# Oregon Trunk Line

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{{Short description|Railroad in Oregon and Washington}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
[[File:UP5824; CSX8631; UP4080; UP4608 in Oregon.jpg|thumb|A train traverses the [Crooked River Railroad Bridge](/source/Crooked_River_Railroad_Bridge), 2005]]
thumb|Map of the Oregon Trunk Line, 1931
{{Oregon Trunk Subdivision|collapse=y}}
The '''Oregon Trunk Line''' is a railway line in [Oregon](/source/Oregon) and [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)) operated by the [BNSF Railway](/source/BNSF_Railway). It is a remnant of the [Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway](/source/Spokane%2C_Portland_and_Seattle_Railway), running from [Wishram, Washington](/source/Wishram%2C_Washington) in the north to a connection with the [Union Pacific](/source/Union_Pacific) at [Chemult](/source/Chemult) at its south end.<ref>{{Cite map |url=https://www.bnsf.com/bnsf-resources/pdf/ship-with-bnsf/maps-and-shipping-locations/bnsf-network-map.pdf |title=BNSF Network Map |date=January 2024 |publisher=[BNSF](/source/BNSF)}}</ref> Connections to the [Gateway Subdivision](/source/Gateway_Subdivision) are facilitated by trackage rights over the Union Pacific [Cascade Subdivision](/source/Cascade_Subdivision) to [Klamath Falls](/source/Klamath_Falls).

==History==
The Oregon Trunk Line railroad surveyed the route in 1906,<ref>{{cite news |title=Federated Authorities and Railway Men Clash on Deschutes |newspaper=The Oregon Daily Journal |date=November 7, 1906 |page=16}}</ref> with the [golden spike](/source/golden_spike) driven at [Bend](/source/Bend%2C_Oregon) on October 5, 1911.<ref name=Fagan1961>{{cite news |last1=Fagan |first1=Dick |title=mill ends... |newspaper=The Oregon Daily Journal |date=October 3, 1961 |location=[Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon) |page=2-2}}</ref> It was built with competition from the Deschutes Railroad Company, which laid their tracks on the eastern bank of the [Deschutes River](/source/Deschutes_River).<ref name=Fagan1961 /> The competing companies' workers became embroiled in a [Railroad War](/source/Railroad_Wars) during construction, with attacks involving [dynamite](/source/dynamite), guns, and general brawls.<ref name=Fagan1961 />{{sfn|Sawyer|2016|p=191}}{{sfn|Krantz|1912|p=28}}{{sfn|Krantz|1912|p=34}} A truce was called in 1909 to allow the two to build a joint track through the narrow [Deschutes River](/source/Deschutes_River) Valley.{{sfn|Krantz|1912|p=34}}{{sfn|Sawyer|2016|p=191}} [Northern Pacific Railway](/source/Northern_Pacific_Railway) and [Great Northern Railway](/source/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.)) agreed to extend the line south of Bend to Klamath Falls in 1927.<ref>{{cite news |title=G. N. To Build Line Alone: N. P. Board Gives Budd Free Rein |newspaper=The Evening Herald |date=June 1, 1927 |location=[Klamath Falls, Oregon](/source/Klamath_Falls%2C_Oregon) |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=OFFERS RAIL FACILITIES TO OREGON TRUNK LINE; Southern Pacific States Terms in Negotiations for Joint Use of Mid-Oregon Sector. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/03/27/archives/offers-rail-facilities-to-oregon-trunk-line-southern-pacific-states.html |access-date=7 August 2024 |agency=[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) |date=March 27, 1927 |page=E-18}}</ref> The order was finalized the following year with Great Northern additionally acquiring trackage rights on the [Southern Pacific](/source/Southern_Pacific) line between Chemult and Klamath Falls.<ref>{{cite news |title=G. N. Given Order For Bend Plans |newspaper=The Oregon Daily Journal |date=January 27, 1928 |location=Portland, Oregon |page=1}}</ref>

Passenger services along the line ended in 1971 with the formation of [Amtrak](/source/Amtrak).

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite magazine |last1=Krantz |first1=Shad O. |title=Railroad War In The Mountains |magazine=Technical World Magazine |date=September 1912 |volume=XVIII |number=1 |pages=27–34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eqpMAAAAYAAJ |via=Google Books}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sawyer |first1=Adam |title=Best Outdoor Adventures Near Portland, Oregon: A Guide to the City's Greatest Hiking, Paddling, and Cycling |date=2016 |publisher=Falcon Guides |isbn=9781493017119}}
{{refend}}

Category:BNSF Railway lines
Category:Rail lines in Oregon
Category:Rail infrastructure in Washington (state)
Category:Rail infrastructure in Oregon
Category:Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Oregon Trunk Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trunk_Line) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trunk_Line?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.