Palouse railroads continue to make history

The burgeoning railroad industry of the late 1800's pounded its way to and through the Palouse, connecting lumber and flour mills, and other industrial and agricultural goods to the rest of the North American as well as export markets. The great rivers of the area attracted many early adventurers, but it took the railroads to domesticate the wild west, making our region a home for families and industry alike.

James Hill, the nineteenth century innovator who built the Great Northern Railway between St. Paul Minnesota and Seattle Washington, saw potential in siting a railroad terminal in Spokane which, at the time, was little more than a man-camp for workers but soon blossomed into a thriving city. The clock tower is all that remains of the original terminal, as it gave way to the 1974 World's Fair held in Spokane.

Today, another game-changing innovation comes to the Palouse in the form of Columbia Pulp's wheat straw pulp and biopolymer facility. And true to form, the railroad is a key partner in making this success story a reality. The Camas Prairie railroad, which started in 1909, has been moving products from just past Lewiston Ida. west along 97 miles of track strategically located along the Snake river and into the Palouse near Lyons Ferry for over a century. Now operating as the Great Northwest Railroad Company, owned by WATCO, this short-line railroad continues to make history by serving the Columbia Pulp facility with rail service for inbound materials and outbound products.

Freight hauling efficiency is often the keystone in today's competitive marketplace. Balancing multi-modal logistics has been a crucial design and operations element for the Columbia Pulp business plan. Partnering with Great NW RR to bring Columbia Pulp and Biopolymer products to market is another example of a win-win scenario for southeast Washington.

K.C. Kuykendall is the Product Manager at Columbia Bio-Polymers.