SP&S Railway Museum

This organization preserves the legacy of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway, the northwest railroad incorporated in 1905 as a joint venture of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific — both controlled by James J. Hill — to build along the north bank of the Columbia River and capture a share of Oregon's lumber trade from E. H. Harriman's Union Pacific and Southern Pacific. Construction began in 1906 from Vancouver, Washington under the Portland & Seattle name; 'Spokane' was added in January 1908, and a golden spike ceremony at Sheridan's Point on March 11, 1908 marked completion of the Columbia River line, with through freight and passenger service to Portland inaugurated that November. The SP&S was merged into the Burlington Northern in March 1970, and remnants of its routes are run today by BNSF Railway and the Portland and Western Railroad. The railroad's history is chronicled and preserved by the SP&S Historical Society, which also lends practical support to surviving equipment: the society is assisting the restoration of business car No. 99, 'The Ruth M.,' built in 1915 by Barney and Smith and the only surviving SP&S business car, now in operating condition at the Chehalis–Centralia Railroad.