Camas Prairie's Second Sub: No more

[Anonymous]

Track gangs have begun the process of dismantling the Camas Prairie's Second Subdivision between Spaulding and Grangeville, Idaho. Currently, crews from a salvage company in Montana are pulling track spikes and rail bolts in preparation for the rail to be removed in the spring.

Work began about two weeks ago in Grangeville. The work force was in Fenn yesterday and will continue to work north.

Camas Prairie Railnet embargoed operations on the subdivision in November 2000. The numerous bridges and tunnels are too expensive to maintain. Shippers reporedly want rail service, however, to get grain and lumber off the prairie. Trucks will win the business by default. A number of older three-bay covered hoppers that were used in grain shuttle service are stored on the sidings at Lapwai and Culdesac, Idaho. Most are in GN livery, with some BN, NP and even Burlington liveries for variety.

The Second Sub's bridges, including the Lawyer's Creek Viaduct, will stay in place for the foreseeable future.

CSP Railnet operations include the daily except Saturday turn up the Third Sub to Ayer to interchange cars with the UP and BNSF, two yard jobs to switch local industries, and a twice a week turn down the First Sub to Kooskia and Kamiah (Cam-ee-eye). Power on hand is three B23-7s (nos. 1-3) and an SW1000.

Second Sub salute: Sic transit gloria mundi.

Paul Schmidt
Contributing Editor
Trains.com

[jsanchez]

Its a shame no one in in the local government of Idaho has the forsight to preserve this line, yes the traffic will go by truck, but maintaining and subsidizing the highways will actually be more expensive to the taxpayers than if the state preserved and partially subsidized the rail line. At least the railroad recovers part of its costs, the highways recover nothing.
The USA really needs to revaluate its transportation policy and stop being so Highway oriented, many other countries around the world have realized railroads are a far more economical ways of moving freight and people when actual costs of highway maintenance and construction are factored in and why is the United States far behind in highway privitization, even comunists China has tens of thousands of miles of privately owned expressways. They are a money maker not a drain on the taxpayer and railroads can compete better, because they aren't competing with a giant welfare indusrty that has become the highway industry. The majority of highways being built in the Wrold are privately owned, you never here this in the U.S press or from our pork oriented politicians. Every rail line that vanishes in the United States is a huge loss for shippers, taxpayers, and private enterprise in the USA. I wi***rains magazine would do an article on highway privitization and balancing transportation, countries from Italy to Japan to Austrailia have privatizied major portions of their highway sytems to create a more balanced transportation system. It's time the USA did the same. Another thing that should happen is the abolition of propert taxes on railroad right of ways, why should rails pay this and not highways, this would greatly level the playing field and make many marginal lines greatly viable.

[csxns]

No matter how much the Railroads improve Trucks will always rule the roost.

[jsanchez]

Trucks will never match the efficiency of a 100 car grain train ,a double stack intermodal train or even the traditional merchandise freight. If the railroad industry had 300,000,000 million dollars thrown at us everyday, like the highway welfare system , I think things would be slightly different. I'm not saying get rid of trucks, they are definitely needed, I just wish we had a more balanced aproach to transportation in this country.

[csxns]

Roads are being built every day.Rails are being pulled up a lot.How do we reverse this.

[Anonymous]

Reprieve!

The Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune is reporting a deal for the Second Sub from Spaulding to Craigmont. This includes the Lapwai Canyon section of the sub. A shortline operator from Missouri has reached a deal with North America RailNet and will operate shuttle grain trains.

(Being a Camas Prairie fan, that's my Christmas gift).

Paul Schmidt
Contributing Editor
Trains.com