Spokane International Railroad

Spokane International Railway, and Oregon Railroad and Navigation Co station, Spokane, Washington, 1910
Overview
Headquarters	Spokane, Washington
Reporting mark	SI, SIRY, SIRR
Locale	Washington,Idaho,British Columbia
Dates of operation	1887–1958
Successor	Union Pacific Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length	190 miles (310 km)

TheSpokane International Railroad (reporting markSI) was ashort line railroad betweenSpokane, Washington, and theCanadian Pacific Railway (CP) atKingsgate, British Columbia. The line became an important one for the CP with its connections to theUnion Pacific Railroad andPortland, Oregon.

The line, originally named theSpokane International Railway, was built by local businessman and railroaderDaniel Chase Corbin following an agreement between him and the CP, with CP agreeing to fund much of the line's construction and to secure the loan by holding the new line's bonds.

Especially significant was that the CP controlled theMinneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line) and its connections toMinneapolis, Minnesota,Saint Paul, Minnesota, andChicago, Illinois. Completion of the Spokane International now meant that the CP could compete with theNorthern Pacific Railway andGreat Northern Railway lines for transportation between the Midwest and thePuget Sound area (in conjunction with the Union Pacific Railroad subsidiaryOregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company west of Spokane). Express passenger service was soon introduced on the line via theSoo-Spokane Train De Luxe.

TwoOhio Match Company locomotives were sold to theU.S. Navy in 1940 to construct a spur off the Spokane International in order to construct theFarragut Naval Base inFarragut, Idaho, and were scrapped by theU.S. Navy in 1944 for war materials.^[1]

The SI was reorganized October 1, 1941, following financial difficulties and receivership during theGreat Depression. The line was renamed the Spokane International Railroad as part of the restructuring agreement until the 1950s.

On October 6, 1958, the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) took control of Spokane International Railroad.^[2] In 1962 UP leased SI's 11ALCO RS-1 locomotives for operation. The locomotives were later repainted to UP's yellow and gray paint scheme, but retained their SI lettering. Also in 1962, UP sold four of its older steelcabooses to SI. These were also painted in UP's yellow scheme, but received SI lettering and numbers. After UP's 1958 control of SI, Union Pacific continued to lease SI for operation. On December 31, 1987, Union Pacific formally merged SI into its corporate structure.

At the end of 1960 SI operated 150 miles (240 km) of road on 190 miles (310 km) of track; that year it reported 141 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and zero passengers.

v t e Spokane Subdivision
Legend
CPKC British Columbia,Canada Idaho,United States Eastport BNSFKootenai River Subdivision Bonners Ferry Sandpoint Pend Oreille Valley Railroad Athol BNSFKootenai River Subdivision Coeur d'Alene Subdivision BNSFCoeur d'Alene Subdivision Idaho Washington Spokane Business Intermodal Park Centennial Mills Wallace Subdivision BNSFKettle Falls Subdivision BNSFKootenai River Subdivision

The line remains in operation as the Union Pacific'sSpokane Subdivision, an important connection between southern British Columbia and the northwest United States.^[3][4]

• Western Pacific Railway
• Train Dreams (film)

• Jones, Dale W. (2019).Spokane International Railway. Arcadia Publishing.ISBN 978-1467102995.

• Brief history of the SI
• Roster of SI diesel locomotives
• Roster listing of SI wooden and steel cabooses

• Carter, Clive (2012).The Spokane International Railway: Idaho's main line to Canada. Coeur d'Alene, ID: Museum of North Idaho.ISBN 9780982522042.OCLC 819640852.

• Predecessors of the Union Pacific Railroad
• Former Class I railroads in the United States
• Railway companies established in 1941
• Railway companies disestablished in 1987
• Defunct Washington (state) railroads
• Defunct Idaho railroads
• American companies established in 1941
• Standard-gauge railways in the United States

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2024