Southern Pacific Railroad Depot - Perrydale, Oregon - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

There is an excellent article on the Perrydale Depot and the associated railroad at the web site of Brian McCamish, ‘In Search of History Expeditions’ (see link below) and an excerpt appears here:

The railroad upon which the depot was once located was completed in 1881 by the Oregonian Railway with a narrow gauge track. This was the branch line between Broadmead and Airlie that was originally started in 1878 by the Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde Railroad Company. Southern Pacific Railroad took control of the line by 1890 and converted it to standard gauge by 1893.

The line through Perrydale was completed sometime prior to 1879 suggesting that the depot could be that old. Traffic was never heavy on this line and by late 1927 the branch was abandoned from Perrydale south to Dallas. The line from Perrydale, north to Broadmead, still remained and it's possible that the depot remained in operation for some time after 1927.

Several sources indicate that the depot was in service until 1945 and then abandoned. The book, "Southern Pacific in Oregon" has a photo of the depot, taken in 1955, showing the depot abandoned and in very poor shape. The photo shows that most of the paint had fallen off the building and most of the windows were gone. The photo shows the building in such bad shape that it's quite amazing it survived another 50 years.

The railroad from Perrydale to Broadmead existed as a short spur for 58 more years, serving the local agriculture community. By 1985, it was abandoned and removed. A bridge existed over Salt Creek between Perrydale and Broadmead, and that was also removed. Today, there is virtually no trace of the branch line. A short rise does exist out in a farmer's field, but there's not even a hint of the connection to the ex-Southern Pacific line in Broadmead (now operated by the Portland & Western Railroad). Currently it seems the depot building is owned by Polk County and the land by a private developer.

Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No Is the station/depot open to the public?: No If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?: Vacant and in some process of restoration What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Oregonian Railway; Dayton, Sheridan and Grand Ronde Railroad Company; Southern Pacific Railroad Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]

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