Salem, Falls City and Western Railway

The Salem, Falls City and Western Railway (SFC&W) was an American railroad based in Polk County, Oregon that ran between Salem and Black Rock via Dallas and Falls City.

In October, 1901, Louis Gerlinger, Sr. and Charles K. Spaulding announced plans to build a railroad from the Willamette River at Salem to the mouth of the Siletz River on the Oregon Coast, a distance of 65 miles (105 km). The railroad was used for transporting timber. On May 29, 1903, the first train departed from Dallas for Falls City. At the end of June, passenger trains began regularly scheduled trips. At the time, the cost of a one way trip of 9 miles (14 km), with a duration of approximately 40 minutes, was 35 cents.

By 1905, the line was extended further west to Black Rock, where it branched into several lines further out into the timber farms. In 1907, the Southern Pacific (SP) railroad company assumed operation of the Dallas—Black Rock portion of the line. The line reached its original intended terminus, near the banks of the Willamette River, in 1909. SP owned railroad tracks on the other side of the river, and used ferries to transport passengers and goods across the river to its Salem Branch.

SP gained full control of the Salem, Falls City and Western in 1912. SP built what was then known as the Salem, Falls City & Western Railway Bridge or Union Street Railroad Bridge to connect the line to the Valley Main Line in 1913 at Lemrock. SP purchased the railway officially in 1915, and designated it Falls City Branch.

SP provided kerosene-powered rail cars known as McKeen cars. The rail cars were nicknamed "The Skunk" because of the smell from the exhaust fumes; these cars were discontinued by 1930.

Its initial purpose and primary revenue source was logging. Logs from Black Rock were dumped into the Willamette River at varying points, including Winona and Holman. By 1949, a log dump had been installed. At Eola, gravel was dredged from the river and loaded into gondola cars for railroad use. Logging declined following World War II, and what demand remained was converted to truck transport.

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