Alright, I went back and tampered wit my story a bit more, using some ideas thrown around y other model railroaders. In order for this to work, I had to invent two towns. One is a logging town near Vernonia OR, the Second one is Douglas Junction, a Town near Corvallis, and the last is a small town with a Grain Port in Wasington across the Columbia River from Astoria. Let me know what you think, but please keep in mind that I stressed out for 30 minutes trying to get this to be plausible: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Oregon Midland RR System of today was formed by the merger of a number of shortlines in Oregon and the Southwestern corner of Washington. The Bend and Corvallis, owned by K-Rail (KBC), the Newport Terminal, a small shortline serving the industries in Newport, and logs from the surrounding hills, The Oregon Midland, a larger shortline operating a secondhand line running between Portland and Douglas Junction, and the Washington Pacific, a shortline serving industries along the Washington Side of the Columbia River. The new regional aquired trackage rights over the WPRR to Toledo, to access the Newport Terminal, and Trackage rights over the BNSF to Kelso to reach the Washington Pacific. The larger system, connected the grain from the ex KBC trackage in Central Oregon, to Ports on the Columbia River, along the Washington Pacific. It also connected the forest products of the Oregon Midland and Newport Terminal to the Paper Mill along the Washington Pacific. The Merger streamlined these and other operations. The new company retained the Name Oregon Midland.
Who’s to say you’re right or wrong? If one lived in NY or any other major city all his life it could be argued you’re all wet while one who lived somewhere in an area as you do would find it plausable. Ever see a Ford Model T or a 53 Buick on rails? or a PRR GG1 pulling freight? or a SP Daylight zipping down the West Coast? or the Jawn Henry? or a Mudhen or Galloping Goose? or any other of millions of railroad operations and quirks in the past? Except for the GG1 with freight, neither did I. But that doesn’t mean the rest didn’t exist. You are a modeler, and your imagination is your universe’s dimension in time, space, and possiblities. It mighta, coulda, woulda…who is to say no?
Makes sense to me, and I live in the region. In fact you could kick this back a hundred years and still make it plausable.
I’m doing something similar by moving the GN (electrified) route over the Cascades north to Bellingham, Wa and over the Cascades by a route offering free range on operations and scenery, etc.
The “arguement” behind this is that cheap hydropower was made available, and the commercial and tourism trade to the Sea and British Columbia made it all viable. So I get to have CP excursion trains meet the famous GN Empire Builder and Western Star, as well as having Electrics all the way to a seaport.
Logging, Mining, Fisheries, Shipping, Tourism (operating NG railroad museum), Incline railway, working ski lifts, all fit in. Not to mention loco servicing as an industry in itself.
In your case, a working steam-powered sawmill is still authentic today. You’ve got so many opportunities, just start building dioramas while you figure out how they’ll fit later.
BTW, I went to AAA and got a WA map, then plotted possible routes. Then I GOOGLED them to get aerial views. Once I had location names, I could also research towns, structures and history on the net as well.
-Best wishes,
-David Holliday