Railroads To Sell Camas Prairie Line

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. said it plans to put the Lewiston-based Camas Prairie Railroad up for sale this summer.

Union Pacific Railroad, which jointly owns the Camas Prairie, said late in April that it would call for bids this summer. The Burlington Northern and Sante Fe Railway Co. said at that time it had not yet decided but announced on Monday that it would put the railroad up for sale by July.

The Camas Prairie Railroad has some 256 miles of track and carries grain for a number of the region’s farmers as well as freight for Potlatch Corp. to and from the Jaype mill at Pierce.

Included in the sale is about 172 miles of Burlington Northern and Sante Fe-owned track in Lewiston and east of Lewiston, and 70 miles of track west of Lewiston owned by Union Pacific. The Lewiston Yard property and a variety of freight cars also are being sold.

The railroad stretches east to west, from Potlatch Corp.’s mill at Pierce west to Riparia, Wash., and south to Grangeville and Kooskia.

WATCO Inc. of Pittsburgh, Kan., has expressed an interest in buying the Camas Prairie. It owns other short line railroads, including Blue Mountain at Walla Walla, Wash., and the Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad in Colfax, Wash.