OSL Oakley Branch

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By Thornton Waite

The Oakley Branch was built south from Burley, on the Twin Falls Branch, south and east 21.8 miles to Oakley. The remaining segment of the line from Burley to Marion is owned and operated by the Eastern Idaho Railroad.

Minidoka & Southwestern began grading of the line from Burley through to Oakley on November 16, 1909, and worked on it through June 17, 1910. As of June 30, 1911 the railroad reported that tracks had been laid on 22.06 of the 22.09 mile line, with another .02 miles of grading completed. [1] The remainder of the work was performed by the OSL, which absorbed the M&SW on October 31, 1910. OSL laid the remainder of the line to Oakley from March 28, 1911, through May 24, 1911. Operations officially began on October 20, 1911.[2], [3]

The line followed Goose Creek through agricultural land and climbed 400 feet from Burley to reach Oakley. There was some mining activity in the Oakley area for a period of time in addition to the agricultural traffic.

The new line competed with the Milner & North Side Railroad, an independent line which went from Milner south to Oakley. This line was completed to Oakley in April 1910, and went out of business in November 1915 since it was not able not compete with the Oregon Short Line.

Passenger Service

Passenger service was minimal since Oakley, at the end of the line, was the only town on the branch line, which went through a sparsely populated area. The first trains were mixed trains running out of Burley and connected with the trains from Minidoka to Buhl. The timetable for June 14, 1914, showed the following schedule for mixed trains 123/124, which ran daily-except-Sunday. Scheduled stops in the timetable were Kenyon, Island, Marion, and Oakley. 

On November 21, 1915, there was a complaint to the Public Utilities Commission on the inadequacy of the train service on the Oakley branch. The train was a mixed train, running from Burley to Oakley and return, with a one hour layover at Oakley. The Sunday train had been discontinued, so that “mail reaching Oakley on Saturday could not be answered and mailed until Monday.” In response the railroad promised to restore Sunday service and improve other aspects of the train operations.[4]

In 1921 the train ran daily, with train numbers 337/338:

However, in January 31, 1922, the Oregon Short Line filed an application to reduce the train service on numerous branch lines in southern Idaho, including the Oakley Branch. The passenger and freight business on the branch lines had dropped to the point that continued operations were no longer economical, and the railroad was losing money on the trains. One of the reasons was that much of the business was being diverted to trucks and buses. The affected lines were the Mackay Branch, Victor Branch, Northside Branch, the Oakley-Declo Branch, the Rogerson Branch, the Wood River Branch, the Nampa-Murphy Branch, Caldwell-Wilder Branch, and the Idaho Northern Branch. Public hearings were held in the affected regions and there were many protests by citizens, cities, towns, villages, commercial clubs, and chambers of commerce. They were held at Oakley on April 5 for service on the Oakley Branch.

The hearings brought out the fact that about 80% of the freight and express originating on the branch lines was “through traffic”, and 20% of the passenger traffic was through traffic. There had been a significant drop-off in traffic from 1920 to 1921, as well as from 1921 into 1922 due to the poor farming economy. The railroad wanted to run a tri-weekly mixed train to Declo, with a trip to Idahome on one of those days. Sunday service would be eliminated.

Revenues for the line was as follows:

After public hearings were held, the PUC denied the application on May 27, 1922. The agency did not feel the public should be deprived of the railroad service even though it was not economical and the highways were being subsidized, allowing freight and passengers to be diverted from the trains.

On October 4, 1924, the Oregon Short Line petitioned the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Idaho to revise the schedule of its train on the Oakley Branch. At the time it ran seven days a week, and the railroad wanted to eliminate the Sunday run. The train left Burley at 12:05 PM and arrived at Oakley at 1:00 PM. Returning it left Oakley at 1:20 PM and arrived Burley at 2:45 PM. There was to be no change in the schedule other than not running it on Sunday. The reason for the change was that there was little business on Sunday. The petition was approved by the PUC on November 19, 1924.

