The Wallowa Union Railroad Authority (reporting mark WURR) is a short-line railroad owned by Wallowa County and Union County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It operates freight and tourist trains over a 62.58-mile (100.71 km) ex-Union Pacific Railroad line from the end of an Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad branch at Elgin to Joseph, generally paralleling Oregon Route 82.
 A WURR engine in Elgin, Oregon, in 2012 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Reporting mark | WURR |
| Locale | Oregon |
| Dates of operation | 2003– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 62.58 mi (100.71 km) |
The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, a predecessor of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), completed a branch from the main line at La Grande through Elgin to Joseph in late 1908.[1] The Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad (INPR) leased (from La Grande to Elgin) and bought (from Elgin to Joseph) the line, among others, from the UP in November 1993.[2] The Surface Transportation Board authorized abandonment beyond Elgin in 1997,[3] but this was not consummated, and in 2002 Wallowa County purchased the line, still operated by the INPR.[4] The new Wallowa Union Railroad Authority took over ownership from Wallowa County and operations from the INPR in 2003.[5][6]
Since 2003, the Eagle Cap Excursion Train has operated on the line.[7]
References
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- ^ Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, The Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company (OR&N) And Related Companies, accessed February 2009
- ^ Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition, Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, p. 154
- ^ STB Docket No. AB-433X, March 12, 1997
- ^ STB Finance Docket No. 34214, June 17, 2002
- ^ STB Finance Docket No. 34349, November 26, 2003
- ^ Railroad Retirement Board, Employer Status Determination: Wallowa Union Railroad Authority, June 10, 2003
- ^ Anderson, Chuck (July 28, 2011). "Free of debt and stored rail cars, railroad sees clear tracks ahead". The Observer. La Grande, Oregon. Retrieved December 4, 2012.