Editorial: Good to see some locomotion for local shippers

The dedication of a new switchyard in Winchester, Ore., may be a relatively minor event in the nearly 140-year history of train service in Roseburg, but it is notable achievement, according to the News-Review.

Roseburg’s population in
1872 was less than 1,000 when "Stagecoach King" Ben Holladay built the rail
line from Portland to Roseburg. A year later the Panic of 1873 resulted in
ownership transferring to Henry Villard before the line’s expansion southward
to California could continue.

Passengers, freight, and
railway men were the foundation of growth in Roseburg’s early years. In an
increasingly limited fashion, the legacy of the railway lives on, both in the
transportation of commodities, and the associated O&C timberlands that were
to provide land ownership, timber, jobs and help fund local government.

Today the passage of a
train is considered mostly a nuisance – an impediment to traffic.

There are those, however,
who still smile when a train rolls through downtown Roseburg. They remind
whoever will listen that the rumble of an engine and the click-clacking of the
rails is the sound of sawmills and timber workers making money.

The Winchester switchyard
has a fairly low profile, sitting on flat, graded land with some extra tracks
west of Interstate 5 north of Del Rio Road. It was promoted as a way to improve
the transportation infrastructure, create a few jobs, and ease the impact of
rail traffic in downtown Roseburg.

Moving the switching yard
from downtown to a few miles north of the city is expected to diminish some of
the delays motorists experience crossing east and west through Roseburg.

It was very nearly not
built and then was built only after a lengthy delay.

The state of Oregon awarded
at $7.7-million grant to the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad in 2006 to
fund the construction of the switchyard. A year later the state froze funding
when CORP suddenly shut down its Coos Bay spur line. CORP’s decision to close
the spur created a hardship for local shippers.

RailAmerica, the owner of
CORP, prepared a lawsuit against the state to have the grant funding restored.
Local leaders protested the state’s decision as having an unfortunate
consequence for the community.

Ultimately, common sense prevailed
and the state and RailAmerica came to an agreement that led to the opening of
the switchyard.

Transportation needs and
populations change with time. Roseburg is much larger than 100 years ago and
Costco wasn’t planned to open near the railroad crossing at Edenbower four
years ago when the switchyard was first approved.

The Winchester switchyard
should benefit the area for decades of changes and we applaud those who helped
make it happen.