Camas Prairie

Company History: The Camas Prairie ran 245 miles of line in Idaho and Washington moving primarily timber and grain. The line, which opened in 1908, was built as a joint venture between Northern Pacific and Union Pacific (actually UP’s subsidiary Oregon-Washington Railway & Navigation.) Locomotives and rolling stock were provided in equal share by UP and NP, rotating to their home roads for heavy maintenance. NP’s share passed to Burlington Northern in 1970, then to BNSF in ’95. In 1998, BNSF and UP sold the Camas Prairie to shortline group North American Railnet who established Camas Prairie RailNet to operate it (for just 2 years, as it happens.) Today, the remaining segments of the Camas Prairie are operated by Great Northwest Railroad and the Bountiful Grain & Craig Mountain. The Camas Prairie Railroad was known as the “Railroad on Stilts,” a reference to their many wooden trestles.

Successor/Parent History: In 1998, Burlington Northern and Union Pacific decided to sell their jointly owned Camas Prairie Railroad to an independent shortline group. North American RailNet took the deal and setup Camas Prairie RailNet to take control of the 272 mile line. The 3rd Sub ran from Ayer Junction, Washington east to Lewiston, Idaho with the 1st Sub then continuing on to Spaulding. The 2nd sub then left Spaulding headed southeast through breathtaking mountains to Cottonwood and Grangeville. The 1st Sub continued east from Spaulding to Orofino, then south to Kooskia and Stites. The 4th Sub left the 1st at Orofino heading northeast to Potlatch and Wayerhaeuser logging lines north of Deer Creek.

Before long, it became clear that the 2nd Sub did not have enough traffic to pay for the upkeep of the line and CSPR applied to abandon it. The last CSPR train from Grangeville ran in 2000 and they began to pull up the track from the south end. However, local interests asked CSPR to hold off on pulling up the line while they looked for a buyer. Bountiful Grain & Craig Mountain (part of the Watco shortline family) began operating the 2nd Sub that December as far south as Cottonwood.

Motive power for Camas Prairie Railnet consisted of a single SW1000 and seven B23-7s. In 2004, North American RailNet sold the line to Watco. They changed the name to Great Northwest Railroad, and transferred the lines east of Lewiston to the Bountiful Grain & Craig Mountain Railroad.

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