History

The Port of Pend Oreille began in 1979, when citizens banded together and voted to create it to operate the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA), in order to save the line, the railroad line that in one form or another had operated since 1909.       

OUR RAILROAD HERITAGE

The original rail line between Metaline Falls and Newport, Washington was constructed between 1909-11 by industrialist Fredrick Blackwell and was named the Idaho and Washington Northern (I&WN). The new railroad, then nicknamed the Blackwell Road, was initially very well received, well run, and featured some then-innovative and expensive cars. 

Unfortunately for Blackwell and his lumber investors, a recession hit not long after the line began  gaining traction. In 1913, when the group was unable to make the interest payments on his construction bonds due to a continued slump in the lumber market and a four-month delay in getting the cement plant operational, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad took over operating the I&WN for a period of two years.

The Milwaukee Road

“The Milwaukee Road” ran the railroad until 1979 when it declared it was no longer economically feasible to keep the line in operation. In that year, rather than abandoning the line, the citizens of Pend Oreille County joined together and voted to create the Port of Pend Oreille to operate the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA).

The sole purpose of the Port was to save the railroad and the two mills that were dependent upon it for rail service on the northern end of the line. These two companies were Lehigh Portland Cement Company at Metaline Falls and Louisiana Pacific Corporation at Ione, Washington. From 1979 until October 1984, the Port leased the rail line to Kyle Railways. 

In October 1984, the Port began operating the railroad five days per week from Metaline Falls to Newport and return. However, when the cement plant at Metaline Falls closed in 1990 and the lumber mill in Ione closed in 1995, the north end of the line had no active shippers.

In 1998 the Port / POVA began leasing approximately 24-miles of track from BNSF® Railway, taking this small railroad into Idaho.

For many years, the Port kept the northern end of the line open and up to FRA standards in hopes of attracting businesses that would ship by rail to the area. For many years after those facilities ceased operation, the Port still maintained the track and bridges to comply with federal standards. However, in September 2017,new standards what went into effect made it economically unfeasible to keep the north end of the line open.  New bridge inspections were projected to cost between $100,000-$200,000 just for the inspection, not counting the cost of any recommended repairs, of 20 bridges between Tacoma Creek and Metaline Falls.

The Port Board of Commissioners and staff made the tough decision to take the line north of MP 22.9 out of service status in October of 2016 which also meant an end to the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club’s excursion train rides.