Camas Prairie Railroad

The Nez Perce Indian Reservation was opened to white settlement in 1895.^[3][4][5][6] By the turn of the 20th century, Edward H. Harriman and James J. Hill were engaged in a "railroad war" for control of rail routes through this area to reach the Pacific Northwest.^[7][8] Despite their competing interests, the railroad barons co-operated to build the Camas Prairie Railroad.

The CSP was built to tap the rolling, fertile hills of the Camas Prairie and the timber of the forested hills and canyonlands of the Clearwater River.^[9][10] Service to the south terminus of the second subdivision line at Grangeville commenced in December 1908,^[7] and continued for 92 years.

The Camas Prairie Railroad was known as the "railroad on stilts" due to the many wooden trestles along its route. In one five-mile (8 km) stretch, there were more than a dozen trestles.

In addition to its wooden trestles, the railroad's second subdivision also had a sizable steel viaduct, 1,520 feet (460 m) in length with a maximum height of 280 feet (85 m).^[11][12] Bridge 38 spans Lawyer's Canyon, between Craigmont and Ferdinand, and is visible from U.S. Route 95.

The Nezperce & Idaho Railroad (reporting mark NP&I) was an independently owned short line railroad that connected the community of Nezperce to the Camas Prairie Railroad. Primarily used to ship agricultural products it operated from 1910 until 1975,^[13][14] it was then used for boxcar storage until the 1980s.^[13]

The railroad was sold to North American RailNet in April 1998, and it became the subsidiary Camas Prairie RailNet, Inc. (CSPR). After less than two years, CSPR notified the U.S. government in late 1999 that the second subdivision line to Grangeville could be subject to abandonment, citing lack of profitability.^[15][16] It made its formal request in May,^[17] and it was approved by the Surface Transportation Board in September 2000; the last run to Fenn and Grangeville was on November 29.^[18][19] The tracks were to be removed shortly thereafter, but that was delayed as a new operator for the line was sought.

When BG&CM stepped in to operate the second subdivision line in December 2002, it was originally only to extend from Spalding to Craigmont,^[20] but a few weeks later decided to continue south, across Lawyer's Canyon to Cottonwood, stopping the salvage crews from going further north.^[21][22]

The tracks from Cottonwood to Grangeville were removed and salvaged in late 2002 and 2003. North American RailNet sold the remainder of the railroad to Watco in March 2004,^[23][24] which renamed it the Great Northwest Railroad.

In 2011, Bridge 21-3 was destroyed in a wildfire. Although BG&CM owner Mike Williams indicated plans to rebuild by spring of 2012 at the latest,^[25] no construction has occurred.

By 2021 the tracks had been removed all the way from Grangeville to Ruebens.

All locations in north central Idaho

Source:^[17]

Passenger service on the main line along the Clearwater River to Stites and on the second subdivision to Grangeville was discontinued 69 years ago in August 1955.^[26][27]

The 1975 film Breakheart Pass starring Charles Bronson was filmed on portions of the railroad, as were parts of 1999's Wild Wild West.

• Riegger, Hal (1986). The Camas Prairie. Pacific Fast Mail. US 86-060949.
• Railroad Retirement Board (1998). "Employer Status Determination: Camas Prairie Railroad Company" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2006-08-16.

External videos
"Camas Prairie Railroad Cab Ride Trailer" on YouTube
"Tribute to the Camas Prairie's 2nd Sub" on YouTube

• American-rails.com – Camas Prairie Railroad
• Camas Prairie Rails
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. ID-41, "Camas Prairie Railroad, Second Subdivision, Spalding, Nez Perce County, ID", 126 photos, 57 data pages, 8 photo caption pages
• Preservation Idaho – Camas Prairie Railroad
• University of Idaho Library: Digital Initiatives – Hal Riegger CPRR Collection

46°14′N 116°28′W / 46.24°N 116.47°W / 46.24; -116.47