The train that ran on the railway between Pullman and Colfax, Wash., on the morning of Sept. 2 may have been the last, The Daily Evergreen reports.

The railroad is currently unused, but there are several options for its future. It could reopen for shipping, be turned into a trail or the land could be returned to the original owners.

On Sept. 2, a group ran tests on some of the railway bridges between Pullman and Colfax. Two locomotives, weighing 0.5 million pounds total, were driven over the bridges.

Senior civil engineering major Michael Bjork worked on the project.

"We kept our eyes open for any discrepancies," he said.

Half an inch of movement in the bridge is not a big deal, but in one or more of the bridges, they saw movement of one inch, he said.

Bjork became involved in the study through Stan Patterson, president of Washington and Idaho Railways, Inc. Patterson said the study differed from previous studies in that it did not focus on the Risbeck bridge between Pullman and Colfax. The Risbeck bridge burned in 2006, rendering that track unusable, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation Website.

Patterson said the group concluded that other bridges in the line will require work but will not need to be completely replaced if the railway is to reopen for shipping.

Historically, the biggest customer of the railway system has been WSU, Patterson said.

"It has always been a huge plus for Pullman," he said. "Just because it's not profitable today doesn't mean it couldn't be if the barges on the river went away.

Patterson said he thinks the main issue pertaining to whether or not to keep the railway open is keeping rates low for customers.

Currently, all shipping done by train is out of Spokane through BNSF, Patterson said. If the railway between Pullman and Colfax reopened for shipping, customers of the railway would also have the option of Union Pacific railway services, and the cost of shipping would become competitive.

Until a couple of weeks ago, the railway was used to store railroad cars. Patterson said all the revenue generated from the storage was put back into the railway for maintenance if it reopens. He said his interests lie with the railway staying in service, but ultimately it is not his decision.

"I'm just a guy that lives in the house down the street," he said.

Patterson said the railroad could be restored, abandoned and given back to landowners or turned into a trail through the Rails-to-Trails program. He said one of the three groups potentially involved will have to step forward and make a plan, but something needs to happen with the railway.