THE GOBLE, NEHALEM AND PACIFIC RAILROAD
Articles of incorporation of the Goble, Nehalem and Pacific Railroad Co. filed with the office of the County Clerk of Multnomah County on Monday [June 18, 1900] by Thomas Day; R. C. Bell; and Edward Cannon. Their object is to construct railroads, logging railroads, etc. and to carry logs, passengers, and freight. The terminal of the railroads shall be at or near Goble and some point on Nehalem Bay.
FROM GOBLE TO THE PACIFIC
The ultimate purpose of the promoters of the Goble, Nehalem and Pacific railroad is to reach the Nehalem Bay by crossing the divide from the Columbia river, intercepting the Nehalem river near the mouth of Oak Ranch Creek thence following the valley to the river’s mouth.
WILL CONNECT TO THE NORTHERN PACIFIC
August 10, 1900: The Goble, Nehalem and Pacific RR Company, which is constructing a logging road from Reuben to the Nehalem is at work. A 2,000 foot bridge is being constructed. President Cannon is now enroute east to look after the rolling stock necessary. The road will be laid with 56 pound rails, and timber will be tapped in 3 miles. The road will be standard gauge and it is the purpose of the company to make cordwood of all timber not used for sawlogs. A switch from the Northern Pacific track will allow cars to be loaded with poles, wood, etc and shipped direct to Portland and other points.
THE RAILS ARE BEING LAID
January 25, 1901: Five carloads of rails arrived the first of this week for the new railroad and track laying is progressing rapidly.
February 1, 1901: The new railroad had the steel laid out as far as the Rainier bridge across Goble creek Monday evening.
ON TO THE NEHALEM
We already have 5 miles of railroad completed and in operation. The cost of the new road is $15,000 a mile.
GOBLE, NEHALEM AND PACIFIC SUSPENDS OPERATIONS
August 9, 1901: The Goble, Nehalem and Pacific Railroad Co., suspended business Tuesday evening i.e. all the men quit work as the company is two months back with their pay…
EASTERN MONEY BUYS THE GOBLE RAILROAD
February 28, 1902: The Goble railroad has been purchased by some Eastern people. The Goble, Nehalem and Pacific incorporated again. Seller, Smith, Stanley, and Carlock are the principles. Their object is to carry freight and passengers; charter, build, own and operate steamboats on the Willamette, Columbia and Snake rivers to carry on an express business etc..
MILL IS NOT PLANNED
“We will not build a mill,” F. G. Stanley, one of the purchasers of the Goble and Nehalem railroad, said. “Our intentions are to operate the line as a logging road: We have purchased 4,000 acres of timber land some distance up the road”
MORE TRACK TO BE LAID
April 18, 1902: From Reuben: The Goble, Nehalem and Pacific RR survey, the starting point was on the main line about 12 mile east of J. M. Archibald’s place. From that point they ran through Mooresville thence north and west toward Beaver Valley.
RAILROAD LEASED
June 5, 1903: The Goble, Nehalem and Pacific RR Co., has leased its equipment to the Columbia Timber Co., for $1500 per year.
THE GOBLE AND NEHALEM PROPERTY SOLD TO EASTERN CAPITALIST
— February 24, 1905: William Reid, a Michigan lumberman, has purchased the Goble, Nehalem and Pacific Railway and the Columbia Timber Company from Robert Smith, F. S. Stanley, W. S. Dwinnel and L. C. Stanley, at a price stated to be approximately $200,000. It is the intention of Mr. Reid to form a new company embracing the entire property, and probably associating with himself his father in law, David C. Pelton, of Portland, and eventually extending the road into the Nehalem.
The deal was closed Thursday last. This property transferred includes about seven miles of railway from Goble, of the Columbia river, to a point in the red fir district of Columbia County, and a tract of about 7,000 acres of red fir, to which title was held by the Columbia Timber company. These properties were owned by W. S. Dwinnel of Minneapolis, L. S. Stanley of Chippewa Falls, Robert Smith and F. S. Stanley of Portland.
The railroad was promoted about four years ago by Edward Cannon and R. C. Bell, who planned to build from Goble into the Nehalem River valley. They had not sufficient timber holdings to carry the enterprise forward, and after they had built four miles the bondholders foreclosed and the road was sold to the four men named, who had already acquired the Columbia Timber Company.
The purchasers extended the road three miles and had planned to continue extensions this year. The price offered by Mr. Reid was sufficient to change their plans, and they have disposed of their properties with the view to going into banking. They have already established a bank at Hood River.
William Reid, the latest purchaser, has for 28 years been engaged in the timber and lumber mill business in Michigan. He closed out the interest of himself and Mr. Pelton there a year ago and came to Portland. He is a practical logger and millman, and it is his intention to develop the business in Columbia county to its fullest extent. He said: “I do not know just when it will be done but we expect to go on with the development work of the former owners. We regard the Nehalem valley extension as a good proposition. The timber question on our property is not yet to be decided. If we cannot market the logs to advantage we will erect a mill and manufacture lumber. It is too early to say just what will be done. A new company will be formed, in which Mr. Pelton will probably be interested.”
It is said Mr. Reid is a man of few words, but a hard worker. He is middle aged, and his life has been spent chiefly in the woods and at the mills.
He has for the last three years been looking toward the Pacific northwest as the most promising field in this country for the lumbering industry, and has foreseen the end of the timber supply in the states of the middle northwest. Speaking of the situation there he said: “There is very little good pine standing in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and practically none in Michigan. It will all be gone in a few years.”
