Steam & Excursion > A Seldom Seen Steam Facility That Serviced Quite An Operation!

Back in the days of steam there were certain railroads that were only occasionally photographed by passing railfans. Sometimes the steam shops where the motive power was serviced was the only place where the railfans gathered. However here is a steam shop with just the opposite experience.

Located on the west bank of the Deschutes River on the edge of the town of Bend, Oregon was the Shevlin-Hixon Company. From this spot began a logging railroad that was among the largest in the West. The line boasted a pair of Shays and a large fleet of both 70-ton and 90-ton Baldwin logging Mikes.

Despite the size of this logging rail operation, the S-H trains were only photographed by an occasional passing railfan. What was hardly ever captured on film was the sizable S-H roundhouse and car shop that is where this fleet of steam power was serviced. Fortunately there are a few photos of the S-H roundhouse that do survive, and here is one.

In the enlargement of the overall view of the huge S-H mill we see the roundhouse with 2 bays dedicated to the steam lokies. S-H's 90-ton 2-8-2 #4 is receiving some service in the right-hand stall. The far left stall with the split doors is the car shop where the huge fleet of log flats is kept in good repair despite the rigors of high-ball logging.

Now all we have to do is to find some photos from inside this magnificent steam shop.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/17 03:48 by LoggerHogger.

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Fascinating.
Bob

In the foreground of photo 2 is the Deschutes River, which now hosts floaters, paddlers, paddleboards, canoes of all types, and fishermen. The structures are mostly gone, replaced by retail shopping, offices, river trails, a dog park, several recreation parks, and restaraunts. I paddle this river three or more times per week, and ride along the paths daily. Little if anything remains of the once original operation, although evidence of the railroad still exists. A few years back, a scalehouse was finally removed and a short stretch of tracks were pulled up which once connected to a logging network. Last summer, one of the original trestles over the Deschutes, which was failing and used only for pedestrians and bikes, was replaced by a steel structure. Like the old trestle, every summer I dodge kids who use the bridge as a platform to jump into the river while I paddle underneath. LOL, I suppose it is only a matter of time before someone scores a direct hit. The Colorado street bridge dam has been converted for use by floaters and wave boarders.

The mill was set up for old growth ponderosa and some Douglas fir as I have been told. Once that supply had diminished, it was no longer cost effective to continue operations. In the immediate area, mostly to the north of the Mill, the workers built houses from lumber from the mill that was not saleable or was donated. Many of those houses remain, and some even lack adequate foundations to this day. They could have been purchased in the 1980's for a few thousand dollars, now, a run down 900 square foot "Mill" house which could best be described not as a "fixer upper" but a "tear-her-downer", can sell in the high $300K's, and in some cases, into the $400K's. Mobile homes near the river, which have been there since the 1950's and 1960's, now command prices in the $300K's as well. Some of them are in such poor condition that they could only be described as candidates for "recycling". The value of the land drives the prices.

A visitor from the past arriving in Bend today might recognize the downtown area since many of the buildings remain, although updated. Mill Pond remains mostly unchanged. In the Mill, little remains other then the box factory buildings and the triple smokestacks which still exist, now part of an REI building. Everything else would be mostly unrecognizable other then the mountains in the distance and the trees that still dot the landscape.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/17 06:08 by ATSF3751.

The mill remnants that ATSf3751 describes that are still left in Bend are not the Shevlin-Hixon mill buildings. The ones that are left are from the Brooks-Scanlon mill that was on the East side of the Deschutes River.

The mill I have depicted here is only the Shevlin-Hixon mill that was on the West side of the Deschutes. In the early 1980's the roundhouse pits and oil house was still intact from this S-H roundhouse. The S-H box factory and water tank was also intact. Unfortunately that was all removed by the late 1980's.

The scene now is quite different on both sides of the Deschutes.

Martin

In what area did Shevlin-Hixon do their logging (what direction from Bend)? How much trackage did they operate? When did rail operations end?
In what area did Brooks-Scanlon do their logging (what direction from Bend)? How much trackage did they operate? When did rail operations end?

Very interesting photos.

Thanks

Mike Soriano
Denville, NJ

The early Shevlin-Hixon logging railroad was built Southwest out of town into the hills above what is now the Inn Of The 7th Mountain. Next they proceeded south towards Sunriver and thenon to Lapine and then to Fremont Summit. They next went all the way South to Chemult and hills east off that town. The last 3 areas were accessed by using the Great Northern mainline and then the S-H logging railroads that branched off that to the cutting areas. S-H was bought out by Brooks-Scanlon in 1950. Their logging railroad lasted until 1952.

Brooks-Scanlon built it's logging railroad first Southeast out of Bend down to China Hat. Then in 1940 they built their railroad Northwest out of Bend first towards Bull Springs and then on to Sisters. They ran their last log train in December 1956.

Martin