Longview Portland & Northern

Company History: The original 30 mile LP&N route was built between Longview Junction and Ryderwood, Washington in 1929 by and for a local timber magnate named Long (who also founded the city of Longview.) In 1952, he built a second, separate 4 mile line in the Gardener, Oregon area and abandoned the original Ryderwood line the following year. In 1955, he bought another separate logging line from Spaulding-Miami Lumber Company between Willamina and Grand Ronde. In 1960, he expanded again, buying the 33 mile Northern Pacific line between Rye Junction and Chelatchie, Washington. Each separate segment was operated as part of the Longview Portland & Northern Railway. Things remained relatively consistent for the next 20 years. Then in 1980, the former logging line was sold to become the Willamina & Grand Rond Railway. The following year, the former Northern Pacific line was sold to form the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad. The last remaining segment, the 4 miles to Gardiner, closed in 1999 when the sawmill it served closed.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.