Nostalgia & History > BN east of Spokane

Hi all.
Does anyone know why the GN line from Spokane to Sandpoint, through Newport, was abandoned in favor of the NP line?  Was there something more favorable about the NP trackage?

Thanks....

-j

NP line was shorter and had less curvature, also had a better approach into the Spokane Valley from the east and onto the NP elevated right-of-way through Spokane. GN, being the second carrier to the city, came in from the north, had a grade coming in to town from the east, and went through the middle of town over several street crossings (where Expo 74 was located after the GN trackage was removed). It would have been difficult to connect the GN to the NP elevated line on the east side.

Posted from iPhone

Thanks - assume there was never enough traffic to warrant keeping the second line as a backup vs adding more sidings/trackage along the NP (which was eventually done).
-j

jofegan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks - assume there was never enough traffic to
> warrant keeping the second line as a backup vs
> adding more sidings/trackage along the NP (which
> was eventually done).
> -j

A connection was built from the GN east to the NP in Spokane, however it came in to the NP yard from the west end so through trains would have had to reverse ends to continue west. It was determined to be less costly to increase capacity on the NP line than retain both lines.

Posted from iPhone

There's a whole bunch of reading in the various libraries about the final route selection. They were able to make the most of the World's Fair in Spokane to rationalize many of the changes. The route change gave up the need to maintain the route through along the Pend Oreille River and the Hangman Trestle west of Spokane but added the cost of the modern Latah Creek Bridge and maintainance of the single track Lake Pend Oreille bridge. All that did allow much more expansion on the old NP route which has double track today and the additional yard at Hauser. Some big money trade offs.

Another interesting story is the whole track plan in the Sandpoint area. Once again it eventually worked out but was pretty shakey for a few years. Then the MRL story, then the SP&S mainline story and on into history...

The NP invested quite a bit of money in the mid 1960s into their route, including the line change at Granite Lake.  I feel that was part of BN's consideration on deciding the 'new' mainline.

The line went through the campus of Gonzaga University. Like the campus of Central Wa U, further to the west in Ellensburg, whose campus was split by the Milwaukee Road, once the right-of-way was vacated, they took full advantage of the new land to build on, and today there is little evidence that a railroad ever existed there. 

I think also, that that the old GN route was much more scenic than the NP route, which often translates to much more difficult terrain.​ The NP is located in the Purcell Trench, a flat, broad floor of an ancient glacial lake; where the GN followed the Little Spokane River, winding through a bunch of hilly country.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/20 08:46 by alally8444.

Not to mention that the ex-NP line was already equipped with CTC (Centralized Traffic Control) while the longer GN route was strictly ABS (Automatic Block Signal) Timetable and Train Order territory which needed train order operators in various place (not exactly sure where they were located).

Tim Dickinson
La Verne, CA