Two Portland & Western locomotives are stranded because the Marys River Bridge has not been rebuilt. (Photo Aug. 16, 2026)
Three locomotives and at least 10 railroad cars remain stranded in Benton County because the railroad bridge over the Marys River in Corvallis has not been rebuilt.
The engines, two belonging to the Portland & Western Railroad and one to Albany & Eastern, are parked on property just south of Llewellyn Road west of Highway 99W. I went to look for them Sunday after somebody asked me about them. And sure enough, they were still there.
The Marys River bridge collapsed on Jan. 4, 2025, when a Portland & Western train bound for Venell Farms and loaded with urea pellets, a fertilizer, went across it.
As I’ve reported, a subsidiary of Venell Farms filed a complaint against the railroad and its parent company with the federal Surface Transportation Board on May 8. The farm complains that the railroad has a duty to rebuild the bridge but has not done so despite repeated requests.
Since then, Lebanon-based Albany & Eastern Railroad has been added to the complaining parties, and Union Pacific Railroad has been added to the respondents.
Portland & Western or its parent holding company Genesee & Wyoming has said that unless funds become available, it has no plans to rebuild the bridge because of the high cost in relation to the low amount of freight traffic on what remains of the old Bailey Branch railroad line.
The railroad has estimated the cost of rebuilding the wooden bridge at something north of $4 million, or more if it is rebuilt of steel.
The complainants’ filings include an email from the Oregon Department of Transportation that suggests the bridge might be rebuilt for about $1.5 million.
Venell is asking the federal board to order the respondents to repair the bridge and pay the complainants for loss of business. It also asks the board to order payment for the “unauthorized storage of two locomotives and 16 freight cars” on Venell property.
As for freight cars, all I saw was what looked like 10 tank-type cars some distance to the south.
Filings in the proceeding are public. They indicate that the dispute is not anywhere near a resolution. The docket number is DOR 42187, and here is a direct link to all the filings in the case, with the most recent on top.
While the regulatory proceeding continues, the locomotives and rail cars apparently are destined to stay where they sit. (hh)
An Albany & Eastern locomotive is parked south of Lewellyn Road in Benton County Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026.
Off in the distance, south of the stranded locomotives, I saw 10 railcars that are similarly marooned.
So there’s $10M+ in railroad equipment that is unable to be moved because the railroad refuses to do a $4M repair? I’m no expert in math but that doesn’t make sense.
More like less than $600K for all three. The orange P&W (EMD brand) locos are around 40-50 years old while the A&E (GE brand) loco is about 30-40 years old and it’s been sitting there since before 3/23. A new loco runs a lot closer to your $3 million estimate. But these three are likely to be retired in the next few years and sold for scrap. That would be my best guess as to why little to no effort or expense has been put forth in recovering them for revenue duty.
Probably between depreciation etc. & tax write off for “loss”, they come out ahead?
Given this particular incident, the derailment in Toledo last January, and the one here in Corvallis, just a few years ago near Cheldelin middle school, you have to wonder… How does this railroad make a profit? And, consider the other dilapidated trestles along the Toledo/Corvallis route (and probably others)… it’s not a matter of “if” the bridges will fail. It’s more a matter of “when”. There’s a video online of one of the trains on its way from Toledo to Corvallis crossing the Davis Creek Bridge that is downright scary to watch. The video is produced by 7idea productions (out of Toledo) and titled: “Portland and Western’s Toledo Branch; Part 1”. Scroll to 1:28 in the video and watch the bridge flex like a giant rubber band. Amazing.
I wonder if temporary rail tracks to connect to a working rail line could be built and move the trains perhaps at nightime.
There are many miles and countless property owners to the east, west, and south before you’d get near another rail line. Oh and you’d have to build multiple bridges no matter what direction you picked. $4M to replace one bridge on a line you already own is peanuts compared to the alternatives.
Another possibility is they just replaced what was necessary with used. Search “LTEX storage yard”. There’s “tons” of surplus engines.
Looks like a Connect Oregon project to me. The guys with the broken bridge have no financial interest in the stranded equipment, correct?
It is my understanding that ODOT laws require regular bridge inspections by the railroad company. If that were happening as it should, why was a deteriorated and weakend bridge not identified before the accident occured? Thus shouldn’t the railroad be held liable if the inspections were not happening as required by ODOT law? It seems a possible explanation would be if the bridge were damaged by someone/something after the most recent inspection. There must be a lot more to this story, or else a liable party would have to replace a faltering bridge if it had not been adequately inspected as required. Another thought is maybe the inspector was ‘pencil-whipping’ the inspection sheet????? Somebody must know something?!
https://www.facebook.com/reel/3136950149834498/?s=single_unit&__cft__%5B0%5D=AZY7rsf95CezVKcS-X8wq-iZDfyIB-VFzLPJ2joAMeM0pMr4boPOr_C2BP-xtlt2q5G3WxiyC3s4_arYS8smmyK_-K5X_hX0Z-Bxju7z3YlGOBVToX4CH1Uxp8AUTPMNL7cCo12ynELA9N_gGLZhwxXz25fPB4F-aiNqg4ZSDO1hlRI7i49Y96zotbn7ASqKCXHf2s1Mcxh_1twP3bkT1c_cIL-vnaaMhU5–t8siW3pXw&__tn__=H-R
Thanks, Bil, Fixing that span won’t be cheap.