Timber Road and the Pacific Railway & Navigation Company

Jeffrey Butts

I have often said that one of the great things about living where I do is that I am close to the edge of the urban boundary. Just minutes away and I can go either to a major metropolitan area or go back in time to the Oregon of a hundred years ago.

On the Independence holiday weekend, I broke away from the household chores, visitors, and errands and headed west for a drive back to the past. Out Hwy 26, just shy of 10 miles west of the Hwy 6 Junction is the Timber cut-off. The weather was nice and the traffic was heavy in the opposite direction, giving me a nice, easy-going ride. Once through the tunnel, it is just about 4 miles to the turn-off for Timber. North at this intersection is an alternative way to Vernonia, passing the golf course and the Vernonia airport. Today, however, I turn south.

The road winds up the hill towards Timber, passing between sections of clear-cut land and second growth forest. A hundred years ago, this area was rich with old growth trees. This was the "other" farmland of Oregon, the field of dreams for the timber industry. The problem was that these were large cedar and other evergreens and harvesting them was both difficult and dangerous. Oxen were used over skid roads (and that's where that name came from) to move the trees but railroads were needed to get the timber back to the Portland area or out to the coast for shipment out of state. Many railroads were built throughout the Coast Range and by 1915 the town of Timber was railhead for eight different lines. The biggest was the Pacific Railway & Navigation Company, which ran a line from Hillsboro in Washington County to Tillamook on the coast. The town of Timber had a population of around 100 permanent residents but the logging camps brought many more transient workers. Steam railroads and steam mill operations were the technological key to harvesting the wood.

Timber boasted a roundhouse for PR&N trains. It was a "helper" station so that the heavily laden cars could make it over the coast summit on their way to Tillamook and the mills. As many as a half dozen extra engines could be added to pull the burden. There was no OHSA or safety standard then and the rail lines were reported to have been less than well laid. Ties were not often secured. Sharp curves and trestles were dangerous. Even though the PR&N was also a passenger and sightseeing line (The Tillamook Flyer) at the beginning of the twentieth century, it had such a reputation for accidents and derailments that it was nicknamed the "Punk, Rotten & Nasty." As a railhead and logging headquarters, Timber also boasted a church, post office, store, hotel, and restaurant.

Today the rail line still goes through Timber and, much safer now; a dinner BBQ train running from Wheeler (on the Coast) to Timber and back again provides sightseers with views of the Salmonberry River Canyon. Timber still has a store, although it is closed now. The rail crossing where Timber Road intersects the tracks is marked by a wonderful old wigwag signal (photo above) that has probably been there since the 1950's. Homes in the area range from singlewide mobiles to working ranches. You're a long way from supplies, or help, and it takes a different attitude to live in this part of Oregon. Cross the Nehalem River at Timber (yes, the same river that runs through and flooded Vernonia on it's journey to the coast) and continue south on Timber Road. The elevation drops quickly and you will find yourself running parallel to Beaver Creek, with old growth to your east (left) and clear-cut and second growth to your west. This road varies from second gear switchbacks, littered with gravel today, to quarter mile straights. Little meadows, awash with wildflowers at this time of year, appear here and there. There are nice old barns as well and, much to my delight, I also found a weathered and abandoned house, one of my favorite photo subjects.

Just before the junction with Hwy 6 (the Tillamook Highway) I came across an "art sale." A husband and wife had set up their products in their own front yard. I would have missed it save for the flaccid balloons hanging from the split rail fence. Much to my surprise there were two other cars stopped in the driveway. I looked at the photos (the husband) and the pottery (the wife) and drove away with $50 worth of leaf castings for Stephanie's coffee table.

This was a quick little trip, only about two hours including the stop. Once again, and especially in this kind of weather, I am reminded of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful country. I love being able to get into my car and, in the best tradition of H.G. Wells, be transported back in time.