[or-roots] More on Oregon RR speculation

[Leslie Chapman]

went to the Coos Bay Library today to chase after some of the dead ones
today; didn't have much luck with them but found some amazing stuff on RR
speculation in Oregon. I brought home the story about how in a couple of
years there would be a Railroad from Drain to Coos Bay and it would have a
branch that went to Astoria and the Coos Bay Branch would soon be to Eureka
California. Funny, I seem to have a hard time recalling having seen any of
those roadbeds. It seems that a good portion of what ended up as the
contested Eugene to Coos Bay route was actually pioneered for the O & C. One
of the items I brought home talks about the beginning of construction on the
tunnel up Schofiel(sic) creek. And the real corker was Putnam station at
Hardscrabble. Another article talked about somebody buying up (actually I
should say acquiring) right of way in the Astoria area. Apparently the RR
maggots tried real hard to sell folks on the idea that it was in their best
interest to give up the right of way for free so they could profit from the
presence of the Railroad.

Lotsa luck with that one.

Anyway as near as I could make out there were a lot more speculative roads
than the usual ones we see in the histories.

Les