The Camas Prairie: Idaho’s Panhandle Railroad
is a history of the spectacular Camas Prairie Railroad in eastern
Washington and northern Idaho. Formed out of the intense competition
between the Northern Pacific Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad in
1909, the Camas Prairie operated joint trackage between Riparia,
Washington, and Lewiston, Idaho, with branches extending to
Headquarters, Stites, and Grangeville, Idaho. The railroad became known
for its many spectacular timber bridges, including the famous Halfmoon
bridge in Lapwai Canyon.
Carefully researched from railroad papers and interviews with
employees, this is the story of the Camas Prairie Railroad from founding
to present-day. Chapters cover surveying and constructing the line to
the railroad’s namesake prairie; the relationship with the railroad’s
largest shipper, Potlatch Forests, Inc.; the evolving operations of each
of the railroad’s four subdivisions as the company adapted to stay
viable; the railroad’s equipment, including locomotives, cabooses, and
other rolling stock leased from its parent companies Union Pacific and
Northern Pacific; and the post-1998 short line era. The book also
discusses freight and passenger connections to the parent roads.
From the beginning, photographers were drawn to the railroad due to
the many spectacular bridges built to handle the steep terrain.
Photographs in the book span from the early construction era to the
2000s, and include the work of well-known photographers Henry R. Griffiths, Jr., Dr. Philip R. Hastings, Philip C. Johnson, Blair Kooistra, Rob Leachman, and many others!
With multiple maps and over 350 illustrations and photographs, many
in color, this 320-page hardcover book will be of great interest to both
Union Pacific and Northern Pacific historians alike, as well as anyone
interested in Pacific Northwest history.
