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Oregon Pacific Railroad Linear Historic District
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| Nearest city: | Santiam Junction, Oregon |
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| Built: | 1887 |
| Governing body: | U.S. Forest Service |
| NRHP Reference#: | 99001285[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | October 29, 1999 |
Oregon Pacific Railroad was a railroad in western Oregon, U.S. from 1880 to 1894, when it was sold to the Oregon Central and Eastern Railroad. A substantial part of the railroad is preserved as Oregon Pacific Railroad Linear Historic District.
It was created and owned by Thomas Egenton Hogg.[2] Ground was first broken for the railroad in Corvallis on May 17, 1877. At the time, the next nearest rails were either in Hillsboro or Eugene. Hogg intended to make Corvallis the western terminal of a transcontinental railway, linked somewhere in Idaho.
Hogg intended to terminate the line at Seal Rock on the Oregon Coast.[2] In anticipation of the railroad's arrival, the town was platted with pedestrian-friendly public spaces and resort hotels that would accommodate train travelers, but the line was instead routed through Toledo to end at Yaquina, resulting in financial ruin for many who invested in Seal Rock.[2][3]
To the east, the line extended as far as Idanha, 15 miles short of Santiam Pass before running out of money.[2] Some additional track laid over Santiam Pass had mules pull some cars a few times to assert right of way. Hogg Rock near Santiam Pass is named for T. Egenton Hogg for his railroad which went around the rock. Track was also laid in Malheur River Canyon to reserve that pass for the railroad.
Some of the tracks were submerged by Detroit Lake in the 1950s when the Detroit Dam was completed. In 1999, the line's corridor from Idanha to the Cascade summit was designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]