Train Enthusiasts in Pend Oreille Valley

Many individuals fall in love with trains at a young age, some are drawn to them through years of working for, or with, a railroad, and some people develop a love for trains as they retire. We have had the pleasure of interacting with many rail fans throughout the United States, Canada and other foreign countries. Some rail fans write letters or emails, others show up at our office arriving in cars, motorcycles or RV to obtain information on our days of operation, schedules and to obtain information on other specific areas of interest to them.

POVA currently is scheduled to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Our train provides service to Bell Pole in Oldtown, and then heads east along beautiful Lake Pend Oreille to serve companies at Albeni Falls, Priest River and Laclede, Idaho. We then travel to Dover, Idaho where we must obtain a track warrant from the Union Pacific Railroad dispatcher in Omaha, Nebraska, for permission to travel over four miles of UPRR controlled track. POVA then travels to the BNSF yard in Sandpoint where our train is interchanged to the BNSF. We pick up cars for our shippers in Sandpoint and then make our way back t dropping cars for shippers along the way back. Schedules occasionally change due to shipper’s needs, weather conditions, car supply issues and track work requirements.

Due to liability issues and safety concerns POVA does not allow individuals to go to the rail yard at our shop location to photograph or video our operations. Rail fans are welcome to call for daily schedules for photo opportunities of the train in route.

Excursion rides are no longer provided on our line.