The Boise Valley Railroad( reporting mark BVRR) is a shortline railroad in Idaho connecting Nampa with Boise and Wilder. It is owned and operated by Watco.
The Boise Valley Railroad( reporting mark BVRR) is a shortline railroad in Idaho connecting Nampa with Boise and Wilder. It is owned and operated by Watco.
On 23 November 2009, the railroad began operations, running over an 11-mile(18 km) line between Wilder and Caldwell and a 25-mile(40 km) line between Nampa and Boise, with the two lines connected via trackage rights on the Union Pacific. [1] Watco purchased the line from Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad. Watco took over operations and leased the line to Union Pacific. Operations for both branches are based at Nampa Yard in Nampa where cars are interchanged to the Union Pacific.
The Wilder Branch begins at Caldwell and goes west to Wilder and switches several packing houses. The branch is 11 miles long.
The 25 mile Boise Branch goes from Nampa to Boise Airport and is Union Pacific's former main line into Boise. The City of Boise closed the Boise Yard in 1989 but kept the branch active until 1996 when the eastern half was abandoned with the cessation of Amtrak's Pioneer . BVRR also switches the Nampa Industrial Lead which comes off the Boise Branch at Nampa Junction and goes out to Amalgamated Sugar Company at the end of the branch. [2]
Idaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area, but with a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's elevation is 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level. The population according to the 2020 US Census was 235,684.
Owyhee County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,133. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in Idaho, behind Idaho County.
Canyon County is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 231,105, making it the second-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat is Caldwell, and its largest city is Nampa. Canyon County is part of the Boise metropolitan area.
Meridian is a city located in Ada County in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population of Meridian was 117,635, making it the second largest city in Idaho after Boise. Meridian is considered the state's fastest-growing city and among the fastest-growing cities in the United States.
Caldwell is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho. The population was 46,237 at the time of the 2010 census.
Nampa is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho. Its population was 100,200 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is Idaho's third-most populous city. Nampa is about 20 miles (32 km) west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. It is the second principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. The name "Nampa" may have come from a Shoshoni word meaning either moccasin or footprint.
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, 32,500 miles (52,300 km) of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles in 2010, more than any other North American railroad.
The Boise–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is an area that encompasses Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gem, and Owyhee counties in southwestern Idaho, anchored by the cities of Boise and Nampa. It is the main component of the wider Boise–Mountain Home–Ontario, ID–OR Combined Statistical Area, which adds Elmore and Payette counties in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon. It is the state's largest officially designated metropolitan area and includes Idaho's three largest cities: Boise, Nampa, and Meridian. Nearly 40 percent of Idaho's total population lives in the area.
The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) trackage, mostly acquired by the state of Wisconsin in the 1980s.
The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, Owyhee, and Burnt rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rural eastern Oregon to Boise, and is the most populated area in Idaho.
Murphy is an unincorporated village in, and county seat of, Owyhee County, Idaho, United States. It is among the smallest of county seats nationwide, with a population as of the 2010 census of 97. Murphy is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. Murphy is also located within the census-designated place bearing its name. Murphy is home to the Owyhee County Historical Museum and Library.
Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) is a transportation company based in Pittsburg, Kansas, formed in 1983 by Charles R. Webb. Watco was composed of four divisions: transportation, mechanical, terminal and port services, and compliance. Watco is the owner of Watco Transportation Services, L.L.C. (WTS), which operates 41 short line railroads in the U.S. and Australia. It is one of the largest short line railroad companies in the United States. As of December 2018, it operates on 5,500 miles (8,900 km) of leased and owned track. Also under transportation is the contract switching the company provides service for 30 customers. That was the service that Watco originally offered before it branched out into other areas.
The Eastern Idaho Railroad commenced on November 21, 1993, as a collection of two disconnected clusters of former Union Pacific (UP) branches. A subsidiary of Watco, EIRR operates two segments that move more than 35,000 carloads per year to the Union Pacific, with interchanges at Idaho Falls on the Northern Segment, and Minidoka on the Southern segment. The annual income is reported as being under 25 million dollars.
The Modesto and Empire Traction Company is a Class III short-line railroad operating in California's San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by the Beard Land & Investment Company; the Beard family has always owned the railroad. The Beards also created the Beard Industrial Park where the MET's customers are located. The railroad was unique in that it had operated for nearly 50 years exclusively with GE 70-ton switchers built between 1947 and 1955; however, a former Southern Pacific EMD SW1500 switcher was added to the roster as of late. The MET operates on 5 miles (8 km) of mainline track, as well as an additional 48.7 miles (78.4 km) of yard and industry track, providing switching services in the Beard Industrial Park. The MET interchanges with the Union Pacific at Modesto and with the BNSF Railway Stockton Subdivision at Empire.
The Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad is a small railroad in southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon in the United States. It owns 120 miles of former Union Pacific branch lines, and is a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Corp., based in Fort Worth, Texas. Idaho Northern and Pacific's offices are in Emmett, Idaho.
The BG&CM Railroad or Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain Railroad is a Class III shortline railroad located in North Central Idaho.
The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of 1,143 miles (1,839 km) running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a consolidation of several smaller railroads.
Interstate 84 (I-84) in the U.S. state of Idaho is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the state from the Oregon state line in the northwest to Utah state line in the southeast. It primarily follows the Snake River across a plain that includes the cities of Boise, Mountain Home, and Twin Falls. The highway is one of the busiest in Idaho and is designated as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.
The Great Northwest Railroad (GRNW) is located in North Central Idaho, and runs a mainline of approximately 77 miles (124 km). Known as the Camas Prairie Railroad until 1998 and then Camas Prairie Railnet, Watco purchased the line in 2004 and renamed it the GRNW.
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