Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Co.

[blpierce]

Hello Everyone!

My wife and I just moved to the Long Beach Washington area and I am interested in finding a detailed map (that shows street names)of where the "Clam Shell Railroad" had its tracks laid down at. I have already found several pictures and am in the process of ordering an out of print book on the subject. If someone has this map and could scan and send a copy to me, I would be very thankful.

Great web site & thanks again!

[Vincent]

The Railroad That Ran By the Tide by Raymond J. Feagans is a good historical book about the IR & N. It should be available at a local library, if it isn't the book you ordered. The library should also have historical maps of the Long Beach peninsula. A map from the 1920s should have the route clearly marked. Good luck!

[GN 599]

I have been up there a few times and I didnt know of a railroad. Sounds like interesting stuff.

[wigwagfan]

I have been up there a few times and I didnt know of a railroad. Sounds like interesting stuff.

For starters, the Illwaco Railway & Navigation was a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, and also owned/operated the ferries across the Columbia River at Astoria before the Lewis & Clark Bridge (U.S. 101) was built in the 1950s.

The ferry dock still remains; there are numerous photos of the ferry operation at the Astoria Maritime Museum, and you can even drive through one of the railroad tunnels on SR 4.

[kevin.brackney]

If you know where to look, you might be able to find traces of the ROW. I think one of the depots is still standing, and has been repurposed for some other business, at Ilwaco, or Chinook? It's been a long time since I was there last. It was a narrow gauge line that operated into the '20s.