Oregon Central Railroad records
Finding aid created by California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives staff using RecordEXPRESS
California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives
2020
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Title: Oregon Central Railroad records
Dates: 1867-1870
Collection Number: MS 136
Creator/Collector:
Oregon Central Railroad
Extent: 1 half-box
Repository:
California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives
Sacramento, California 95814
Abstract: Financial records and bridge alignment notes from the construction of the Oregon Central Railroad.
Language of Material: English
This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives
staff to arrange for access.
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Capital District Collections Manager. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Oregon Central Railroad records. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives
Gift of Southern Pacific Railroad, New York Collection.
Biography/Administrative History
• 1. The Oregon Central Railroad (East Side) 20.08 miles from east Portland south to New Era, Oregon, was incorporated April
22, 1867, built during 1868 and 1869, and reached New Era December 24, 1869, although it was not opened to traffic until after
sold to the O&C on March 29, 1870.
•2. The Oregon Central Railroad (West Side) 46.80 miles from Portland via Gaston to St. Joseph was incorporated November
17, 1866, and constructed between April 15, 1868, and November 3, 1872. Despite the similarity of names, this was a rival
of the east side company. It was operated by its own organization from the time the first section was put in operation -
December 1871 - to September 1, 1879, although it had come under control of the O&C on July 2, 1870, and from that date until
October 6, 1880, by the Western Oregon Railroad as lessee. It was sold to the O&C October 6, 1880. This section of track
later formed a part of the Southern Pacific's electric interurban service in Oregon which started in 1912 and 1913. The section
between Bertha (near Portland) and Beaverton, 5.92 miles, was abandoned in 1932. [Guy Dunscomb, A CENTURY OF SOUTHERN PACIFIC
STEAM LOCOMOTIVES, 1862-1962 (Modesto, California: 1967), p. 395]
Scope and Content of Collection
Miscellaneous volumes include bridge alignment notes, a journal of minutes, and a volume of subscriptions to the Portland
Subsidy Fund to raise money for construction of the Oregon Central Railroad between 1867 and 1870.