The Pacific Northwest Tour, 2003

Idaho Northern - Cascade Branch

It was also the chance to buy a Meet Shirt (hence the lime green background to this and all other pages on this site) from the effervescent Jan Dominguez. It was also a chance to say G'day to Chuck Lee, who had joined us on one of the ASSCO runs to Leigh Creek, in South Australias Mid North.

After signing a heap of paperwork, releasing MOW and the various railroads from liability, all the cars were inspected and set on, ready for departure the following morning, Tuesday June 17.

This line was a logging railroad, and the trip to Cascade would take us up to the site of a mill,that had been recently shut down. This railway is now looking to expand its business through the promotion of Tourism. The railroad now runs a train for the White Water Rafting market, The Thunder Mountain Line. For almost all of this line, the railway follows the Payette River.

Orignally, this territory formed part of the Union Pacific Empire, but was sold off in the 1980s when the larger Class One roads decided to concentrate on the long haul market. This is the lightest trip for pics.

I rode with Chuck Lee for part of this line, as well as with Carl Vanderspek.

Climbing up from Emmett, the railway follows an irrigation canal. Then, to the left of this photo, the railway sits just above high water on a dam.

Horseshoe Bend- home of the INP's passenger train, and until recently the home of a large mill.To the right of the photo is a hardware manufacturing business.

Site and contents © Nic Doncaster and John Black, 2003