Nostalgia & History > Coalca,Oregon 3-88

I'd almost forgotten how much was at Coalca until I ran
across this photo of SP 6770 East pulling out of the siding
at Coalca. The cantilever signal is most obvious but there
was this extension trackage that ran north of the siding
(UP could probably use this now) with a crossover included.
Does anyone remember what this was used for. Wasn't there
a mill or something just north of the siding? Thanks
Geoff

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When I first started going to Coalca around 1990 there was additional track continuing for a mile or so north from the siding; it was primarily used to store cars. There was also a track that ran west from the additional track and followed the river more closely. A crew that I watched switching in the area call that the "old main line," which suggests that there had been a line change to the current alignment. There was a switching signal for access to that area that the dispatcher controlled. In addition, there were miscellaneous tracks between the old and new main lines that looked like a former small yard. There are ruins of former industrial activity in the area; the one thing that I am fairly sure used to be there is a log loading operation, taking logs that had been floated down the Willamette and loading them onto railcars. Over the intervening years all rail and other equipment related to the former operations has been taken up and all that's left is the new main line and Coalca siding, which is south of the former activity. Even the signal bridge has been replaced by standard signals on poles.

As BobB has written, the signal bridge is long gone, along with the old track that was in the area. There's an old freight shed that years ago was used as a reload for the paper mill in West Linn on the west bank of the river. They would load finished product in barges to bring over for rail transfer. I honestly don't know if any raw product was sent the other way or not. They called this "Pulp" siding and according to the 1989 Oregon Div profile it was part of, and used in conjunction with "Coalca" siding. On a similar note , I think the last "kodakchrome" I laid eyes on was parked here over the weekend on a weed spraying train about 1999, so this picture kind of nudged my memory a bit!

Butch,,,,,here we go

Truxtrax, I bet this is the train that you saw, parked in the Salem Yard.

Ted Curphey
funnelfan@icehouse.net

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That locomotive is now working for the MRL, this photo is from a couple months ago.

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funnelfan Wrote:
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> Truxtrax, I bet this is the train that you saw,
> parked in the Salem Yard.
>
> Ted Curphey
> funnelfan@icehouse.net

Ted, I think that's it!
It sure looks like the same outfit. There just couldn't be two of those in the valley at the same time.
I remember telling my oldest son about it and he being the SP fan that he is, he jumped in the car and drove in from Mt Angel to get some pictures before it left. He wasn't buying my story that it would stay the weekend, and he wasn't taking any chances! I'm glad to see it's a survivor!

Thanks again, Ted
Butch

Thanks for the info guys. There used to be a lot going on here.
I also remember an SW type switch engine occasionally parked in
this area, maybe the switcher for the paper mill.