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Columbia Cascade Railway Historical Background |
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It is the fall of 1980, near the
middle of October. The fall has come late this year, with
trees just now beginning to show signs of bright vivid colors of autumn,
and the first heavy frost has yet to hit. Traffic is heavy in the
pacific northwest, as the grain harvest has been far better for all
western states and Canada than it has been in years. Intermodal
traffic has dramatically increased with the advent and importing of products from the
Pacific Rim countries. But with all the good, problems loom on the
horizon for railroading and business dependant on rail in the Pacific
Northwest. The Milwaukee Road faced with continued rumors of financial
trouble, labor issues, deteriorating maintenance on both track and
motive power with possible bankruptcy and talks of receivership
has both employees, customers, and city municipalities
concerned. Already in the past 10 years this area has seen
the demise of a once strong regional rail, the Washington Oregon
Pacific. During that time, to avoid disruption of vital industries that run the
economy of the metroplex, two city municipalities stepped in, floating
emergency bond issues, and purchased portions of this once proud
railroad to form the Bridgeport Terminal Railway and the Port Angeles
Terminal Railroad. The BN and UP fought over the remaining pieces
like two dogs over raw meat. Had the governor not stepped in, the
BN & UP would have consumed it all, thru a lengthy court battle, and
the area would have suffered economic chaos. It has
been almost 7 years since the last rail failure occurrence, and since that time
the Bridgeport Terminal and Port Angeles Terminal have flourished beyond
what either cities had ever expected. Exciting growth fueled by
grain, lumber, import and exports, specialty manufactured goods, have
poised the area for a remarkable future. Now the Milwaukee
threat may well harshly impact the area. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest and the areas called the Columbia Cascade. Join us working for the BN, UP, CP, the struggling but proud Milwaukee, and the prosperous Bridgeport Terminal Railway and Port Angeles Terminal Railway. Perhaps with your skills, you can help reduce the economic impact of the Pacific Northwest.
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