Idaho Northern & Pacific railroad had already sold the salvage rights to its 63-mile Joseph Branch when two eastern Oregon counties came calling. After forming an intergovernmental agreement, Wallowa and Union counties stopped the demolition work and purchased the track connecting Elgin and Joseph for $6.5 million in May 2002.

The counties knew they wouldn’t make money, said Wallowa County Chairman Mike Hayward. But the area needs as many transportation options as possible.

“It’s really an infrastructure question for the communities here,” said Steve McClure, Hayward’s counterpart in Union. “If you lost the railroad, you’d never get it back.”

Hayward noted that the route goes through some river beds that probably never would have received approval under current environmental conditions. And while the loss of timber harvesting has limited freight movement to about 50 to 75 carloads a year, there is the prospect for new industries coming in that would benefit from such service.

“Rail is one of the most cost-effective ways to transport goods,” he said. “We just don’t know what that is in the future.”

The line remains solvent through its excursion services, which generate about 90 percent of the revenues, Hayward said.

“For most lines, freight is the meat and potatoes and excursion is the gravy,” he said. “For us, it is the opposite.”

The counties originally hired a general manager to operate the line. They couldn’t afford his salary. Today, the counties contract with an outside source for conducting and maintenance services. They have an excursion coordinator on staff, but the counties also rely on the Union County Tourism office to market rides.

Hayward said the arrangement works well, but assistance from the state will be critical if short-line rail service is to be preserved. He noted the state provided a $2 million grant to purchase the line in 2002 and the department of transportation keeps in close contact with the counties.

Without state assistance, Hayward figures he’ll see big carriers abandoning the short routes and focusing on servicing the big lines from metropolis to metropolis.

“Local agencies need to be involved and be supportive, but they also need some help,” Hayward said.