In February 1926 the train schedule was:

Notes:

• Mixed train, daily-except-Sunday
• Intermediate stops at Beetville, Pella, Kenyon, Trout, and Marion

In 1941 the train schedule over the Oakley Branch was as follows:

Notes:

• Mixed train, daily-except-Sunday
• f: flagstop

Soon the railroad was listing the branch as showing no passenger service, with irregular freight service. The train was no longer shown in the 1950 timetable. In 1960 the public timetable had the note “Irregular mixed service: consult agent.” 

Abandonment

The Union Pacific abandoned the line 10.467 miles from Martin south to Oakley in 1983 and the remaining segment of the branch line is now owned and operated by the Eastern Idaho Railroad. The EIRR bought the 11.58 miles from Burley to Martin, MP 0.11 to MP 11.69, in 1993. The line ends a short distance to the north of Marion.

Stations

In 1930 the stations on the line were as listed below. 

Burley (MP 0)

Beetville - Spur (MP 3.1)

Pella (MP 5.2)

Kenyon – Spur (MP 8.9)

Trout (MP 16.3)

Churchill – Spur (13.6)

Marion Gravel Pit -Spur (MP 17.82

Marion (MP 17.8)

Oakley (MP 218)

Burley(MP 0): The Oakley Branch left the Twin Falls Branch at Burley.

Pella(MP 5.2): Previously known as Beulah, the name was changed to Pella for reasons not know. It was named by the railroad for Pella, Macedonia, birthplace of Alexander the Great.

Kenyon (MP 9): The station named after the first postmaster, William D. Kenyon, who operated a store here. There was a platform at Kenyon, which had a post office from 1911 through 1919.

Churchill (MP 13.6): The name of this station stop is that it was near the Churchill settlement on the Idaho Southern. Churchill was named for an early resident.

Trout (MP 17): It was named for Glen H. Trout, Bridge Engineer for the Union Pacific. Previously it had been known as Island. Trout had a 10' x 12' shelter built in 1913 and a stockyard built in 1915.

In 1930 there were two stock-pens with one single deck loading chute and a capacity of nine head of livestock in the immediate loading deck. Water was available. In 1936 the facilities were the same, and the in the immediate loading deck had a capacity of eleven head of livestock. Water was available.[5] The facilities was unchanged in 1951.

Marion (MP 18): The area was first settled by Mormons in 1881 and had a post office from 1885 through 1918. It was named after Francis Marion Lyman, a local Mormon apostle. His surname was given to nearby Lyman Pass. Marion had a two story passenger and freight depot, 30' x 30' with two additions each 10' x 30', built in 1912.

Oakley (MP 22): Oakley is at the head of Goose Creek Valley in western Cassia County and was the trading center prior to the construction of the Oakley Branch. Oakley is 24 miles south of Burley on Goose Creek and was originally called Goose Creek Crossing or Goose Creek.&

The townsite was settled by Mormons from Tooele, Utah, in 1876, when the Goose Creek Ward was founded, and became the trading center for Goose Creek Valley. Another source states it was first settled in 1878 by a non-Mormon, Frank Carl Bedke, a Prussian immigrant who settled just east of the townsite in the Basin. The area had been explored the previous year by Mormons, but Indian unrest prevented them from settling there that year.[6]

The village was later named Oakley for stage station operator William Oakley, who operated the Oakley Meadows Pony Express Station, approximately two miles from what became the townsite. He was reportedly instrumental in suppressing stage robbers. The first general store, owned by George S. Grant, opened in 1880,[7] and the village was incorporated in 1896.[8]

The settlement grew rapidly in 1905 following the completion of the Minidoka irrigation project. [9] The Oakley Dam, five miles to the south of Oakley, was the highest earthen dam in the Northwest in the 1930s. Construction of the dam started in 1911, but the land suitable for farming was overestimated, and there was a decline in the population in the 1920s and 1930s.[10] Sheep and grain were raised in the area.

The population of Oakley in 1910 was 911, increasing to about 1100 in 1918. The population in 1914 was only slightly less than the population in Burley. Oakley had a population of 882 in 1937, and it was 816 in 2023.[11] In 1920 Oakley had two banks, a flour mill, weekly newspaper, school. It was headquarters of the Minidoka National Forest at the time. Some of the buildings were built using local building stone.

