Valley and Siletz Railroad

The Valley and Siletz Railroad (VS) is a 40.6-mile (65.3 km) defunct railroad located in Polk County and in Benton County, Oregon, United States. The railroad began construction in 1912. It was 12 miles (19 km) long by 1915, 34 miles (55 km) long by 1917, and was extended to 40.6 miles (65.3 km) and completed later that year.^[1][2][3] In order to supply the Willamette Valley with wood products from forests in the Oregon Coast Range, the railroad followed the Luckiamute River to connect Independence, a city along the Willamette River, to Valsetz, a logging community in the Coast Range.^[2][3][4] In September 1978, when it became no longer profitable for the logging industry, most of the railroad was abandoned.^[2]

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