OSL's Wilder Branch

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on September 17, 2020.

(Return To UP Not In Utah Index Page)

Overview

Caldwell to Wilder, Idaho, 11.5 miles

San Francisco, Idaho & Montana Railway was an independent company until the unfinished grade was purchased by Oregon Short Line in 1909.

After 1909, San Francisco, Idaho & Montana Railway became OSL's Wilder Branch, Idaho Division.

The following comes from the book "Smoke Down The Canyons," by Ehernberger and Gschwind:

WILDER BRANCH
Caldwell, Idaho to Wilder, Idaho
The 11.5-mile Wilder Branch is compensated for its limited length by an unusually interesting history. It was originally graded in 1906 by an ambitious company bearing the grandiose name of San Francisco, Idaho & Montana Railway. On June 16, 1909 the property was acquired by the Oregon Short Line and in 1911 steel was finally laid on the unadorned grade to Wilder. The branch was leased to the Caldwell Traction Company on July 1, 1916 for fifty years but the contract was short-lived and was cancelled less than four years later. The O. S. L. resumed operation of this agriculturally-oriented line on May 17, 1920.

The Golden Gate Route

The Golden Gate Route: The San Francisco, Idaho & Montana Railway Company -- Thornton Waite's article about the San Francisco, Idaho & Montana Railway Company, which became the OSL Wilder Branch.

###