View source for Sumpter Valley Railway

{{Short description|Historic railway in Oregon, USA}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Heritage Railway
| name            = Sumpter Valley Railway
| image           = [[File:Sumpter Valley Railway logo.jpg]]
| locale          = [[Sumpter, Oregon]]
| linename        = Sumpter Valley Railway
| terminus        = [[McEwen, Oregon]]
| originalgauge   = {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}}
| operator        = Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc.
| stations        = 2
| length          = {{convert|5.1|mi|km|1}}
| preservedgauge  = {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}}
| originalopen    = 1890

{{Infobox NRHP
| embed        = yes
| name         = Sumpter Valley Railway Historic District
| nrhp_type    = hd
| nocat        = yes
| image        =
| caption      =
| nearest_city = [[Bates, Oregon]]
| locmapin     = Oregon#USA
| built        = {{Start date|1890}}
| architect    = West, Joseph A.
| architecture =
| added        = August 3, 1987
| area         = {{convert|1223.8|acre}}
| refnum       = 87001065<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
}}
{{Infobox SVRR}}

The '''Sumpter Valley Railway''', or '''Sumpter Valley Railroad''', is a {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}} [[Narrow gauge railways|narrow gauge]] [[heritage railway|heritage railroad]] located in [[Baker County, Oregon|Baker County]], in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Oregon]]. Built on a right-of-way used by the original railway of the same name, it carries excursion trains on a roughly {{convert|5|mi|km|adj=on}} route between [[McEwen, Oregon|McEwen]] and [[Sumpter, Oregon|Sumpter]].<ref name="SVR history">{{cite web | url = http://www.svry.com/history.html | title = Sumpter Valley Railroad History | publisher = Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc. | year = 2008 |access-date = January 18, 2009}}</ref> The railroad has two [[steam locomotive]]s and several other pieces of rolling stock.<ref name="SVR main" /> Passenger excursion trains operate on weekends and holidays from [[Memorial Day]] through the end of September.<ref name="SVR main">{{cite web | url = http://www.sumptervalleyrailroad.org/ | title = Sumpter Valley Railroad | publisher = Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc. | year = 2012 |access-date = May 3, 2012}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Sumpter Valley Railroad.jpg|thumb|Route in 1931]]
The railway was incorporated in 1890 by [[David Eccles (businessman)|David Eccles]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Rails, Sagebrush, and Pine|last=Ferrell|first=Mallory Hope|publisher=Golden West Books|year=1970|location=San Marino, CA}}</ref> The {{TrackGauge|3ft}} narrow gauge railway's purpose was to haul logs to the [[Oregon Lumber Company]] sawmill in South Baker City. The sawmill and railroad remained separate corporations of the same owners for the life of the railroad.<ref name=wrr /> The builders of the railway also owned the [[Grande Ronde Lumber Company]] in [[Perry, Oregon]], and the railway was financed by [[Mormons]] in [[Utah]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bailey|first=Barbara Ruth|title=Main Street: Northeastern Oregon|publisher=[[Oregon Historical Society]]|year=1982|isbn=0-87595-073-6|pages=32–33|quote=principally a logging railroad, was constructed in Baker County with Mormon backing from Utah. Its builders also owned the Grande Ronde Lumber Company, which operated a large mill and mill village at Perry, near La Grande.}}</ref> The line was built over terrain originally considered as part of a railway from [[Denver, Colorado]] to the Pacific coast; but the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] opted for a different route to avoid bypassing growing communities which might provide an attractive opportunity for competition by the rapidly growing [[Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company]].<ref name=wrr />

Much of the original equipment came from the [[Utah and Northern Railway|Utah & Northern Railway]] in Idaho and Montana.  The [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]] owned the line and began converting it to standard gauge around 1887.  Eccles owned a significant amount of Union Pacific stock, exerting enough influence to acquire the now-unneeded narrow gauge equipment.  The first locomotive to arrive was a small {{whyte|4-4-0}} numbered 285; the Sumpter Valley also purchased a number of the U&N's Brooks {{whyte|2-6-0}} locomotives, along with a large number of boxcars and flatcars. In 1906, the railroad also acquired four locomotives from the [[Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad|Tonopah Railway]] (later the Tonopah & Goldfield Railroad).<ref name=":0" />

