Sumpter Valley Railway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sumpter Valley Railway
Locale	Sumpter, Oregon
Terminus	McEwen, Oregon
Commercial operations
Name	Sumpter Valley Railway
Original gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Preserved operations
Operated by	Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc.
Stations	2
Length	5.1 miles (8.2 km)
Preserved gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1890
Sumpter Valley Railway Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
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Nearest city	Bates, Oregon
Area	1,223.8 acres (495.3 ha)
Built	1890 (1890)
Architect	West, Joseph A.
NRHP reference No.	87001065
Added to NRHP	August 3, 1987

The Sumpter Valley Railway is a special kind of train line called a narrow gauge heritage railroad. This means its tracks are narrower than regular train tracks, and it's kept working to show how trains used to be. It's located in Baker County, in the state of Oregon.

This railway was built on the same path as an older train line. Today, it offers fun train rides on a route that's about 5 miles (8.2 kilometers) long. The journey goes between McEwen and Sumpter. The Sumpter Valley Railway has two old steam locomotives and other train cars. You can ride these passenger trains on weekends and holidays from the end of May (Memorial Day) through September.

A Look Back: The Railway's History

The railway's route in 1931

The Sumpter Valley Railway started in 1890. A businessman named David Eccles helped create it. The main goal of this narrow gauge railway was to carry logs to a sawmill owned by the Oregon Lumber Company in South Baker City. The sawmill and the railway were owned by the same people, but they were run as separate businesses. The people who built the railway also owned another lumber company and got money from a group of people called Mormons in Utah.

The railway was built in an area that was once thought of for a bigger train line from Denver, Colorado to the Pacific Ocean. But another big train company, the Union Pacific Railroad, chose a different path. They wanted to go through towns that were growing, so they wouldn't have competition from other train companies.

Early Trains and Expansion

Many of the first trains and equipment for the Sumpter Valley Railway came from the Utah & Northern Railway. The Union Pacific Railroad owned that line and started changing its tracks to a wider "standard gauge" around 1887. Since David Eccles owned a lot of Union Pacific stock, he was able to buy the narrow gauge equipment they didn't need anymore. The first train to arrive was a small 4-4-0 type called Number 285. The Sumpter Valley also bought other types of locomotives and many boxcars and flatcars. In 1906, they got four more locomotives from another railway.

By 1891, the train line reached McEwen, which is about 22 miles (35 kilometers) west of Baker City. The railway then started offering rides for people and carrying goods. To reach more forests, the company slowly made the line longer. It got to Sumpter in 1896 and then continued southwest to towns like Whitney, Tipton, Austin, and Bates. By 1910, it reached Prairie City, a farming and mining town. The trains used wood for fuel until 1940, when they switched to oil. The shape of the train chimneys also changed over time.

Changes and End of Original Service

About ten years later, the railway started losing business because more people were using cars and trucks. In 1933, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) of track between Prairie City and Bates were stopped being used. Regular passenger train service ended in 1937. However, they still carried goods. In 1939, the railway bought two large "mallet" locomotives from another railway. These engines were changed from using coal to using oil. As less and less was carried, the railway sold off other trains they didn't need. In 1947, the railway stopped almost all operations, except for a small section of track in the Oregon Lumber Company yard. This last part was removed in 1961.

Bringing the Railway Back to Life

In 1971, a group of dedicated volunteers decided to rebuild the Sumpter Valley Railway. One of their steam locomotives, Number 3 (built in 1915), was fixed up and started running again in 1976. The new railway officially opened on July 4, 1976, with less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of track.

The Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc. group was formed. Over the next 15 years, they rebuilt about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) of track by hand. This connected the McEwen station with Sumpter. Another steam locomotive, SVR No. 19 (built in 1920), was also fixed and started running in 1996. Another train, number 20, is also at the railroad.

In 2007, the railway opened a new building that looks just like the original Sumpter Depot. It's close to the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge State Heritage Area, which is another cool historical site. Every summer, the railway runs many historic Sumpter Valley Railroad steam locomotives and other equipment on the line.

In Prairie City, at the far end of the original line, another group worked to fix up the old Sumpter Valley Railway Passenger Station in the 1970s. Since 1984, the City of Prairie City has used this building as the DeWitt Museum. Inside, you can find old train lanterns, lights, and other railway items. There are also photos of train accidents and what life was like along the train line.

Images for kids

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  Excursion train on the line in 2010

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  Railcar of the Sumpter Valley Line

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  DeWitt Museum in Prairie City, Oregon, a former SVR passenger station

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  Scene near Baker City, Oregon in 1913.

Locomotives

The Sumpter Valley Railway has had many different locomotives over the years. Here are some of them: