Trains Don't Run Here, Anymore

The original rail line from Oregon to California went south from Eugene, through Roseburg, Medford, Ashland, then over the Siskiyous through tunnel 13 at the summit. This tunnel was the site of the last train robbery in the United States, in 1923. Because it was the only route south (until the Cascade Line was built in the late 1920s) the Southern Pacific invested lots of money in track and signals, including a semaphore system that was state of the art at the time.

Fast forward to the late 1990s. Most traffic has been diverted off this line, in favor of the easier route over Willamette Pass. The SP no longer runs this line, having turned over operations to the Central Oregon and Pacific. By this late date, only one train a day each way traversed this steep but scenic route south of Medford, rejoining the mainline near Weed, California. CORP ran the train in daylight hours, so the guys and I decided to head south one day to follow it on the journey over the hill. We captured the train climbing out of the Rogue River valley at Talent, Oregon splitting a pair of the 1920 era blades. CORP has not run any trains over this line for several years now, and all the semaphores have been taken down.