Railroad to a Brighter Future
Back in the early 1920's you may have left the
dirt streets and wooden side walks of the town
of Burns to walk in the woods, where
untouched ponderosa pine stood tall.
But in a few short years, one of the biggest ever timber
sales in the United States was to change the way of life in
this area. The timber sale required the buyer to build a
railroad between Crane and Seneca, and a mill along the
line in Burns. By 1929 car loads of logs began rolling
through the forest. From then on, the prosperity of Burns
increased , and the communities of Hines and Seneca
emerged, becoming a home for woodsmen, and railroad
workers, and their families.
Inicially, steam locemotives hauled logs to the mills
but in 1955 diesel locomotives took over. Eventually
logging trucks began to take a bigger part in
tranpsorting timber and forest roads were built on
former spur lines. The railroad was finally abandoned
in 1984. Although the last train has long sinse
departed, much of the old grade is visible between
here, and Seneca from Highway 395.
