer?

Looking at some Google Earth images to put some pieces together from my trip to the area last month and noted a large facility in Oakridge that used to have rail service.  The property appears to be razed now and I am wondering what used to be there and when they closed?   I would guess a former lumber mill of some sort, but looking for any details anyone can share.  TIA!

 

Might want to look around this website a bit:

http://spcascades.railfan.net/home.html

from the history section it was a Pope and Talbot Mill:

"The Pope and Talbot Lumber Company was located just east of town. Ground breaking for the mill began April 22, 1947 and within a year, the mill was open. The SP constructed a spur line from Oakridge yard approximately one mile long to the mill. Two 150' Warren Truss bridges were built over Salmon Creek prior to arriving at the mill. The east end of the bridge has a long timber trestle approach. The bridge and track to the mill site are still in tact; however, the mill complex is quickly be torn down".

There was another large mill to the west, it's not visible from the road so I don't think that's the one you're looking for. Amtrak passengers ride right past the Mill location to the west, there's a number of very recognizable settings in the old photos:

"Westfir was once a booming lumber town. The Western Lumber Company built a logging railroad out of here that followed the North Fork of the Willamette river into the woods. The mill was later sold to Westfir Lumber Company, and then to the Edward hines Lumber Company. The mill suffered three major fires that closed the mill in 1984. Passing the mill site the tracks cross the North Fork of the Willamette River and enter 2200 foot long tunnel 22 and arrive at Oakridge."

There's also a couple of SP in Oregon books printed in the 80's, used editions show up on Amazon every so often.

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/16 17:47 by TCnR.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2130517,2130517#2130517
Here is a link to some pictures around Westfir OR.  West of Oakridge.
Todd Montgomery
Springfield OR