Oakley had a two story passenger and freight depot 24' x 31' and 24' x 46', and a stock yard, both built in 1912, and a wind mill, water tank, and 54' deep well, all built in 1913. The IPUC granted authorization to close the agency on September 11, 1963.[12] The depot was then moved to 710 Southern College Avenue, south of town and converted into a store. It is now used as a residence.

In 1930 Oakley had three stock-pens and three additional low pens for sheep or hogs, and two double deck loading chutes. There was a capacity of seventeen head of livestock in the immediate loading deck and water and scales were available.[13] The facilities were unchanged in 1936, but the immediate loading deck had a capacity of 68 head of livestock. In 1951 the immediate loading deck had a capacity of 23 horses or cattle or 68 sheep or hogs.

Profile

Cost Estimate

The Oregon Short Line Railroad Company prepared a cost estimate for the construction of the Oakley Branch from Burley to Oakley. The estimate was not dated, but may have been prepared after the construction of the line.

Length of Main Track – 21.82 miles

Length of Side Track – 2.70 miles

Maximum grade ascending – 1.00%

Maximum grade descending – 0.31%

Total ascents – 398’

Total descents – 8’

Pile and Frame trestles – (6) 210 linear feet

Total estimated costs – 24.52 miles main track

Engineering - $6,500.00

Right of Way - $17,000.00

Grading – 31,150.00

Bridging - $5,870.00

Ties - $61,140.00

Rails - $80,910.00

Frogs and Switches - $3,089.50

Track Fastenings - $14,437.50

Tracklaying and Surfacing - $31,000.00

Fencing right of way - $12,137.00

Crossings, signs, etc. - $1,050.00

Telegraph Line - $4,300.00

Station Buildings - $7,975.00

Water Stations - $5,280.00

Fuel Stations - $1,200.00

Miscellaneous Structures - $7.075.00

Rental of Equipment - $25,000.00

General Expense - $1,000.00

Total cost - $291,114.00

Average cost per mile - $13,341.61

Cross ties were untreated, at $.86 each, 67,500 ties. Switch ties and bridge ties were separate.

Second Hand 70# steel rail was used.

90 Cattle guards at $50.00

Water Stations:

Water Tanks – 1 @ $2800.00 each

Pump House, pipe line, etc. – $2,000.00

Contingencies - $480.00

Total - $5,280.00

Fuel Stations:

Coaling Platform – 1 @ $1200.00

Stations Buildings:

Passenger Depots – 2 @ $3000.00

Combination coal houses – 2 @ $125.00

Water supply at stations - $1,000.00

Contingencies - $725.00

Total - $7,975.00

Miscellaneous Structures:

Section Houses - 2 @ $1500.00

Jap Houses – 1 @ $500.00

Tool Houses – 2 @ $75.00

Combination coal houses – 3 @ $120.00

Stock yards – 2 @ $1200.00

Contingencies - $650.00

Total - $7,075.00

References and Further Reading

Hawley, J. H. History of Idaho, Vol. I & III. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1920

Corporate History of Oregon Short Line Railroad Company as of June 30, 1916

Idaho Heritage

Idaho Magazine

Official Freight Shippers Guide and Directory of the UP RR. ca 1935.

Public Utilities Commission Annual Report for year July 1, 1915 through June 30, 1916

Union Pacific Railroad Annual Report, year ending June 30, 1911

Footnotes

[1] Annual report, 6-30-11, p. 27

[2] Corporate History

[3] Annual report, 6-30-12, p. 8

[4] PUC annual report, 7-1-15 to 6-30-16, p. 186

[5] Official Freight Shippers Guide and Directory, Union Pacific Railroad, p. 41

[6] Idaho Magazine, November 2009, p. 34

[7] Idaho Heritage, 11-12/76, p. 28

[8] Idaho Magazine, August 2002, p. 29

[9] Idaho Heritage, 11-12/76, p. 28

[10] Idaho Heritage, 11-12/76, p. 28

[11] Hawley, p. 787

[12] PUC annual report, 7-1-60 to 6-30-62, p. 96

[13] Official Freight Shippers Guide and Directory, Union Pacific Railroad, p. 41

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