By 1891, the line had reached McEwen, {{convert|22|mi|km}} west of [[Baker City, Oregon|Baker City]], and the railroad began offering passenger and freight service. To reach uncut forests further west, the company extended the line in stages. It reached Sumpter in 1896 and continued southwestward to [[Whitney, Oregon|Whitney]], [[Tipton, Oregon|Tipton]], [[Austin, Oregon|Austin]] and [[Bates, Oregon|Bates]]. By 1910, it arrived in [[Prairie City, Oregon|Prairie City]], a ranching and mining community along the [[John Day River]] in [[Grant County, Oregon|Grant County]].<ref name="SVRR history">{{cite web|url=http://bakercounty.net/parks&recreation/historyrailroad.htm| title =Our History Began in 1890| publisher = Baker County Parks and Recreation Department |access-date=January 17, 2009}}</ref> The railroad continued to use wood fuel for their locomotives until converting to oil fuel in June, 1940. Diamond-shaped [[Chimney (locomotive)#Spark arrestors|smokestacks]] were replaced by cabbage-shaped Rushton stacks after 1916.<ref name=wrr />

Ten years later, the railway began losing business to automobiles and trucks, and in 1933 the {{convert|20|mi|km}} of track between Prairie City and Bates were abandoned. Scheduled passenger service on the remaining line ended in 1937. Freight service remained, however, and in 1939 the railway purchased two {{whyte|2-6-6-2|T}} [[Mallet locomotive|Mallet]] locomotives from the [[Uintah Railway]] in Colorado.  These engines were converted from coal to oil burners and given tenders from two {{whyte|2-8-2}} locomotives.  As traffic declined, the railway sold off the other, unneeded locomotives.<ref name=":0" /> In 1947, the railroad ceased all operations except for {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} of track in the Oregon Lumber Company yard in South Baker City. This last section was abandoned and removed in 1961.<ref name ="SVRR history" />

== Heritage operation ==
In 1971, a group of volunteers set out to rebuild the Sumpter Valley Railway. Locomotive No. 3, a 1915 [[Heisler locomotive|Heisler]] [[steam locomotive]], was restored to operation in 1976, and the new railway opened for business on July 4, 1976, over a track of less than {{convert|1|mi|km}}.<ref name="SVR history" /> The Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc. was created and 6 miles of track were reinstalled by hand over the next 15 years, to connect the McEwen, Oregon station with Sumpter, Oregon. SVR No. 19, a {{whyte|2-8-2}} steam locomotive built in 1920, was restored to operating condition in 1996.<ref name="railnews-july96">Brown, Greg (July 1996). [http://original.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/275/20480/july-1996-page-10 "Excursion, Rail Festival Mark Portland's Union Station Centennial"]. ''[[Pacific RailNews]]'', p. 10.</ref>  Sister locomotive 20 is also located at the railroad. In 2018, #720 was added to the railroad operating fleet after an overhaul.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sumpter Valley Railroad|url=https://www.facebook.com/SumpterValleyRR/posts/pfbid02hZHrYTjo7WSvR4tafx1F6NyLmU3P8PiE6viuGNULU9KhgAyDG8zRUQMkWpMEMRarl|access-date=2022-09-16|website=www.facebook.com|language=en}}</ref> It previously was used by the [[Chiquita Banana]] company.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Equipment Roster|url=http://sumptervalleyrailroad.org/equipment-roster.html|access-date=2022-09-16|website=SUMPTER VALLEY RAILROAD|language=en}}</ref>

In 2007, the railway opened its reproduction of the original Sumpter Depot, within sight of the [[Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge|Sumpter Valley Dredge]] State Heritage Area operated by the [[Oregon Parks and Recreation Department]]. The railway operates a number of historic Sumpter Valley Railroad and adjoining {{RailGauge|3ft}} narrow gauge logging railroad steam locomotives and equipment on the line every summer.<ref name="SVR history" />

In Prairie City at the western end of the original line, the Sumpter Valley Depot Restoration Committee renovated the [[Sumpter Valley Railway Passenger Station]] in the 1970s. The City of Prairie City has used it to house the DeWitt Museum since 1984. Its collections include lanterns, lights, and other railway artifacts, and photographs of train wrecks and of life along the rail line.<ref name="DeWitt Museum">{{cite web|url=http://www.prairiecityoregon.com/prairie-city-oregon-dewitt-museum.html | title = The DeWitt Museum| publisher = City of Prairie City | series = 2004–08|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Sumpter Valley Railroad Train (Baker County, Oregon scenic images) (bakDA0073a).jpg|Excursion train on the line in 2010
File:Sumpter Valley Railway railcar - Sumpter Oregon.jpg|Railcar of the Sumpter Valley Line
File:DeWittMuseum.jpg|DeWitt Museum in Prairie City, Oregon, a former SVR passenger station
File:Sumpter Valley Railroad 1913.JPG|Scene near Baker City, Oregon in 1913.
File:720 at station.jpg| 720 at station.
File:SVRR 20 in back shop.jpg|SVRR 20 in back shop.
</gallery>

