During the early
days of the Port's operation over the Tillamook branch, the railroad
handed off its interchange traffic to Burlington Northern at North Plains,
about five miles from Banks along the former SP&S Cornelius Pass
line. Traffic bound for the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific was interchanged
at Mahan, near Hillsboro. The complex interchanges made it necessary
for a second crew to do all of the switching once the train reached
Banks. Here, the 4381 is on its way from North Plains to Banks after
trading outbound loads for inbound empties. It's unusual to see this
train moving during the day, as most of its operation took place after
nightfall during most of the year. Photo by Jesse Burkhardt. Date unrecorded.
