Oregon Pacific & Eastern Railway
| Reporting mark | OPE |
|---|---|
| Locale | Oregon |
| Dates of operation | 1904–Current |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Roseburg, Oregon |
The Oregon, Pacific and Eastern Railway (reporting mark OPE) is a short line railroad that began in 1904 as the Oregon and Southeastern Railroad (O&SE). The line ran 18 miles (29 km) between the towns of Cottage Grove and Disston. The Oregon, Pacific & Eastern Railway Company incorporated in 1912, and purchased the physical assets of the O&SE two years later. The OP&E's operations ran some 16.6 miles (26.7 km) from an interchange with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Cottage Grove, then east to Culp Creek. The last of the track was closed and scrapped in 1994. A successor corporation now operates a narrow-gauge line at Wildlife Safari.
The O&SE (locally known as the Old, Slow & Easy) was built to serve the gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead mines of the Bohemia mining district. Sawmills were built along the route as soon as transportation was available for the lumber they would produce, but traffic was seldom sufficient to encourage investment in new equipment. Covered bridges were built at Walden, Currin, and Wildwood to prevent rot after a train fell through the wooden bridge at Currin into the Row River on 5 June 1909. J.H.Chambers Lumber Company was a major investor when the line was reorganized as the OP&E. The reorganized OP&E built a 6-mile (9.7 km) logging branch from Disston up Laying Creek in 1914, and in 1917 Chambers Lumber company secured complete control of the OP&E. As an economy move, Chambers built a gasoline-powered railbus to replace the daily passenger train. This Galloping Goose began operation on 1 April 1917 and remained the only passenger service until replaced by a thrice weekly mixed train in March 1929. The Anderson-Middleton Lumber Company purchased the OP&E from Chambers in 1924, and built a new sawmill south of Cottage Grove. The logging branch up Laying Creek was dismantled and the rail relaid to form a new branch to Herman Creek. Locomotive number 8 and a trainload of logs fell through Walden bridge into Mosby Creek on 5 September 1924, killing the engineer and brakeman.
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