== Locomotives ==
{|class="wikitable"
!Number
!Builder
!Type
!Date
!Works number
!Notes<ref name=wrr>{{cite journal 
|last=Ferrell 
|first=Mallory Hope 
|year=1964 
|title=Sumpter Valley Railway 
|journal=The Western Railroader 
|volume=27 
|issue=293 
|pages=1–14 
|publisher=Francis A. Guido }}</ref>
|-
|1st #1
|[[Lima Locomotive Works]]
|[[Shay locomotive|Shay]]
|1889
|244
|purchased from Sunny South Lumber Company in 1897
|-
|2nd #1
|[[Brooks Locomotive Works]]
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1881
|
|purchased from Utah & Northern Ry
|-
|3rd #1
|[[Baldwin Locomotive Works]]
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1901
|19211
|purchased from Tonopah Ry in 1910
|-
|1st #2
|Brooks Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1881
|
|purchased from Utah & Northern Ry
|-
|2nd #2
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1901
|19210
|purchased from Tonopah Ry in 1910
|-
|1st #3
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|1888
|9519
|purchased from Tonopah Ry in 1910
|-
|2nd #3
|Heisler Locomotive Works
|[[Heisler locomotive|Heisler]]
|
|
|purchased 1971
|-
|4
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1904
|24689
|purchased from Tonopah Ry in 1907
|-
|5
|Brooks Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1881
|530
|purchased from Utah & Northern Ry; sold to [[Eureka and Palisade Railroad]] in 1912
|-
|6
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|4-4-0}}
|1880
|4982
|purchased from Utah & Northern Ry
|-
|7
|
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|
|
|[[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] C-16 class
|-
|8
|
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|
|
|ex-Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad C-16 class; sold to Eureka and Palisade Railroad in 1912
|-
|9
|
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|
|
|ex-Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad C-16 class; sold to Eureka and Palisade Railroad in 1912
|-
|10
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|1880
|5164
|ex-Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad C-16 class; sold to Eureka and Palisade Railroad in 1912
|-
|11
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1878
|4429
|ex-Utah & Northern Ry; scrapped 1942
|-
|12
|Brooks Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1881
|
|purchased from Utah & Northern Ry
|-
|13
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1881
|
|purchased from Minnesota, Lyndale and Minnetonka Railroad
|-
|1st #14
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|1881
|5932
|purchased from Connotton Valley Railway
|-
|2nd #14
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-0}}
|1906
|28806
|purchased from Eureka and Palisade Railroad in 1912
|-
|15
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-0}}
|1890
|11075
|purchased from Eureka and Palisade Railroad in 1912
|-
|16
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-2}}
|1915
|42073
|purchased new; sold to [[Peru]] in 1945
|-
|17
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-2}}
|1915
|42074
|purchased new; sold to Peru in 1945
|-
|18
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-8-2}}
|1915
|42075
|purchased new; sold to Peru in 1945
|-
|19
|[[American Locomotive Company]]
|{{whyte|2-8-2}}
|1920
|61981
|purchased new as #100; sold to [[White Pass and Yukon Route]] in 1941; returned in 1977
|-
|20
|American Locomotive Company
|{{whyte|2-8-2}}
|1920
|61980
|purchased new as #101; sold to White Pass and Yukon Route in 1941; returned in 1977
|-
|50
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|4-6-0}}
|1916
|42865
|purchased new; sold to Peru in 1945
|-
|250
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-6-2|T}}
|6/1926
|59261
|purchased from [[Uintah Railway]] in 1940; sold to [[International Railways of Central America]] of [[Guatemala]] in 1947
|-
|251
|Baldwin Locomotive Works
|{{whyte|2-6-6-2|T}}
|4/1928
|60470
|purchased from Uintah Railway in 1940; sold to International Railways of Central America of Guatemala in 1947
|-
|285
|[[Grant Locomotive Works]]
|{{whyte|4-4-0}}
|1870s
|
|purchased from Utah & Northern Ry; used for construction prior to beginning rail service
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Trains|Oregon}}

*[[List of heritage railroads in the United States]]
*[[List of defunct Oregon railroads]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Sumpter Valley Railroad}}
*[http://www.sumptervalleyrailroad.org/ Official website]
*[http://www.brian894x4.com/SumpterValleyRR.html Sumpter Valley Railway from Abandoned and Active Historical Railroads of the Pacific Northwest]

{{Oregon railroads}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:3 ft gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:Heritage railroads in Oregon]]
[[Category:Narrow-gauge railroads in Oregon]]
[[Category:Defunct Oregon railroads]]
[[Category:Transportation in Baker County, Oregon]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Grant County, Oregon]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Baker County, Oregon]]
[[Category:1890 establishments in Oregon]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Baker County, Oregon]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon]]
[[Category:Railway lines on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Rail infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon]]